Cruising the San Juan Islands

Day 1 – Port Townsend

We picked up our guests just before lunch and headed for Port Townsend. There are four guests, Captain PJ and me the 1st Officer/Deck Hand/Naturalist.

Port Townsend is a beautiful town and they were holding the Rhododendron Festival while we were there. This town has many of its original buildings which have been restored and made into modern stores. We will stay overnight here, eat breakfast at the Otter Crossing Café and then make our way to Roche Harbor. Wildlife Highlights: White-sided Dolphin, Pigeon Guillemot, Common Loon, Surf Scoter, White-crowned Sparrow.

Day 2 – Roche Harbor

This seaside village was established in 1886 and is 80 miles north of Seattle on San Juan Island. The main industry was lime quarries and two of the kilns have been restored for viewing. Throughout the day we were treated to Carillon bells playing from the church steeple. Every evening at 8:30 pm. is a flag ceremony put on by Roche Harbor employees. The RH flag is taken down first followed by Washington State, Canada, Britain and the US Flag with the anthems for each being played over the intercom system, When all of the flags are down a cannon is shot to the 1812 overture followed by the honking from ships in the harbor. What a wonderful place to spend time. Wildlife Highlights: Rhinoceros Auklet, Brown Pelican, Marbled Murrelet, Pelagic Cormorant, Bald Eagle, Rufous Hummingbird, Black-tailed Deer and Chickaree.

Day 3 – Spieden Island / Friday Harbor

We navigated around Spieden Island this morning in search of the Ungulates. This island was a past big game hunting opportunity for the rich spending $5-6,000 a time to hunt there. Many animals were brought over from other parts of the world for the sport. Eventually the business went broke and the owner sold the island to other interests. It was assumed the animals would disappear but in reality they procreated and flourished. The island is now owned by the gentleman who owns Oakley sunglasses and he has a game managers to oversee the wildlife. The three species are Fallow deer (from Europe), Moufflan sheep (from Asia) and Sika Deer (from Japan).

We docked in Friday Harbor for the day to shop and explore. The Whale Museum is a must see; it is the country’s only museum devoted exclusively to the study of whales. Downtown is quaint with many local artisans and restaurants to satisfy everyone. We returned to Roche Harbor for the evening. Wildlife Highlights: Harbor Seal, Dall’s Porpoise, McGillivray’s Warbler and Sea Otter.

Day 4 – Rosario Resort and Spa

We arrived at Rosario just at sunset, it was beautiful to see. The harbor master directed us to a dock in the harbor and set us up with spa entry cards. The restaurant at the resort actually stayed open just for us when they saw us come in; great customer service! The mansion was built by Robert Moran in 1905 as a retreat from his stress-filled business life. At the age of 46 he was mentally and physically exhausted and his doctors gave him only a few years to live. He turned over the business to his brothers and retired to Orcas Island purchasing over 7,000 acres and built his retirement home named Rosario. He lived to the ripe old age of 86 and they say outlived his doctors. We got a taste of this healthy living while staying here for two nights. The food was delicious; the views incredible and quiet solitude abounded. Wildlife Highlights: Mink, Great Blue Heron.

Day 5 – Rosario Resort and Spa

Today the guests borrowed a car from the harbor master and set out to explore the island. They explored the village of Eastsound and went hiking in Moran State Park getting a 360 degree view of the surrounding area. They cooked a marvelous dinner of steaks, shrimp, pasta and other dishes and we ate on the back deck…it was magnificent. After dinner we all went to the spa to relax in the hot tub and pool before turning in for the night. I hope to someday return to this place to rejuvenate once again. Wildlife Highlights: Barn and Northern Rough-winged Swallows, Black-tailed Deer.

Day 6 – To Seattle via Deception Pass

We started the journey back to Seattle this morning at 3:30 am; it was fun trying to do black lines and fenders in the dark, a good experience for me. We avoided the Juan de Fuca straight due to worsening sea conditions and went through Deception Pass by Whidbey Island for protection. There is not a lot of wildlife to be found but fantastic scenery is everywhere. I will be returning home this evening with a First Officer notch in my belt as well as the deck hand/naturalist experience. Wildlife Highlights: Arctic Tern.

Gold Rush Northbound – Incredible!

Day 1 – Seattle
Went up to Elliott Bay and looked at Skyline before heading through the Ballard locks to Puget Sound. We had a beautiful sunset.

Day 2 – Friday Harbor
We docked for the San Juan Island tours. I went on the Griffin Bay kayak tour and it was wonderful. We saw intertidal zone creatures at low tide including sea anenomes, sun stars, star fish and crab. I ate Sea Lettuce directly off the rocks and it tasted exactly like Nori for sushi….yummy! Bald Eagles were everywhere as well as shore birds in the tidal flats.

Day 3 – Southern BC
Today was an all cruising day; narrow stretches were good for wildlife watching which included Black-tailed deer, Black bear and Gray wolves. This is also a good place to observe British Columbia commerce…logging and fishing operations.

Day 4 – Northern BC
Another day of cruising as we make our way north. The marine mammals are becoming more prominent… Orca, Dall’s Porpoise, White-sided Dolphins, Humpback whales, Steller’s Sea Lions and Harbor Seals.

Day 5 – Ketchikan
We have arrived in Alaska! A lovely town with great tours and outlying nature areas. Explored Creek Street (in the old days this was a red light district and has been converted into nice shops). We made a raid on Ketchi Kandies the best candy in SE Alaska; they sold many boxes of chocolate covered mint oreo cookies…wow!

Day 6 – Petersburg
Petersburg is a small Norwegian fishing village that the large cruise ships can’t get into and it is glorious. The guests went on various tours and I went on the jet boat to Le Conte Glacier. We passed and in some cases, touched icebergs that were as large as semi-trucks with the deep blue color. At one point we were completely encased in slushy icebergs and felt like a lime in a Margarita…this was exhilarating.

Day 7 – Tracy Arm / Frederick Sound
Today was prime whale watching and more Glaciers, with some incredible calving of the Sawyer Glacier. Black Bear on the shoreline, waterfalls and wonderful fjords.

Day 8 – Should have been Sitka but to Auke Bay – Generators out
Tonight just before dinner we had an electrical panel malfunction and both generators went down. No one was injured only a slight inconvenience. The guests took it all in stride and played cards by flash light and went to bed early. We were escorted to Auke Bay by the Coast Guard and became celebrities in the Juneau and Seattle newspapers.

Day 9 – Skagway
The guests boarded a Catamaran and went to Skagway while the ship was being repaired today. They enjoyed shopping, nature hikes and the Yukon Rail Road into Canada. This is Gold Rush country with a wonderful history of the human spirit. A good time was had by all!

Day 10 – Glacier Bay NP
The Spirit of Columbia is completely up and running and we went into Glacier Bay National Park for the day. The scenery can’t be described or captured in a photo…it is vast and magnificent. Wildlife abounds: about 40 species of birds, including the sought after Tufted Puffin, Steller’s Sea Lions, Humpback Whales, Coastal Brown Bear, Mountain Goats, Dall’s Porpoise, Jellyfish and Harbor Seals to name a few. The geology is fascinating with a combination of uplift, glacial movement and volcanic activity all in one place and at times side-by-side. This is a beautiful part of the world that I hope you will be able to see someday.