We're into the home stretch, as it were, a period I always have difficulty with, and it's proving to be no exception on this trip. When it's clear that the going places and doing stuff is about wrapped up, I want to just wrap it up all the rest of the way and put a ribbon on it: done! But it's rarely that easy. So I'm trying to enjoy the time we have left between now and when our slip opens up again at the end of the month (actually, I'm concerned about that; this started out as the most difficult sublet we have ever done, and I am hoping that the end won't be as complicated--or delayed--as the beginning was).
The weather, at least, has cooperated. After a little rain the night we spent in Roche Harbor, the days have been clear and sunny, if not genuinely hot. We ducked up to Stuart Island and spent a couple nights in Reid Harbor there. Mandy made me hike all the way out to Turn Point, a prominence which we have seen often enough from the water but never before from land. It's a different perspective looking out on all the islands and vessel traffic from the lighthouse. The lighthouse itself is a bit of a disappointment... it's all automated now, but even back in the day apparently it was just a little concrete plinth about five feet high. The location, high on a bluff, provided all the height necessary without the grand extravagance of a tower. Now there is just a rather unimposing beacon and a steel frame festooned with antennas and video cameras used by the Coast Guard's Vessel Traffic Separation scheme (in which Turn Point is a prominent chokepoint deserving of great respect from boaters).
The lightkeeper's house and outbuildings are much more picturesque. On sunny days, I imagine it was a fine life up there on the bluff watching the ships go by. We didn't see it in the rain, but I can imagine it was less ideal through the winter months.
They managed to situate the place on the opposite side of every hill on the island from the marine park, so we got a good workout going back and forth. The anchorage in Reid Harbor was grand: well-protected, reasonably quiet, solid holding and convenient to the park landing. The one thing it didn't have was cellular service. Unless, of course, one hiked to the top of one of the many hills, in which case one could easily pick up a signal from... Canada. It's one of the more northern San Juan islands, and there are only about forty permanent residents, so I am sure it's not real high on T-mobile's list of places to cover. But as it happened, I had left a business conversation hanging on our departure from Roche, so we pulled back out after two nights and wandered over to Deer Harbor on Orcas. I am writing this from there on a quiet evening with light westerlies that have just about blown themselves out, but I have some trepidation about what the evening will bring. The next storm system is due in overnight, and with it strong-ish southeast winds, and we've never been in this harbor before. It looks pretty darned open to the south/southeast. So, we'll see how it goes. We may be pulling out early if it gets dicey. Fortunately, there are few other boats here and we have some room to swing.
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