Thursday: Westcott Bay, San Juan Island to Massacre Bay near Skull Island

We got skunked on crab this morning, bummer, but the tide was low enough to dig a ton of clams. Neither Kristine nor Allison is fond of clams, but Warren and I both are so we were pleased.

We weighed anchor and poked our noses out into Haro Strait, on the west side of San Juan Island, because it is often a good place to see orcas. After about a half hour with no sightings and no whale watching boats off in the distance listing to one side because of all the sightseers taking pictures, we decided to turn back and head for our next destination: Massacre Bay.

First, a stop at the very small village of Orcas on, you guessed it, Orcas Island.

The ferry stops here and there is a small grocery, a couple of cafés, a hotel, a liquor store, and an arts and crafts store. We poked around for a while and had a great lunch at the café that was right on the bluff with outdoor tables overlooking the water. After grabbing a few groceries we headed about a half hour north to Massacre Bay and anchored behind tiny Skull Island. It’s a pretty serene place these days, but apparently there were some major fights between the Lummi Indians of Washington and some Indians from British Columbia way back when, and the names of these places, along with nearby Victim Island, are testaments to those days. For us, it was a day to relax in the sun again, explore the island, and give Allison and Warren another chance to swim. Exploring the island didn’t take too long – here’s a picture of the island from the boat and another of the view south.

It was another legal day for crabbing, so we set the trap at night and hoped for better luck than we’ve been having.