A cloudy start with the ebb current from Prideaux Harbor to Otter Island. By the time I got to Otter Bay the sun was out, and I ferry’d between the train of boats leaving anchor to go between Melville and Morgan islands, trying to find some respite from the increasing ebb.

A quick stop at Powell River for pumpout, trash and water. Surprisingly free, and no waiting for the pump out. Several Orca and Graywhale sightings near Copeland Islands. The sun slowly faded behind dark clouds the closer we got, and after no wind all day it was ripping down Homfray Channel as soon as we passed Mink Island. Puttered around the anchorage for a bit before we spotted the last available chain ring near the entrance. I’m a bit rusty with stern tying so it took longer than it should have but it worked out pretty well.

Left the dock at 0400 to go thru Malibu Rapids just before 5 which worked out perfect. Little nerve racking with reduced visibility but it went smooth. Head winds met the ebb in a few places and made for some splashiness, but overall nice with clouds and sun coming out towards the end. Only saw one other sailboat headed up Jerbia Inlet.

Sun brightened clouds and more waterfalls after yesterday’s downpour 😇

Rain all day had the waterfalls bursting, with new ones springing up every hour. Had to get off the boat and get wet!

5 stars. Wasn’t even mad when it started raining, seems like it should be here. Lost count of waterfalls. Ventured down to the first eddy at the rapids, it was flowing about 6 knots on the ebb so didn’t feel like going further down and having to struggle back up. The main attraction here is mooring next to Chatterbox Falls, with James Bruce Falls towering above . At 2755ft tall, it’s the tallest waterfall in North America.

We did it! Been wanting to get here ever since we got the boat. Totally lives up to expectations.

Low tide made for a crunchy portage to Bargain Bay over a shell midden creek. Enjoyed the calm sheltered water on the West side before going against the current and the East wind back to Pender Harbor.

Excellent day to cross Georgia Strait

Pretty chill motoring with a brief delay at customs waiting for room at the dock. Didn’t want to deal with shallow Pirates cove entrance in the morning so found a spot on the other side, hopefully it’s not too exposed for tonight’s weather.

A very gray day, with a slight hint of a sunrise. The channel felt wider and the trees seemed taller with the low tide.

Lumpy again with a building East wind. Super fun downriver section from North end of Patos back to Sucia, where I portaged from Shallow Bay back to Echo.

Active waters, strong currents, but pretty chill. Lots of starfish at very low tide.

Easy peasy cruise with the current to Echo Bay.

A difficult row with a stiff SW breeze

Kind of a weird route near slack tide but it was a fun one.

Ext need the route to grindstone Harbor to get over 20 miles. 1st 4 hours were pretty easy, last hour was gnarly on the legs and slow. All in all a good tour on the San Juans 🤙🏼

The dilemma with paddling in a beautiful place is constantly wanting to stop and take photos. I only allowed myself to stop 4 times this morning 🦅

Solid North headwind today made Northward progress slow. Downwind from Jones Island back to the harbor was very fun.

PR for me on this route, got really locked into this current and rode it around Griffin Bay. Other attempts I have overshot the turn and gotten sucked towards Cattle Pass too far, or undershot and get caught up in the middle slosh.

West wind picked up toward the end. Sheriff stopped to make sure I was okay out in the channel 😄

Unreal weather today 🫠

Lowest tide of the year