The Shakedown Cruise: Blind Bay to Friday Harbor

The Shakedown Cruise: Blind Bay to Friday Harbor

As we were getting ready to go this morning, Channel 16 cackled to life again. It was a Bridge Jumper at Deception Pass! The jumper turned out to be a 57-year-old man, and the U.S. Coast Guard recovered his body some miles downstream.

My Humans talked about it for a couple of minutes; apparently, 57 is young in Human years. They reflected on our first sail together, before my upgrades and overhaul—and we had been through Deception Pass. My Male Human, having an aviation background, was well prepared then (and now). He measured and calculated every detail, and we waited in Bowman Bay for a few hours until the slack tide crossed, which we did with no catastrophe.

Deception Pass is spectacular but challenging, even for experienced sailors, which my Humans are not. It is the unofficial arrival to the San Juan Islands and is created by the gap between Whidbey Island’s north end and Fidalgo Island’s south end. It is bordered by high rock walls on each side and, at specific points, over 180 feet of water. That water can move so fast that it creates some of Puget Sound’s strongest and most dangerous currents.

Four times a day, the waters of the Strait of Juan de Fuca (to the west) and those of Saratoga Passage (to the east) surge through the narrow opening of Deception Pass. At peak flow, two million cubic feet of water rush through it–per second!  Let me explain that. One cubic foot of seawater weighs about 64 pounds. So, at peak flow, more than 127 million pounds of seawater, or almost 64,000 tons, flow through Deception Pass per second! About eight times more water than the average flow of the Columbia River.

Can you believe that at least one person a month jumps to their death from that bridge? The bridge is 180′ high, but the waters eat up humans and boats alike.

Deception Pass was the first solo sail my Humans and I took together six months ago—another story you can read about here. But back to the shakedown cruise.

They finished putting the battens in my sails, ‘Locktiting’ everything as they went, and we were off.

It was a busy morning out here on the water. First, the jumper, then navy tactical training, was being conducted, in which a voice boomed out, commanding a Canadian Warship to Slow Down, which is a double dose of irony.

As we neared Friday Harbor, I heard my name on the radio! What a thrill.

“Gypsea Explorer. Gypsea Explorer. Gypsea Explorer.”

A Research Vessel invited us to come by slowly to look at a pod of Orcas they were observing. Those Research Guys are like the Forest Service Rangers of the Seas. My Female Human used to live in a short school bus named Bubba (she’s writing a book about that), and she says the Forest Service folk were her best friends.  Nature Nerds who wanted to share all the secrets. Seeing those Orcas play around was pretty cool.

But then we entered Friday Harbor, which was a hot mess.  Huge, boisterous ferries ran in and out every few minutes, loudly and proudly sounding horns to clear the way. The sky was dotted with floatplanes, skidding onto the water from all directions. And the boats! Sailboats of every make and model: catamarans, power boats, humans on jet skis. Sunken ships and wrecks are littering the floor here, and a cable pipeline is buried deep in the water. It was controlled chaos.

My Humans anchored in one spot but decided to move when an oversized, bare-bellied man, drinking a beer, began leaning over the rail and gawking at us from his own boat—and I use that term loosely; it looked more like floating firewood me; but then I am a Sexy Sceptre of the Seas. Our next anchorage was better, but we were close to a private boat and dock. My Humans decided to re-anchor a third time in the middle of the night to give ole Greenie at the Dock more room.  After all the anchor practice, we stayed here for three nights.

Until Next Time…. Fear-Less/Adventure-More!

S/V Gypsea Explorer and her Humans: Heather & Chris

5 Songs for Friday Harbor, San Juan Islands!

“It’s Finally Friday”  George Jones

 “Good Times”  Alan Jackson

“Road To Nowhere”  Talking Heads

“My Life”  Billy Joel

“Life Is A Highway” Rascall Flatts

And, if this tickles your propellor, grab 5 Months of Amazon Prime Music Here–FREE!

And check out some of my favorite tunes for sea!

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