This morning we decided to put our new skills to the test (Capt. Jack has great confidence in us) and so at about 10am we left Anacortes and headed toward Friday Harbor on our first ever unsupervised outing. It was a little drizzly when we left but by the time we got to Friday Harbor it was just a bit gray. Click on the map image to enlarge:
The trip took us about three hours (we cruised at about 7-10 knots), depending on the current.
Lots of ferries in the islands:
We'd had practice (with Capt. Jack) grabbing a mooring buoy and anchoring, but we hadn't yet come into an unfamiliar (by boat, anyway) marina and getting ourselves an overnight guest slip, so we figured we'd get one of those under our belt.
Here we are in our spot for the night:
The view from our stern:
Marina overview:
Staying overnight at a marina is a lot like getting a campsite in a campground. Once you're within sight of the marina, you call the marina office on either Channel 66 on your VHF radio (or by cell phone) and ask if they have a slip for the night (or however long you want to stay). You tell them your boat name, how long you are, whether or not you want shore power, and they'll tell you where to go if they have a spot for you. You get your boat all situated and then you go up to the harbormaster's office and sign their guest book and pay your fee. Our spot at Friday Harbor with shore power for the night is 36 bucks and it comes with pretty fast (and free) Wi-Fi. Not bad!
We headed up into town for some lunch (fish and chips and a beer) at Cask & Schooner, and then picked up a few groceries (including some fresh local clams for dinner tonight) and by the time we headed back to the boat it was raining quite a bit. Our plan is to hang here and get a bunch of work done today/tonight while it's gray and rainy, and then head out early tomorrow morning (when it's supposed to be nice) to cruise around some more, hopefully stumble upon some orcas, and then find a cool spot with a mooring buoy where we can spend the night.
Happy Friday everyone!
