Heading West out the Strait of Juan de Fuca

12-14 September 2012

Strait of Juan de Fuca, Washington

Nice catch...Coho salmon.

We got an early morning push out of Port Angeles and headed west out the Strait of Juan de Fuca towards Neah Bay.  We motored most of the way as there wasn’t much in the way of wind.  I did manage to catch a Coho salmon and quickly dispatched with the task of filleting it and putting it in freezer bags. 

As Richard and I had previously been to Neah Bay, we busied ourselves with boat tasks; lee cloths had to be put up, weather clothes hung, things that can move had to be stabilized in the cabin to minimize unexpected jettisoning of objects when waves hit, the dinghy needed to be lashed to the foredeck, among other things.  Unexpectedly, Richard ended up replacing the domestic water pump as it was acting up and we certainly didn’t want to contend with that offshore in a boat that was rocking and rolling.

I introduced the crew of Rhythm to the joys of berry picking while either at a marina or anchored out.  Pretty much everywhere Richard and I have travelled by boat, I have managed to find berries and have made it a point to always carry a gallon size freezer bag with me in my back pack or bag; you just never know when you are going to spot berries and when you do, you want to be prepared!  In the time we were tied up at the marina in Neah Bay, I picked quarts of blackberries and they went into everything from pies, to baked goods, on our pancakes, you name it.  If you could put a berry on it, we did put a berry on it.

We had a sturgeon taco night on our boat with the crew from Rhythm which was a big success.  All six of us sat down at the table and there were bowls of delicious food everywhere: grilled sturgeon I had caught on the Columbia River with my brother earlier in the year, guacamole, mango salsa, manchengo cheese, sour cream, cabbage, tortillas, chips and salsa, and a corn and bean salad that Stacey whipped up which caught everyone’s attention.  Richard had baked a key-lime pie-like dessert (minus the limes) and added a blackberry topping…really good!  No one went hungry that night and between the company, conversation, margaritas and beers, I’d say we had a great evening.