Exhilarating Sailing Day

April 18, 2023 – We’ve had some blustery days this April and the winds were still blowing 15-20 knots, but today was dry with some moments of glorious sunshine. We sailed out of the harbor and caught the flood current for a super fast wing on wing sail up San Juan Channel. When it became clear we needed to reef the main sail we switched point of sail for a fast beam reach into the channel of Coon and McConnell Islands to reef sails in the benefit of the lee. Jibing gave us a super fast beam reach to the North shore of San Juan Island and enjoy a moment of calm before crossing the chuck to Spieden Island.

Drifting the end of the flood gave us a great view of the Steller sea lions. Rounding the corner we sailed New Channel and passed between the Cactus Islands seeing a few bald eagles. Close hauled sailing across the choppy seas took us to Flattop National Wildlife Refuge for a moments respite before pushing on into wind and swell before tacking to make some Southerly ground. We cut inside Jones Island State Park and made progress against the wind before sailing to Point Caution and hugging the coastline back to Friday Harbor. An exhilarating sailing day for sure.