Sucia Island: what a way to spend a weekend during a heat wave!
Inland temperatures reached 41 degrees this weekend! Our trip from Blaine was smooth; I should say sailing but we didn't even raise a sail! With such little wind and glass-like water, we motored the entire way to Sucia Island.
This was Bennie's first weekend away on the boat; he did a great job! He donned his life jacket, some chew toys and sprawled out on his new favourite spot: the deck! (He looks really happy doesn't he??..:)
Three and a half hours later, we rounded Sucia, passed peaceful Shallow Bay and glided into Fox Cove to grab the last remaining (of four) anchor buoys. A gorgeous morning with hardly anyone around, we felt as though we were in a tropical paradise.
We jumped into the dinghy and headed for shore to explore: Fire pits, washrooms, campsites and lots of water stations. We met some people along the way, just setting up camp. Fox Cove is on the other side of Fossil Bay and Fossil was filling up fast. Bennie was eager to meet some people and make friends. We admired all of the beautiful boats anchored there. What a glorious weekend this was going to be! We ended the day with a perfect red, orange and pink sunset on the horizon.
The next day, after a lazy morning hanging around in the sun, eating blueberries and reading, we took the dinghy to explore all of the other bays: Shallow, Fossil and Echo. Along the way we marvelled at the sandstone sculptures. It's amazing what nature can do!
Shallow Bay is beautiful with only a handful of boats and a great view of the sunset. Definitely a quieter place to be with a total of 8 anchoring buoys.
Fossil Bay is secluded with at least 40 boats and twice that in campers. 16 anchoring buoys with 2 docks, one of which is open all year. If you want your children to have playmates, Fossil is for you.
Echo Bay was even more secluded from the winds than Fossil but has a magnificent view of Mt. Baker. Only 14 mooring buoys but you would never know it. There were at least 60 boats in the Bay, even a float plane on shore! Even though there was a ton of boats, we didn't see too many people. A very friendly atmosphere as everyone we did see seemed to be enjoying themselves. Linking all three coves are some short hiking trails if you wish to get out of the blazing sun. Greenery and mosquitoes await you, but it's a terrific way to see the island; inside and out.
The location of Fox Cove and two entry points for tides, ebbs and current flows makes for a turbulent sleep which can be compounded quickly if the wind picks up as it did on our last night.
Even though we had three wonderful days of sunshine and blue skies, we were eager to set out.
Going home was certainly different story from our smooth motor into Sucia! Just outside of Sucia we encountered strong winds, upwards of 35 knots coming from the north, rough seas and strong currents, not to mention the bees that decided to tag along for the ride! We decided to run with just the head sail as the winds were too strong. We managed to keep everything under control throughout the ride and the winds calmed as we approached Semiahmoo Bay about three hours later.
Eager to get off the boat, (wishing we had Platinum Anchor employees to clean up for us) the next two hours were spent cleaning, re packing and scrubbing!
Happy to be home again, but missing an adventure, we started planning our next trip- maybe the Secretary Islands? Or Thetis Island? Only a few weeks away and we'll do it all over again!
More information on mooring in Washington State Parks can be found on their website: http://www.parks.wa.gov/moorage/parks/
Sabrina :)
posted by Tony and Sabrina @ 9:43 AM
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