Excitement filled the air on the NW Explorations docks this morning as seven of our boats prepared to depart for a week in the San Juan Islands!  Our guests had travelled from near and far for this trip.  After all of their time spent planning, packing, traveling, provisioning, and learning about their boats, it was finally time to get out on the water!

We happily threw off our lines and headed out into a somewhat blustery Bellingham Bay.  As soon as we crossed the bay we were sheltered from the wind and able to cruise through the islands on calm seas.  The ebbing tide pushed us along toward our destination and created small tide rips and whirl pools where harbor porpoise, diving birds and seagulls all fished.

Once all the boats were securely anchored in Watmough bay it was time to explore!  Despite the drizzly afternoon, crew members from almost all of the boats came ashore to stretch their legs.  They were rewarded with a beautiful hike through a lush forest full of moss, ferns and towering cedars and firs.  Our hike took us across the southern part of Lopez Island to Point Colville.  Standing on the rocky shore with swirling currents and kelp beds below and the salty breeze in our lungs, we truly felt we’d entered into a different world.

Later, most of our crews joined us for a social hour on our lead boat Alaskan Dream.  It was a lovely night with good food and good conversation.  What a fun group of people!  We enjoyed sharing some stories and some laughs and we’re all looking forward to getting to know one another better throughout this week.

The sun broke through the clouds in the evening and each crew enjoyed a peaceful sunset and dinner on their boats.  We rocked gently on our anchors and watched as Great Blue Herons and eagles flew by.  What a wonderful place to be, and a great first day of our trip!