July 1st - Canada Day, and we’re off in our new boat to sail the San Juan and Gulf Islands. First time out, brand new boat and we have 30 knots and 12 foot seas. I was loving it. The boat’s sea-kindly motion was immediately evident. The only problem was the crew - both wife and son being very green.
We pulled into Point Roberts marina and cleared customs. We moored and the wind continued to howl all that night and the next day. We stayed another night allowing my seasick kin to recover.
The third day out we had clear skies and moderate winds. We set out for Friday Harbor with the hope of seeing the fireworks on July 4th. We had been to Friday Harbor before this in a chartered boat and remembered it as a really picturesque place. We cleared the harbor at Point Roberts and set the sails for a broad reach across the Georgia Straight. This time, the experience for my wife and son was excellent - no seasickness and delightful sailing.
We really should have planned ahead. As we approached Friday Harbor it was clearly a hot spot for the 4th of July festivities. We called the marina on the VHF and they suggested we raft up. Given the new boat, we opted to anchor instead.
We took a look around the harbor, picked a spot and let out the anchor with the right amount of rode. It was a good spot, but we had not yet rowed the dinghy ashore. It is a rigid hull inflatable and rowing is not its best mode of propulsion. We had to row to the harbor dinghy dock and that took a bit of work. With a schnauzer on board, it meant at least twice a day to the dinghy dock to walk the pooch.
After a wonderful day and night in Friday Harbor, we found ourselves anchored in the harbor for the fireworks.
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