DAY FOUR—Monday, August 13th, 2012

Last night before bed at 2300, I set my phone alarm for 0500. When I awoke I found my phone battery dead—there had been no alarm! With sleep crusted eyes I thought my clock read 0520. In a sort of PANIC, I hustled to cast off from Severance in the still dark morning. Don’t forget, I still have a crab pot to first locate and then retrieve. With the motor still off I slide Whisper away from Severance. After starting the engine I boot up my Raymarine chart plotter and discover that it is only 0420! Oh well, I am committed now and will have plenty of time to make my deadline of 0700 for Deception Pass. By some small miracle (boaters can get too used to that) I am able to locate the black shadow in the predawn reflections on Skagit Bay that is my crab pot floats. Employing my “pot puller” I get the pot on deck, where I leave it and its occupants until there is light enough to deal with it.

I set my nav instruments for minimal illumination in order to preserve my night vision and turn on Whisper’s running and steaming lights. The bow lights are too bright but there is no rheostat so I just block them out with my arm. I ghost slow around the east end of Hope Islandand am still making 3.5 kts in the strong ebb. Constantly shifting my gaze I am able to avoid anchored boats and floating debris. Gloriously, the eastern sky is beginning to lighten. Cornet Baycomes up too soon so I drift for a half hour to enjoy the red eastern sky around Mt. Baker.

As I enter the pass Whisper’s engine is turning 1500 RPMs and I am making 5.5 kts. I increase the RPMs to 2500 because the current is throwing the boat around too much—speed increases to 8.5 kts. At 0550 I look up at the underside of the Deception Pass bridge that connects Whidbey and Fidalgo islands, giving short notice of the lights of the cars overhead. 

 

Because I made the trip two years ago from Spencer Spit to Deception Pass, I am able to recall the route from the chart plotter and using the soft key, select “Reverse and Follow”. But wait, there is a surprise in store--another lesson to be learned. While 0700 might be slack water in Deception Pass, such is not the case with RosarioStraits. Once clear of the Deception waning ebb I encounter the height of the Rosarioebb. Whisper needs to cross this 2 knot stream in order to enter the San Juans around the south end of Decatur Island. Unlike the autopilot, the chart plotter track function will compensate for current set and drift.

My next waypoint destination lies about 300 degrees. In order to make that target, the software sets me up at 335 to 348 degrees heading into the teeth of the current making from 1.6 to 2 kts. This will take a while. I continue to crab across the strait making barely perceptible progress. Taking time to wave at passing tugs, barges and other pleasure craft whizzing past on the southbound current, we complete our crossing to the Lopez Island eastern shore.

Once inside the speed over ground (SOG) increases as we catch a current running north to Spencer Spit. Nearing Frost IslandI prepare the crab pot for deployment near Fawn Islandand then slide through the cut between spit and island with ten feet under Whisper’s keel. I am surprised to discover only three state buoys on the north side of the spit this year. There is one open, thank you, and it remains so as I drop the crab pot in “Gail’s spot” and shut down the engine and instruments at 0845 after a run on 17.3 nm.

During the morning while updating my log in the cabin I hear voices. I climb to the cockpit to discover John and Vickie Barr and their new boat by the same name: Sloop John B, a 1994 Dehler 41. It is spectacular. After a brief chat I invite them to raft up and they do.

After we both spend time house cleaning for company, they invite me aboard for a tour. As a house-warming gift I bring along two Dungeness crab. When the tour is over and we are enjoying coconut rum with lime juice, I view another boat approaching from port—it’s Lee Hall & Vicky on Atlantean, a Bill Garden Fast Passage 41. While John has been cruising for five weeks, Lee has just arrived in the San Juans. We chat about where others are and then say our goodbyes.

 Over the course of twelve hours I check and relocate my crab pot around Fawn Islandfive times. The result is that I am tired. I have hand hauled the pot and wrestled with no less than 75 crab to finally have my daily limit of 5: 3 over 7” & 2 @ 6-1/2”.

In the late afternoon/early evening Severance takes Whisper’s port rail and we have a three boat raft.  

Dave invites me aboard for dinner with Rita, Amy and Paul, but I have already accepted John’s invitation for pasta with crab alfredo.  After much conversation and an empty dessert bowl that used to contain chocolate ice cream with a drizzle of Kalua, it is 2300 and time for bed.  What a great day.