Saturday: Shoal Bay, Lopez Island to Fisherman Bay, Lopez Island to Parks Bay, Shaw Island

Things looked to be back on track this morning. The crab trap had one keeper, not a record-setting haul but enough to build a dinner around. We used a can of cat food for bait, and Zoe was more interested in it than the crab, apparently.

The sun was out, our anchorage had been calm last night, and the engine repair had been successful.

We decided to take a two part cruise today, first around to Fisherman Bay on the other side of the island, then to a different place for anchoring overnight. We’ve gone into Fish Bay, as the locals call it, before but never stayed because the scenery is not terribly pretty. But the small village of Lopez is nearby and on Saturdays there is a farmers’ market, so we decided that we might as well go in and explore. The entrance to Fish Bay is narrow, S-shaped, and quite shallow. Since the tide would drop very low while we were there, we would have about five or six hours to kill before we would be able to leave again.

We got into the bay, anchored, and took the dingy ashore to one of the two big marinas. Lopez Island is pretty flat, unlike most of the other San Juans, and is a popular place for bicyclists because of that. People ride the ferry with their bikes or rent them on the island, and enjoy the rural feeling and nice scenery. Walking is easy, too, and it only took about thirty minutes to walk into “town.” Lopez is a very small village, about on the order of Eastsound that we visited earlier but we didn’t think it was quite as charming. We went to the farmers’ market that is set up in a big field, and while it was interesting it was a bit of a misnomer – there was only one food stall, the rest was arts and crafts and a bit of a let down after the eclectic goods we saw in Ganges. Here’s a shot of the layout:

We stopped in the grocery store for some ready-made sandwiches and salads and took them out to a driftwood log on the beach for lunch. Around the corner from where we ate there is a big wetlands area that is protected, but there is a small trail that goes out to a viewing platform in the middle of it. Here you can see some of the area with the bay in the background.





Then we stopped by the library for internet access and went back to the boat to wait for the tide to come back up high enough that we could transit the exit. While waiting, we talked to Michael some more about the aftermath of his accident – he is one lucky guy. Only cuts and bruises physically, and only about $80 in damages to his bike, glasses, and clothing. He was preparing to call the driver of the car to ask for a reimbursement.

Finally, about 3:00, we figured the conditions were right and set off for our overnight destination, Parks Bay on Shaw Island. It’s a beautiful place, one of the few in the San Juans that is surrounded by trees and no houses. That’s because it’s a biological preserve, owned by the University of Washington. You’re not allowed to go ashore, but anchoring is fine and it’s very pretty and quiet.

Kristine decided that today would do as the second half of her birthday celebration, so we had a crab dinner and opened presents. Around dinner time we noticed that the sky was suddenly getting very dark, and within a couple of hours it let loose with a dramatic lightening / thunder / rain storm. It’s unusual for a storm like that to come up so quickly around here, but boy did it go nuts. No wind, just straight down torrents of rain and flashes that lit up the whole bay – they must have been close. The rain subsided as we were going to bed, and the lightening and thunder seemed to be moving on, but we could still see and hear their effects as we went to sleep.