Anchorage: Tumbo & Cabbage Islands

At the Southeast corner of Canada's Gulf Island lies the dual islets of Tumbo & Cabbage Islands, and they do feel remote. Although we've only been there in dead calm water, we're a little intimidated to stare into 90 miles of open water on the Straight of Georgia directly off our bow.

However, one 10-minute walk around the entire Cabbage Island and we were hooked for life. We recommend visiting on a Sunday afternoon, when everyone else is gone. However, the weather kept most boaters away and we shared the anchorage channel with only three other boats.

Plus, we had the sunset you see above. Do you see the same sailboat in the clouds that I do?

Marina: Port Browning

A few miles North of popular Poet's Cove resort is Port Browning Marina, which is the antithesis of Poet's Cove. While Poet's Cove has its posh resort & spa and guaranteed fancy yachts at the dock, Port Browning has a very large and well kept lawn, small but fantastic pub, and short walk to the commerce center of the Pender Islands.

(c) Port Browning Marina

A key reason for us to return to a marina is food, which usually means a high-quality, nearby restaurant. However, in this case, both of the onsite options are outstanding. By coincidence, both of our stays were on Sunday nights, where the roast beef with Yorkshire Pudding special is absolutely fantastic in the main pub. At the cafe on the side of the building, we recommend any of the eggs benedict for breakfast. And remember, in Canada, Canadian bacon is called "bacon." Just like in France, where French food is called "food."

Life: Arm-Powered Adventure

Now that greater Seattle is finally digging out of its cold and rainy streak, I am doing some serious sun-seeking whenever it's out. But, as regular readers know, each spring and fall, I deliver the m/v Jenny G from Seattle to the San Juan Islands so that we can be in the San Juan's as often as we'd like via a 90 minute drive rather than a 5-hour, not-weather-guaranteed passage.

So, I've had some regrets about delivering the boat to Anacortes in April, since I have more time on my hands than usual this spring and would have enjoyed taking out the boat for a few hours on these sunny afternoons. But, not to be thwarted, I inflated the Jenny G's tender at the Sunnyside Boat Ramp and rowed to the Washington Park Arboretum. I think this was about 4 miles round trip and, with stops along the way, I burned about 4 hours making the trip. Next time, I'll stop at either Agua Verde or Ivar's for a beer ;)

Anchorage: Sucia Island

Sucia Island is next door to Matia Island....literally a few minutes, even at displacement speeds. Sucia is the grand jewel of Washington State Park islands and, thanks to phenomenal support from the boating community, is extremely accessible to a large number of boaters without being overcrowded or destroyed.

We prefer Shallow Bay, since m/v Jenny G's flat bottom allows us to anchor in a few feet of water. I prefer about five feet under the transom at low tide, to minimize the risk of swinging against any large rocks. The State generally doesn't set its mooring buoys in less than 15 feet, so we are always anchored between the buoy field and shore.

Since Sucia has so many trails, we try to complete a new one each time we're there, and this trip was no exception. The Ev Henry Point trail was wonderful because all of the wildflowers were in bloom, including ones we'd never seen before. The flowers below were particularly interesting, since the rim of the flower will eventually split into two leaves. The actual orange cones must drop off after blooming, since only the leaves remain from previous seasons.

At any rate, Sucia Island is never a disappointment. If you have a boat, go to this island and stay for the weekend!

Blogging: m/v Jenny G now available on Your Smartphone

As The Admiral will tell you, I have a love/hate relationship with technology. While I want it to be there, it just simply isn't.

However, occasionally something new comes along that actually works the first time. In this case, courtesy of Google, it's a mobile-enabled template for Blogger sites like this one.

So, if you've got a Smartphone, you are invited to access the blog from it at any time and I hope you'll like the new presentation format!

Anchorage: Matia Island

Now that Puget Sound has broken its 100-day streak of rain & clouds and even had an over-70-degree-day, The Admiral and I finally had a chance to start our boating season  over Memorial Day weekend.

Our first stop was a new anchorage for us: Matia Island. Apparently no one agrees on how to pronounce it, so we don't know if it's (May-sha) or (Ma-Tea-a). Regardless, it is part of the San Juan National Wildlife Refuge and is packed with birds, particularly the old forest in the center of the island. Speaking of old forest, here's the Admiral standing inside a particularly old cedar.

We anchored Southwest of Rolfe Cove in a smaller cove that we had all to ourselves. Our entertainment for the evening was a young seal that was clearly playing - rather than fishing - by corkscrewing through the water and jumping out of the water like a dolphin.

Overall we highly recommend this island, though beware that Rolfe and the smaller cove are exposed to North winds, which we had a-plenty overnight. Perhaps a really long shore tie would have put our bow into the wind?