After 11 days of blue skies and warm weather, mean looking black rain clouds started drifting in yesterday. The weatherman predicted rain by this morning. But, to our delight, he was wrong.

By 0545 hrs we’re underway, headed for the San Juan Islands, weather permitting. A Spring Tide is running today, so we won’t be able to get through Deception Pass before slack tide at 1706 hrs.
But, the seas are flat calm, and we have great visibility, which makes travelling easy.

The rain clouds were a bit threatening, but the farther along we got, the higher and thinner they became. By the time we got to Deception Pass at 1300 hrs, we even had some sun breaks.

As soon as we got anchored up, Al fixed us a delicious lunch of roast chicken, fresh asparagus, carrots, brussels sprouts and zucchini, with fresh baked chocolate chip cookies for dessert. Not a bad way to start the summer.

Around 1600 hrs, Al started checking the current tables to see if the current had slowed enough for us to make it through a little early. By 1645 hrs, the current was down to 2.1 knots, so we decided to go for it. The ride was a bit squirrelly, but tolerable. I was feeling pretty brave until I spotted a couple of guys paddling through the Pass on outrigger canoes.

Once through the pass, the seas were glassy calm for as far as the eye could see. All of a sudden, however, there was a terrible racket! It sounded like the engine was disintegrating! And then, the sound subsided. We discovered that it as a military jet flying low overhead, on its way to the Air Force base on Whidbey Island. Phew! Took awhile for our hearts to stop racing.

The rest of our trip to Blind Bay was thankfully peaceful. We arrived at 1850 hrs and found the anchorage almost empty. Perfect.