Around Guemes

Guemes Island just north of Anacortes

The weather was great and I am finally feeling better (I’ve been sick for what seems like forever) so I went for a great paddle around Guemes Island.  It was nice to go out exploring for a change.  Seems like most of my paddling lately has been repeat adventures.  Don’t get me wrong I love my usual places like Deception Pass, but there is something really refreshing about going someplace I’ve never been.

A closer look at the path we took

We left from Seafarers Park in Anacortes.  Great launch location.  Nice protected beach with a very short walk to the parking lot.  And it’s free!  The weather was forecasting wind waves up to two feet.  However for most of the trip it was closer to two inches.  It was like glass out there.  Temperature was perfect.  The point where the necessary drysuit is still comfortable.  We decided on a counterclockwise trip around the island to best take advantage of the ebb current later in Bellingham Channel.  There was pretty much no current as we headed north past Cap Sante Bluff ( a really cool park to hike around at ) and toward Youngs Park.  This park is a real gem.  We had it all to ourselves as we ate our lunch and enjoyed the view.  We could see Vendovi and Lummi Islands in the distance.

Pretty tough to handle such rough conditions

I took this time to try out my new coffee mug that I bought at Body Boat Blade.  The Brew Mug. It has its own filter that stores in the base.  Works like a charm.  I love this little contraption.  Designed by Reg Lake a local paddler that is a really cool person with a wealth of knowledge and experience.   It was at Youngs Park that we got to go wading as I dropped my course plotter overboard.  It sank in about five feet of water.  Thank you drysuit!!!  Course plotter found and food in the belly and we ready to go.

Rounding the north end of the island I could see the Cone Islands and Pelican Beach in the background.  I have plans to camp at Pelican Beach soon and it made me excited for the upcoming trip.  Now we started to get that free ride from the current that I love so much.  GPS showed a speed of 6 knots as we casually paddled south.  Guemes has some amazing shoreline.  The east side and west side are drastically different from each other, but each are beautiful in their own way.

Youngs Park

After a quick stop at the Guemes Ferry dock for a break we crossed back over to Anacortes.  Now the current was against us, but not too bad.  Very little boat traffic.  Give it a month and I won’t want to be anywhere near this place as the power boats take over.  I paddled amongst the pilings and the ships in drydock.

Only shipping traffic we had to deal with

The day offered so much variety.  Surprisingly very little wildlife.  A couple of seals and a deer was all we saw.  In the past I’ve seen porpoises, otters, and orca whales in this same are.  No such luck today.

I worried a bit about keeping up with Ed’s brand new NDK Explorer.  A boat that I have heard is a fast tourer.  My Illusion did great.  We cruised along pretty consistently at about 4 knots.  The two boats seemed pretty evenly matched.  Nearly 15 nm.  Great paddle!

View of Lummi (left) and Vendovi (right)