With the weather this summer, it’s been a late start to “family fun boat time”. After a failed attempt last year to reach Sucia Island in the San Juans, we, or more correctly… I… made it a point of venturing to the island that eluded us last year.

Last summer, one of our very first outings, we decided, or shall I say I decided to go to Sucia Island. During the way up, we were boarded by the coast guard, got the speedometer clogged, and while tapping on the glass of the speedometer, found out the hard way that there was apparently a short in the dash console, because tapping on the glass promptly killed the motor off the shore of Clark Island. Eventually, the boat started and we made it back to Blakely Island for the night. The next day we returned to the boat launch at Twin Bridges, where the boat died again and we ended up bashing the rear of the boat on the gnarly metal log boom. So the following weeks, I got to learn about gel-coat repair, and boat wiring.

This trip, started out with similar luck. Rain water in the bilge made me question the presence of the plug, the GPS crapped out unable to acquire satellites, and the start of crabbing season littered our course with crab pot buoys. But, we ended up busting out the charts, checking the compass and Kyle did a great job taking watch for oncoming crab pot buoys.

For me, Sucia Island lived up to the hype. Got a place on the dock, time to hike around, ate some chicken, and met some nice people on the dock.  It’s a really nice place and we will be back…

All my photos were taken with my new Panasonic DMC-TS2. Water-proof, shock-proof, freeze-proof, I can put it in my pocket… and it can take a nice picture.

Sucia Island in the distance

Haulin' boat

Fossil Bay at sunrise

Trail overlooking south side of Sucia.

Fox Cove at Sunset

Beach at Fossil Bay

Kyle grubbing on some "ghetto sauce" chicken.

Check the my Smugmug Gallery for all of my pictures of our trip.

—G