san juan islands

pino motoring north through upright channel, on quiet waters — *Motoring northward through Upright Channel in the San Juan Islands. June 2025.*

On June 20th 2025 we sailed to the San Juan Islands. Our goal was not to tour, but to meet up with friends on the south of Blakely Island.

Back in 2016, we had stopped in Aleck Bay for the night, but that had been our only stop in the San Juan Islands after exiting Deception Pass. After Aleck Bay we had leapt across back to Cadboro Bay in Canada. This time around, we sailed from Port Browning on Pender Island and into Parks Bay on Shaw Island. We checked into the US via the Roam app, saving us the trouble of checking in person in Friday Harbour.

There are a lot of lovely anchorages here, many big ones with good wind protection, but ferry traffic is constant, making sailing in most of the channels a bit difficult. Many islands are private and shore access is not possible or very limited. Like in B.C., passage between islands is restricted by strong currents.

Parks Bay (Shaw Island). There were 3 boats laying at anchor in Parks Bay when we arrived. It was Friday, lots of small runabouts where crabbing just outside of the anchorage, we counted around 20 boats with as many floats. The boats left in the evening but returned the next day, and the next(all weekend long). We anchored in 35 feet. Many more boats joined us later that day. We spent 3 days there, one in which was very rainy, and the last very foggy. We had meant to stay 2 days but on the morning of the 22nd we could not see past the end of the anchorage because of the thick fog. Because of all the ferry traffic in these waters we thought it prudent to wait for a clear day. We felt a bit of ferry wake here, but it was minimal. All of the shore was private, so we could not go out and stretch our legs. It was a lovely anchorage overall, far from the mess that is Friday Harbor, perfect with southwinds in the forecast, and it offers a lovely view of the sunset to the north. June 20-22nd.

rek having just rowed a friend back to their boat, in the background is Spencer Spit on a lovely clear and sunny day — *Friends that came by to see us in Spencer Spit aboard their boat. June 2025.*

Spencer Spit (Lopez Island). A lovely anchorage with a great view along the shore of a sand spit, northeast of Lopez Island. We left Parks Bay with a helpful current, it carried us at 6.7 knots initially, especially near Turn Point, but then chilled out a bit after that. We encountered a ferry in Upright Passage, but simply moved to the right side of the channel to allow it to pass. That morning all traffic on the water was commercial, ferries or small barges carrying semis or other vehicle. When we arrived, there was 1 boat at anchor and another on a mooring. We arrived at the lowest tide, and found the water to be very shallow. There were 7 mooring buoys on the north side at the time, and 2 on the south end. We anchored just south of the buoys on the north end in 20 feet at low tide. This was a very rolly anchorage, Frost island does not shield well from ferry or traffic wakes. The wakes were not so bad when there was a good wind blowing, but on calm days it could get a bit violent. Ashore is a very extension camping ground, with many trails that snake along the camping spots. Beaching the dinghy on the sand spit was easy enough, but harder at low tide because the ground isn't as steep (Rek had to put their feet in the water to pull the dinghy in closer). On shore, we found recycling and garbage bins, toilets(many), an abundance of picnic tables and some water taps. June 23-25th.

Blind Bay (Shaw Island). A big protected anchorage on the north end of Shaw Island. A ferry terminal is in the opening of the bay, but the ferry slows down enough that it isn't that bothersome, not like Spencer Spit. The bay isn't too deep(max we saw at high tide where we were was 28 ft), and it's pretty with lots and lots of room for many boats. We only stayed here 1 night, but it was a good stoppover, even in a northwest wind(10-15 kts). June 30th.

Pino on a friend's private mooring buoy in a tiny bight on the south end of Blakely Island. Current disturbances from the meeting of Thatcher Pass and Rosario Strait are visible in the background. Photo taken by Rez Mason from the shore. June 2025.

Blakely Island. We stopped at an anchorage at the south end of Blakely Island, tying on a mooring belonging to a good friend in front of their property. We stayed here 4 days. South-southwest winds did not reach us here, and thankfully the wind never came blowing out of the southeast during our stay. On the last day we had 10-15 kts out of the northwest that somehow curled into our nook from the east, between Blakely and Armitage Island, but again, it wasn't too bothersome. It was shocking how protected our little nook on Blakely was, given its openness to the south. Its proximity to Thatcher Pass means that there are frequent ferry and boat wakes, but because we spent a lot of time ashore we didn't have to endure it. The ferry wakes were especially bad on calm days, when the boat lay broadside to them. The ferry runs early and stops late(we felt wakes at 0600, and late at 1100). It is not possible to anchor in the bay where we were, there isn't enough room around the mooring, but there is just north of Armitage Island in the next bay(there were 3 private moorings in the bay near the private dock), although that area seems to be more affected by tide currents. The currents were easy to spot on calm days, they did not affect our boat but they raced out of Rosario Strait and Thatcher Pass, curling around Armitage Island. Blakely Island is a lovely place with some nice swimming areas inland, but it is all private and it is not possible to go unless you know someone, or unless you stop at the Blakely Island Marina on the north end, but even so, walking beyond the marina property is not possible. June 26-29th.

Reid Harbor(Stuart Island). We assumed we would get good cell coverage here, we were wrong. We anchored in 25 ft at med tide(max 28ft where we were), just south of the Coastguard buoy. There wasn't many people laying at anchor when we arrived early in the morning, but it filled up throughout the day. The bay is long, not too deep with options to dock, anchor or tie to a buoy. Part of the island seems to be private, with a few personal docks scattered along its shores. It's possible to walk on land, but we didn't try it. The bay is relatively well protected, except from winds out of the southeast. Stuart Island is a good leap-off point to check back into Canada(via Sidney or Pender Island), or when first entering US waters(if checking in with the ROAM app, otherwise going to Friday Harbor or Roche Harbor is necessary). July 1st.