Sucia Island Rendezvous 2012

Fossil Bay, Sucia Island, near the Canadian Border in the San Juan Islands is the scene for a gathering of small boat enthusiasts the second weekend in July.

This year was a quiet one. The weather was postcard perfect, unless youre a sailor. Boats came and went in an erratic schedule, so it was hard to tell how many attended. A couple big production boats were in the line-up, which was a new twist.

For the sailors, the week was a tease. When a breeze came up we were all seduced but most often, once out of the harbor, boats drifted on the tides while skippers and crew baked in the sun.



Please make no mistake - getting up to a brilliant sunrise every morning is a wonderful thing! I suppose it would be brash to take credit, though Im convinced the weather was so fine because I made up a heavy-duty boom tent that could stand torrential rains for weeks (nay years) on end. That tent became my penance. It is so heavy and ungainly (and I must say unattractive) it took an hour to set up and an equal amount of time to strike. If it werent for the heavy dew fall, I might have abandoned it altogether.

Lets look at the line-up...

Katie Mae belongs to Lynn Watson of Port Townsend. She was built by the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding, under the supervision of Ray Speck
She is a modified 21 foot Drascombe PeterBoat.
Well sailed and an exceptional design, she is hard to keep up with.
I include this photo to demonstrate the contrast of vessels found in Fossil Bay.

Heres Joel and Tim Bergen in their Welsford Navigator, Ellie. 
Joel has some more details about this gathering on his website.

Paul and Arnie sailed in from Cowichan Bay, Vancouver Island, BC.
Pauls boat is a Friendship Sloop designed by Jay Benford, named Friendship. Weve talked about Paul and his fine boat before.
Arnie is a former bosun in the Canadian Navy and an accomplished sailor. It was a pleasure to make his acquaintance.

Marty Loken, from Marrowstone Island brought his newest acquisition, a Iain Oughtred Willyboat.
Marty is as bad as I am about boats - if he loves um he has to bring em home.
Marty runs the Island Boatshop on Mystery Bay, Marrowstone Island, east of Port Townsend.

Ron Mueller cruises the San Juan and Gulf Islands every year in his power cat, Just Enuf.
This plywood EcoCat from Bernard Kohler has a king sized berth, standing headroom galley, and a private head. Ron stores two inflatable kayaks and two folding bikes in the starboard ama. Cruising speed is 10 knots with a top speed of 15 knots, using a 20hp outboard motor.

 

Bob Ennenberg hails from Vancouver, BC, where he built this Jim Michalak pram, Duck. Its Bobs first build and I was impressed how well it sails. He has no permanent furniture inside and its a regular ballroom down below.
Bob is a grade school teacher with perpetual good humor. Hope he comes back next year.

These folks were not here to join us, but what a happy coincidence!

Their beautiful vessel is a Connecticut River Shad Boat.

James McMullen showed up from Anacortes, WA in his sail-and-oar boat Rowan.
James had places to see, so he was there only one night. He told me later that he covered over 60 nautical miles in four days under sail and oar alone. The man has ambition!

James is part owner of Emerald Marine in Anacortes.

And here we have Jamie Orr of Victoria, BC in his Phil Bolger Chebacco, Wayward Lass.
Ive had the pleasure of sailing with Jamie quite a few times, though Im a bit tired of looking at his transom. The Chebacco is an amazing little boat and Jamie handles her well.
Thanks to Jamie for all his organizational efforts concerning this rendezvous!
He has a website to keep us updated and is one of the best cat-herders I know.

You recognize this guy. Its Doryman in Saga. Jamie was gracious enough to circle around and take my picture before he took off for the horizon.
The jib was an experiment and well come back to that later.
Saga is a modified William Atkin Valgerda faering.

I call this the Mother Ship. Chuck Gottfried, his wife Shay and good friend Dean chartered a Baba 30 for the week. Not my cuppa tea, but what luxury!
Here we see Dean firing up some Super Tramp on his digital music player just before breakfast. Not my cuppa either, but the man is happy and thats all that counts.
They sailed in company with some old friends in a C&C 35 and Im sorry to have not gotten a photo of them.

Martin Schneider came from Port Townsend in his Allegra 24 cutter, Clover

Thats a lot of boat in a tidy package. I hope to sail with Martin someday.






That about covers it, hope I didnt miss anyone.

The slideshow from Sucia Island 2012:

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Sucia 2012 Day 1

After what seemed like an interminably wet Spring, the weather finally broke just in time for this years Sucia Small Boat Rendezvous.  My Son and I met up with Marty Loken at Sandy Point marina early Friday morning, arriving almost simultaneously.  After rigging, launching, and puttering a rather long way through Sandy Point, we finally reached the Strait of Georgia, or the "Salish Sea" which some people now call it, but most of us dont, only to discover ... No Wind.  Drats!

Marty rowed his beautiful Whilly Boat for a while.  We motored for a bit.

Then we towed Marty for another bit until finally, we started to feel a breeze.

The breeze steadily increased until whitecaps began forming, so we stopped to put in a reef.

Shortly after we tied in the reef, naturally the breeze started to die off again, so we shook out the reefs. Argh!

Then, up ahead, we saw three Pelicans! I dont think Ive ever seen pelicans around here before, so this was a real treat for us. I even managed to capture them on video as they flew away.

The wind was now almost completely calm, so we started up the outboard again. Then we saw dolphins!  I believe these are Harbor Porpoises.  We spotted them frequently over the course of the weekend.

When we arrived at Fossil Bay we faced this little problem. I had to wait for the tide to come in so I could move Ellie close enough to the beach to set up my clothesline anchor. Note the seaweed.  This is the nasty stuff that nearly killed my outboard motor last year.  The motor sucked some of it into the cooling intake, plugging it, which caused the motor to overheat.  The engine block got so hot it melted the insulation on the wire to the kill switch, grounding it and shutting off the motor. If that hadnt happened, the motor would have surely seized up.

While waiting for the tide to come in, some of the other boats began to arrive.  This gorgeous boat is a Connecticut River Shad boat.  After talking to the owners for a while, I finally realized that they werent a part of our Rendezvous.  They lived on Orcas Island and were just there for the day.  I told them about our yearly Rendezvous and they said maybe they would join us next year.

Others continued to arrive. Directly behind Ellie you can see Doryman Mike standing in his Valgerda and fellow Shopsmith owner and master woodworker Paul Miller in his Friendship.

Is this tide ever gonna finish coming in??? It did (finally).

We set up camp, did a little hiking, planned our next days trip to Patos Island, and enjoyed this beautiful sunset.

We retired, looking forward to tomorrows Fossil expedition and trip to Patos.

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Sucia Small Boat Rendezvous 2014 Day 1

My son Tim and I just got back from one of our favorite annual events - the Sucia Small Boat Rendezvous at Sucia Island State Park.

Like the last two years, we launched at Sandy Point Shores marina. 

The entrance to Sandy Point always makes me a bit apprehensive. The narrow and shallow entrance goes through a blind S-curve, which then opens to a shallow area with a 270 degree exposure to the vast Straight of Georgia.  During an ebb, the tidal current rushes through this S-curve like a river.  At low tide, there is barely enough room for one boat at a time to fit through the entrance.  You have to approach slowly and peek around the corner to see if there are any oncoming boats, then zip through if the coast is clear.

High tide was 8.9ft at 3:18 am
Low tide was -2.4ft at 11:02 am

We launched at 10:00am.  The worst possible time.  Right near the end of a minus tide with a swift outgoing current due to an 11.3 tidal change.

We should be Ok, I figured.  After all, Navigator only draws 6" of water.  In the back of my mind, I wondered if that was still true when fully loaded with two people and a weeks worth of camping gear.

As we approached the entrance, I idled the motor, double checked that the centerboard and rudder were fully up, and cautiously peered around the corner as I slowly crept toward the entrance.

The swift current immediately grabbed Ellie and swept us into the narrow channel. I instantly realized that the current was so strong that there would be no turning back. Id be using the motor to try to stay in the middle of the narrow channel and not much else. I shot a quick glance for oncoming boats, fortunately there were none, thank goodness. The channel looked too narrow for two boats to pass and there was no room to maneuver.  We were going through, no two ways about it.  Along both shorelines we could see about a dozen spectators, waiting to watch the next fool to try and shoot the rapids.  Up ahead the water looked "funny".  Ripply.  Whatd that mean?  Shallow?  Must be shallow.  How shallow?  I glanced over the side.  Gravel!  Crunch!

We were aground in the middle of the narrow channel with a swift current all around us.

Ok, now what?  Think.  Tides going out. We gotta get out of here or well be stuck here for hours, or until the next boat comes along and hits us.  Should I get out and push her off?  Probably a real bad idea.  The strong current would most likely rip the boat from my hands.

I looked over the stern.  The prop was still above ground.  "Ok, Tim, were gonna try and back our way out of this.  Hope it works".

I turned the motor around and gave it half throttle.  Nothing.  Gave it full throttle.  Our mighty 2hp outboard was giving it everything it had, but still nothing.  Still stuck.

"Tim, lets try shifting our weight around".  Ellie slowly started to move, then broke free!  We backed a safe distance away from the gravel bar and took a couple minutes to regain our composure and assess the situation.

Looking more closely at the water, we could see that it was shallow and ripply on the right, but on the left, closer to the opposite shore, it was clearly deeper.  But then it shot directly into a rocky breakwater.  "I think we can make it, Tim.  Well have to hug the left shore, then quickly zip over to the right at the last second to clear the rocks, then were home free".  Tim agreed, it looked doable.

So we checked again for oncoming boats, then cranked up the Honda to half throttle (full speed for Ellie) and rocketed through the channel.

Whew.  Made it!  Next time, we vowed, well pay closer attention to the tides.




After that ordeal, we were rewarded with many hours of  absolutely perfect sailing conditions.  We saw lots of dolphins.  One surfaced less than 20 from the boat.

We arrived at Sucia and set up camp.  This was our first opportunity to try out my new Anchor Buddy - a Fathers Day gift from my daughter Heather.  Thanks, Heather!  It works great.

Thats Cameron Im talking to.  Cameron and his son take a month off every summer and stop by Sucia for the rendezvous.  They sail a beautiful Wayfarer.

Jamie Orr, organizer of the event, always brings along a set of bagpipes, which he uses to greet arrivals, wish them farewell, or summon the group to various get-togethers like wine and cheese night, campfire gatherings, and the around the island race.  Boaters all around the island applaud using their horns.  In this video clip is Bob Ennenberg (Scram Pram "Duck"), Jamie Orr (Chebacco "Wayward Lass"), Paul Miller (Benford Friendship sloop "Friendship") and Dan Rogers (Balboa 16 "Ladybug").  Dan is organizing an 8-day Movable Messabout in Eastern Washington and Idaho that I am looking forward to attending.

Here, Jamie is summoning the group to celebrate the 11th anniversary of this Rendezvous, with a fine bottle of single malt scotch.

There is so much more to write about, but it is getting late.  I will write some more soon.  In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this most beautiful sunset.

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Sucia Small Boat Rendezvous 2014 Day 2

Saturday morning, after sleeping in a bit late, I fired up the Kelly Kettle while Tim did some writing.  Our Kelly Kettle, by the way, was a big hit.  Just about everyone who saw it was impressed with the speed it could boil water.  Several said they were going to get one for themselves.

There was no reason to hurry because we werent going anywhere.  This is what the perigee-syzygy  does to shallow Fossil Bay.

 

A -2.8 tide does provide an excellent opportunity to see parts of the island normally hidden from view.  Like Sucias treacherous reefs for example.

"Boaters should use caution when in the waters around this park. The word "sucia" is Spanish, meaning foul or dirty in a nautical sense. It refers to the numerous rocks and reefs which surround the island. These rocks and reefs have grounded and sunk numerous boats since European explorers first named the island in the 1790s. Boaters should check their charts frequently and pay particular attention to Clements Reef on the north shore of Sucia, as well as the entrances to Ewing Cove, Fox Cove, and Shallow Bay. There is a long reef which extends to the west of Little Sucia Island. Reefs also extend outward from Ev Henry Point, North and South Finger islands, and the Cluster Islands".

A couple years earlier I discovered what remained of one unfortunate boaters yacht, claimed by the reef at the entrance to Fox Cove.  This mornings low tide would be a great opportunity to see if the shipwreck was still there.

As I was about to set out for some shipwreck and fossil exploration, James McMullen appeared, looking for someone interested in going for a hike.  I told him about my plans and he agreed to join me.

We found the rusted, barnacle encrusted remains of the engine block and the boats windlass right where I remember seeing them years before.  They were straddled one on either side of the reef that obviously sank the boat.  We looked for evidence of exactly where the boat hit the reef but saw no obvious scratches or anything in the reef, but James found some other bits of metal nearby.

From there, we went on to explore the fossils on the southern cliffs of the point.  Every year they look a bit different as the cliffside slowly erodes away, replacing last years fossils with newly exposed ones.  Fossilized clams are by far the most common.  We didnt see anything else this year, but James discovered an unusually large one.

Later that afternoon, when the tide came in, Tim and I finally had an opportunity to explore Little Sucia Island.  This is a completely undeveloped little island just outside of Fox Cove.  It is surrounded by reefs and swift currents.  There is only one small patch of beach suitable to land a boat. The little bay on the North side looks inviting, but its a boulder field just below the surface. We anchored at the patch of beach and walked around the island.  The entire shoreline is covered with rocks and there are no trails, no campsites, and no indication that anyone has ever visited the island.  Quite nice, actually!

We returned to our campsite at Fossil Bay.  Tim went for another hike out to Ev Henry point.  As he came around a corner, he startled two bald eagles which took flight only a few feet from him. He said he could hear the wind whistling through their feathers and it scared the crap out of him!  Tim also came across a pile of white feathers, apparently the remains of a seagull eaten by something.  The park ranger we talked to later said it was probably a hawk.

Later that afternoon was Wine and Cheese night, a visit from my fishing buddy Ray, followed by an evening around the campfire with drinks and music.

Good times.

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Sucia Rendezvous Countdown

I wont bore you with details about itinerary or course because I havent a clue. But a cruise of any kind requires much the same preparation.

Is the boat seaworthy? Saga has been completely re-caulked and painted. Shes a boat of a certain age who holds her years well.

Last season suggested some changes and the first is, lighten your load. Ill be on the water approximately two weeks, no need to take two months worth of food, as happened last year. Perhaps the extra provisions were simply wishful thinking.
Because the truth is, I could spend the rest of my life living from anchorage to anchorage. Two weeks is just not enough.

This year Saga will sport a jib. The theoretical implications might be endless, though I am willing to just see what happens. Though a designer by training, I prefer to learn by educated trial, with intuition as the impetus. There is an element of art in boat building which beguiles the scientific and mathematical.

You might also know that I support recycling and repurposing. There was this old wood box full of junk in the shed that once belonged to a shipwright from the steel yards after the last world war. He was a simple old man who lived close to the earth and saved everything. When he passed, imagine the cornucopia of hardware he left behind. This box probably has a history beyond my years. Never, in  the thirty years Ive had it has the old wood box had a lid, but now it does. (made from leftover scrap).

The green bag holds the head.

 As the more astute will note, the top of the box is the perfect size for my old Salish Sea cruising atlas, which predates the Salish Sea by more than twenty years (1980). New technology has its place, but much of the datum on these charts is close to a hundred years old, so a chart from 1980 is just as helpful as your newest GPS. Please note that the lid is reversible and upside-down it will make a fine dining tray (the mess kit is inside)..






Next to the old/new box is 200 feet of new anchor rode on the spare, collapsible anchor. I had to use this backup anchor last year and the old rode was simply unacceptable.

To the rear of the cockpit is Sagas new sign board. Beautifully done by Brandon Ford.

Youve all heard about the new deadeyes. This photo is included here because its incredible.

The cockpit tent we threw together last year was a failure. It leaked. This time there will be a new tent. Possibly a bit of over-kill, this new design is made from 10oz. vinyl coated nylon. The material must have been weighed before coating, because its heavy as a truck tarp. A 20# (total weight) tarp is much more than enough. At any rate, its not done yet but Ill post a picture as soon as it is.




Only a few days left until Sucia Island Rendezvous 2012. Its going to be great.

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Sucia Island Rendezvous 2015

July 10-13 was yet another great gathering of small gunkholing boats in Fossil Bay, Sucia Island, one of the wonderful Washington State marine parks in the San Juan Islands. Its hard to beat the camaraderie of good friends in a beautiful spot aboard some of the most seaworthy small vessels around.

This year there were nine boats carrying eleven sailors. A small but tenacious group, all with credentials as able seamen and women.

Jamie came from Victoria BC in his Phil Bolger Chebacco, Wayward Lass, fresh from the R2AK, where he made it to Johnstone Strait before succumbing to intense headwinds.
This is the view we usually have of Jamie.

Bob sailed Sally Forth, his beloved Drascome Longboat. Its easy to see why he loves this boat so much. He uses a very well designed cockpit tent for sleeping aboard. Additional photos can be found on the Doryman Flickr site.

Paul navigated from Cowichan Bay, Vancouver Island, in his Jay Benford Friendship. He recently upgraded his rigging by moving the headstay to the masthead and installing a roller furling genoa. Sadly the winds were very light, so he couldnt show us how pleased he is with his new wings.

Claire and John came from Whidbey Island in their new Night Bird. A lot of boat in a compact package. Please note the pop-top deck.

Joel and his son Tim winged from Edmonds in their John Welsford Navigator, Ellie. Navigator Joel employs a tidy clothesline anchoring system to keep Ellie close to camp.

Randy arrived in his new Belhaven 19, Clementine. I sailed with Randy in our annual "race" around Sucia. The winds and currents are fickle around this island of many faces and we have yet to complete a single race, in many years of trying. This year may have been the shortest race of all.

Joe trailered from Texas with his wood runabout. He didnt know he came to see us, it was serendipity. I met Joe four years ago while cruising around the Canadian Gulf Islands after this same rendezvous. It was good to see him again, hes a sailors sailor, with a fruitful life and many interesting stories to tell.








Ron motored in with his efficient outboard driven catamaran, Just Enuf, a plywood EcoCat from Bernard Kohler. Ron really gets around with this little cat. You may have seen his distinctive vessel around the Salish Sea.






I sailed the forty five nautical miles from Port Townsend in Belle Starr. Thats her in the photo near the top of the post. She always gets me there and back, safely and in style.

A small but fun group. The Sucia Island Rendezvous was lovely as ever, a tradition well worth keeping.

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Sucia!

My Son and I just got back from a 4-day adventure to Sucia Island.  We were a part of the annual Sucia Small Boat Rendezvous.

Sucia Island State Park is a 564-acre marine park with 77,700 feet of shoreline. Sucia Island is considered the crown jewel of Washington States marine park system. It is consistently ranked as one of the top boating destinations in the world. Sucia Island and several smaller island comprise the "Sucia group."

We departed Bellingham marina around 8:00 am on Friday 7/8/2011.  Soon after launching it began to rain and the wind picked up so we donned our foul weather gear.

About an hour later the weather cleared and we were able to sail all the way to Sucia except for a couple brief periods of motor-sailing. The sailing was wonderful!  Here we are approaching Matia Island.

We arrived at Fossil Bay at around 2:30 in the afternoon, set anchor and waded ashore to greet those that had already arrived and await those who hadnt yet.  There is Ellie, of course, in the foreground. Thats John Bigelow in the William Garden "Eel" behind her.  John and I talked a lot and got to be good friends. The gentleman in the inflatable kayak snapping photos of John is the Doryman Michael Bogoger.

Next to arrive was Rick and his wife Judy aboard the Welsford Houdini "Gertrude". Judy hand carved the carving on the bow.  The meaning of the carving (I hope I get this right) goes like this, from front to back:  First is Gertrude, always looking forward. In her flowing hair are three sections. The first, just behind her head has twists that represent the wind. In the next twist are waves that represent the sea. The last twist has an eye that represents how Gertrude is ever watchful to keep her crew safe.

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About that time I noticed there were many rocks on the beach, while nearby Fox cove had a much sandier beach. I decided to motor Ellie around to Fox cove which I figured would be easier on Ellie when the tide went out.  I got half way out of Fossil Bay when my outboard managed to suck up a bunch of seaweed, overheated, and died.  I could not get the motor restarted so I sailed back to where I started from and re-anchored.  Heres Ellie at low tide. No damage was done to the hull by the rocks.

I spent a restless night worrying about my outboard.  Was it fried from overheating? Would I be able to get it running tomorrow or would I need to sail all the way back to Bellingham and dock under sail in a crowded marina?
Next morning finally arrived and I carefully picked all the seaweed out of the outboard motors cooling intake with a bent piece of wire and after a bit more tinkering, it started!  What a relief!

Tim and I set about exploring the island. I wont even try to explain how beautiful Sucia is. Ill let these photos do the talking.

Every year the Sucia Small Boat Rendezvous attempts an around Sucia race. Its never been sucessful because the wind always dies. This year was no exception. We were able to sail about 1/4 way around but had to motor the rest of the way.  But we took advantage of the opportunity to poke into the various bays and do some exploring.

After the "race" there was time for more exploring before the evenings Wine and Cheese night. Tim and I took a hike out to Ev Henry point which is the South East point of Sucia.

That night, at Wine and Cheese Night, Jamie Orr played the bagpipes and everyone had a terrific time sharing finger foods and spirits. I drank too much and consequently didnt take any pictures. Sorry!

This is the view from our camp site. I woke up early Sunday morning and took an early morning hike out to the Southwest point of Fox Cove. I forgot to take the camera of course so naturally I didnt get photos of the six sea otters playing in the bay not 50 feet from me, occasionally stopping to grunt at me to go away. Nor did I get photos of the bald eagles or the blue herons feeding on fish for breakfast, or the rusted remains of an engine block and windlass lying on the dangerous rocky reef that extends halfway across the entrance to Fox cove at low tide.

Later Sunday the three of us (Tim, Myself and our pineapple named "Wilson") hiked out to Snoring Bay. Sadly, Wilson did not survive.  We buried his remains at sea.

Monday morning we said our farewells and headed for home, but stopped at Matia Island for a visit.  There were two empty spaces at the dock in Rolfe cove so we tied up and took a one mile hike through the wildlife preserve which makes up most of Matia.

 We ran into this fellow on the trail.  One of the biggest slugs weve ever seen!

 After leaving Matia we had a terrific sail back to Bellingham marina.

 

After arriving at Bellingham we went straight for ice cream and burgers!
Ellie performed magnificently.  We cant wait till next year to do it again!

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