Weather Forecasts Determine Course

Mt. Baker Watches over Anacortes

Fog is forecast for the Strait of Juan de Fuca and there is fog out of Friday Harbor. We can see the fog over there. We decide against transiting the Strait of Juan de Fuca in favor of the more protected route through the San Juans and east to Anacortes. As usual, we wait for conditions to be the best we can expect and then cast off. Jules has radar so we take the lead; Ruby and Discovery follow. The fog clears in the San Juans, but it is still there as we motor through Thatcher Pass into Rosario Strait. There are fast moving ferries and several other vessels out in the shipping channel. On east, as we reach Guemes Channel, the fog clears and we see the buoys. Red, right, returning.

Unwilling to give up the chance, the sails are deployed and our friends get their chance to experience the joy when we turn off the motor and Jules whooshes along, back and forth. Ruby circles us and heads south through the Swinomish Channel, to end up at Langley at 10 pm. The charter boat Discovery goes to her home marina to visit the pump-out, fuel dock, and to be cleaned, and turned in. Finally, we tie up at Cap Sante marina.

Part of the afternoon is spent in a beautiful cross-stitch shop in downtown Anacortes, but it's "just looking" for us. Then at 7pm we meet the Discovery crew at the Brown Lantern brew pub for lamb burgers with chutney--mmm! We say good-bye to our wonderful Missouri friends. We women play a few games (Bananas, and a new one) before we turn in. Everyone sleeps well.