Garrison Bay, San Juan Island

Garrison Bay, San Juan Island near Roche Harbor 5/10/2019


The weather over the past week or so has been spectacular for this time of year. The temperatures have risen steadily to a high of almost 80F today, a heat wave here for this time of year. 

The skies are severe clear and all the locals are in sundresses, tank tops etc. We wimpy Texans are enjoying the warmth but do feel the cool wind coming off the water, especially when in the shade.

Now that's more like it! Fair winds and calm seas as we transit the narrow St John's Pass.

Travel from Stuart Island to Garrison Bay was flat calm all the way.

Today we were advised to anchor in Garrison Bay, just abeam of English Camp where British troops were garrisoned during the 1859 - 72 Pig War. 

The bay had plenty of water at low tide, good holding, well protected and very calm. 

We dinghied into Roche Harbor and enjoyed a great lunch (fantastic fish & chips or Susann) on the patio at Madrona Café, overlooking the marina. 

Roche Harbor was quaint and much smaller than we realized. We were originally booked into the marina for the following 2 nights but decided we had seen what there was to see in an afternoon and at a dockage fee of $120 per night, we opted to just enjoy a tasty lunch.
The waterfront is dominated by the historic Hotel de Haro.

We believe these wooden ladders to be the fire escape from days gone by.

We enjoyed a quiet evening and sunset aboard. As we watched several small, motor-less wooden dinghies with the captain rowing to shore, Alan exclaimed that these sailors were definitely sexist, since they appeared not share the rowing task with their female companion!