The Best Laid Plans!

My Cruise Planning class instructor's complimentary comments regarding my upcoming cruise through the San Juans made me proud.  And I really did intend to make that trip. I may yet.

But when we cast off the lines, gently back out of our slip this morning and head off into the morning mist, it won't be the beginning of the cruise I had originally planned. Life gets in the way sometimes, as they say, but in the Pacific Northwest the weather can, too.

Our week-long cruise was to start with a visit to Vendovi Island, only about 8 nautical miles from home. Vendovi only recently opened to the public and is only accessible during the daylight hours. No anchoring either due to the preservation efforts for the eel grass beds.

Then we intended to head over to Eagle Harbor on the northeast corner of Cypress Island for the night. The following night we'd spend at Spencer Spit on Lopez Island, then on to Anacortes on Fidalgo Island, a transit through the Swinomish Channel, stopping in La Connor for the night along the way, followed by a transit through Deception Pass, back north to Chuckanut Bay and home. All of this taking a week.

Then the weather got in the way. Wind and rain! Each day I glared up at the sky, bags of food, clothing and navigation charts and tools sitting at the door with no where to go. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. Each day our plans had to be whittled down.

The weather prognosticators promised Thursday would bring a break in the weather. Yes!

Then we got an e-mail from our daughter announcing that our son-in-law's organ concert which had been postponed due to the death of his grandmother, had been rescheduled for Sunday afternoon. Hmmmm.... Now, I'm not complaining here. I love my son-in-law and his organ playing is amazing! There is no way we'd miss this concert. After all, family comes first. But, you can appreciate that, for a moment there, the situation did give me pause.

So, as we depart the dock this morning (It's Thursday) and head off south toward the mist shrouded islands of the San Juan archipelago, we will be heading straight for three days in the Cap Santé marina in Anacortes. On Saturday morning we turn north and head home. Those ports of call will be out there the next time there is a break in the northwest weather. My bags are packed and the waypoints are in the chartplotter.