This is part two of a four part series of our sailing trip to the San Juan Islands over Memorial Day weekend.

Day 1 – Launch, Bellingham to Matia Island
Day 2 – Matia Island to Friday Harbor
Day 3 – Friday Harbor to Rosario, Orcas Island
Day 4 – Rosario, Orcas Island to Clark Island

On Friday I woke up to a wet and cloudy day. Captain Mike had already been up for some time and had gone for a run around the island. After we had some breakfast we donned our long undies, foulies, hats, gloves, and life vests and pulled up the anchor. We were still deciding whether to go to Roche Harbor or Friday Harbor. I really like both towns but Friday Harbor has a bigger selection of restaurants and Friday is date night! And no Friday would be complete without visiting Friday Harbor. It was a wet and windy ride, heading straight into the chop. Knowing there would be a hot shower at the end we had a lot of fun getting wet and keeping warm with hot cocoa.

When we got within 5 minutes of Friday Harbor we called the marina via VHF and were immediately assigned a slip on one of their large overnight docks.  They charge roughly one dollar per foot (I say roughly because it varies by season) and a couple of dollars for electricity. Be sure to bring lots of quarters since showers are a quarter per minute with a five minute minimum.

Since our little boat does not have a heater we brought a small electric heater with tilt-shut-off from home which we would only be able to use at the dock. Friday in Friday Harbor was very chilly and we had lots of wet cloths so we were glad to have remembered it… until it stopped working… Our boat is equipped with shore-power and two GFCI protected outlets. After running the heater for a while we heard the outlet go “pop” and off went the cozy heater. We tried and tried to push the reset button but it was stuck. Captain Mike turned of the shore-power and unscrewed the outlet. There was quite a bit of corrosion so we headed into town to scout out a new outlet and some lunch.

A little ways up the main road (Spring Street – it’s hard to miss) is an Ace hardware store conveniently located just across the street from a West Marine Express. At Ace we bought a new outdoor GFCI outlet and then had lunch overlooking the harbor at Blue Water Bar & Grill which had fairly average food. Everyone’s tastes are different so I won’t make this into a food critic blog but it wasn’t our favorite. The view sure was nice though!

When we got back to the boat Captain Mike installed the new outlet and voilà! we had heat. Our little boat almost felt like a luxury yacht. We cleaned up, took naps, and caught up on some reading since, of course, it was raining again. When the rain let up we partook in one of our favorite activities: Dock Walking. It is always amazing to see all the different states of disrepair some owners let their boats be in. After we had our fill of of Ooohs and Ahhhs and Would-you-look-at-that-boat-can-you-believe-its we headed into town for our dinner date.

When we got to the restaurant I had eyed earlier we were told that they were already closed. I was appalled until I looked at my watch and noticed it was already after 9 o’clock. The long Pacific Northwest had fooled me again. Of course since we had not seen the sun all day it is perfectly excusable. We walked all over town and found that the entire town shuts down by nine. We were starting to head back to the boat via the high road (1st Street) when we saw a sign for a restaurant and tried our luck. They must be the only restaurant in town that serves dinner until 10pm. Not to mention that the Bluff Restaurant is very nice with a gorgeous view of the harbor below. Perfect for date night! We enjoyed fresh mussels, crab cakes, and a couple of drinks. A perfect ending to another rainy day in the San Juan’s.

PASSAGE NOTES AND PHOTOS

Quick overview if Friday Harbor amenities
A blustery day

Though you have the right-of-way look out for float planes pulling into Friday Harbor