So who else out here in the San Juans?..

Been circling islands for a while. Weather is now really good for trawler travel.

So anybody else out here in this trawler garden of eden?

Presently in Prevost Harbor, 30 other boats here today.

Boat life (and crabbing) good!

Careful, crabbing doesn't open until 7.15 in the Islands.

You are correct. I had to look it up. Open 7/15-9/30. Surprisingly, Tuesdays and Wednesdays remain closed. Guess, crabs are busy with other things those days.

Thanks for the info on crabbing up here.
I haven't been crabbing, I don't even have a trap.

Will pass that info on (politely).

34 well behaved boats here today.

Hey neighbor,

We are currently across the island in Reid. I'm amazed at the number of empty park buoys this year compared to last year.

NWSeadog said:

Hey neighbor,

We are currently across the island in Reid. I'm amazed at the number of empty park buoys this year compared to last year.

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Price of fuel is not helping things here either. At an increase of over a dollar a gallon since January is hurting anyone that uses fuel whether for a boat or an RV. So much for energy independence.

NWSeadog said:

Hey neighbor,

We are currently across the island in Reid. I'm amazed at the number of empty park buoys this year compared to last year.

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Ahoy, small world (harbor). We will be over here through at least the weekend.

Just curious, what is the limit, boat length/weight of the mooring bouys in Reid/Prevost?

Last I checked was 40 feet and $15. 3 bouys in Prevost and a side tie bouy set.

More in Reid.

Same here. We will probably start working our way back east on Sunday.

On Washington State park buoys the current rate is $15 per night with a 45 foot limit. The docks are $0.70 foot with no posted size limit. Not sure about the lineal mooring lines. I'd guess the same as the buoys.

We use to use the buoys a lot and you can buy an annual permit which for me came to about 10 nights which we always exceeded.

You may have noticed small red buoys in among the state park buoys. There was a inspection done this spring and many mooring buoys were removed, I assume for safety reasons. The red buoys mark were the anchors are located.

Here is a link to a story I did back in 2018 about tying to park buoys.
https://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/s3/just-when-you-thought-you-could-trust-them-38375.html

We were in Prevost July 4th-5th. Talk about being surprised by open park buoys, there were a couple spots open in the dock when we came in! We anchored at the eastern end, though. Enjoy!

Just got back in from a week of circling, some places were packed and others were cleared out. This is the first time I couldn't find a place to anchor in Provost, well other than in than the entrance area that is exposed to the Boundary Pass. That was on Wednesday the 7th. Seemed similar to last year in the anchorages to me. I suppose next summer the Gulf Islands will be packed as a number of us are getting cabin fever from hanging around in the San Juans. Finally got to Patos Island on this trip, it's weird to see no boat traffic crossing the border. Looking out across Boundary Pass with next to no boat traffic makes you feel like you are further north in a remote area.

Thanks for the info on the mooring buoys. It looks like it's anchoring for us

Also just got back from 10 days in the islands, Reid for a few days before the 4th.. Roche for a few days around the 4th.. Fishermans harbor for a few more then a couple in Friday to do the tourist thing. I didn't think it was that much different than last year. 4th of July at Roche was just like old times.. all the events.. a few still were masked up.

HOLLYWOOD

slowgoesit said:

Thanks for the info on the mooring buoys. It looks like it's anchoring for us

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I did see open buoys mid-day, they just tended to look full in the late afternoon. I think it will mainly depend on your arrival and if the pack of people circling end up picking the same spot.

We were at Fishermans from 6-23 to 6-27, then headed to Roche from 6-27-7-3, then we got kicked out.. and went to Friday Harbor from 7-3 to 7-5.

Now back to my bitch.
We have been going to Roche for the 4th of July for the last 5? years. And always spend another 2 weeks there in late Aug/Sep as we have friends on Little Henry island. Always go up around 6-25-27. We get our name on the wait list (first come first on the list to stay the 2-3-4th of July). We always made the list. This year we pulled into our dock spot that we reserved in January, got on the list. The gal said we were plenty early and will have no problems, on 7-2 the head guy came by and said its not looking good for us and we should prob plan to be someplace else for the 4th. I told him that the gal said we made the list in time, he said.. well there is the written list, and there is the political list, you made one but not the other. So we went to Friday harbor. We came back to Roche for dinner reservations on the 4th and there was a 85' boat in the spot that two 50's were once at, mine being one of them.

I know I'm not a high roller with a multi million yacht, but I have been going to Roche since I was 12, when the original guest dock was all they had, and it was a big POS. I have been taking our boats there for the last 5 years in a row, staying around 2-4 weeks a year.

I don't plan on ever going back.

We are anchored in Eastsound at the moment.

.. "well there is the written list, and there is the political list, you made one but not the other."


Unfortunately - that is the reality at RH on the 4th. The demand for slips during that period far exceeds their availability. Since you have been going there for so long, not getting a slip on the 4th shouldn't have been much of a surprise.

Airstream345 said:

We are anchored in Eastsound at the moment.

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Are you getting southeries there in Eastsound?

I'm out in the San Juans year round. Currently near Roche Harbor, but have been in Westcott, Blind Bay, Sucia, Prevost, and a long list of other spots all year long.

It's definitely gotten more crowded starting about a week before July 4th, and will likely stay that way through September. The Canadian border reopening news may help drain it a bit, which I'm looking forward to.

We are here. Just cooked up a bunch of Dungeness. Spending the night in Roche Harbor and back across the straits tomorrow.

BonesD said:

We are here..

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Flying to Tacoma today, couple days of provsioning and maint. and off to various islands for six weeks or so.



Got my stash of Canadian money...and my vaccination card. Just in case.

Just left Cattle’s Pass. Smooth sailing in the Straits

Anchored near American Camp. Took a couple of tries due to thick grass on the bottom. But only a handful of boats in sight.

Two Truths said:

Anchored near American Camp. Took a couple of tries due to thick grass on the bottom. But only a handful of boats in sight.

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American Camp must have been hard duty. Barren, wind - blown. The Brits definitely got the better deal.

AlaskaProf said:

American Camp must have been hard duty. Barren, wind - blown. The Brits definitely got the better deal.

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That’s what I was thinking. Then I wondered if he anchored in Griffin Bay on the north side of American Camp. I can’t imagine anyone anchoring on the Strait side of San Juan Island.

Griffin Bay. Next to Jackles Lagoon.

GoneFarrell said:

Are you getting southeries there in Eastsound?

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We were. We were pretty comfortable up to about 25 knots but the overnight forecast late last week for for higher gusts so we moved to Shoal Bay…then the winds died down. Go figure.

Spent the weekend in Bellingham and heading back to Seattle today to reset, collect my son and his girlfriend then go right back out.