Anacortes, Washington

Latitude 48 degrees 30'48"  Longitude 122 degrees 36'18" 

Our view of Mt. Baker, Washington from James Island.

Love, love, love this beach art! 

 Our friends Dennis and June, s/v Shamaness, are traveling on land this summer.  They stopped to visit in Anacortes on their way to the Queen Charlotte Island, BC.  Dennis and Paddy went to drop the crab trap.

 Shelly and Larry were up from Palm Springs so off we go for a few days on Le Chat Beaute'.  Visited Sucia Island and Rosario.  Unfortunately it rained one day and we were cabin bound!

 The Rosario Hotel is another resort with a lot of history.  Doesn't this pool look inviting?

Had a minor tear in the headsail.  Capt. Paddy on the deck to repair.  Good thing he is so handy.

Because of the location of Anacortes, it's history is about various Indian tribes, the Samish and Swinomish  Indians.  Coast Salish peoples thrived on the rich natural resources here on Fidalgo Island for 10,000 years before Spanish explorers started mapping the area in the 1790's.  For many years this city was a bustling fishing, canning, logging and mill town.  Since the natural resources have diminished, the area now has an oil refinery and busy shipyards, and tourism.  

The Cap Sante Marina is home to a few tall ships.  One is The Adventuress:  133 feet, launched in Booth Bay, Maine in 1913 and is a National historic landmark.

Below is the Lady Washington which was launched March 1989 and built in Aberdeen, WA.  She is a full scale reproduction of the original.  In 1787 she was prepared for a trading voyage around Cape Horn.  In 1899, she became the first American vessel to make landfall on the coast of North America.  A pioneer in Pan-Pacific trade,  she was the first American ship to visit Honolulu,  Hong Kong and Japan.

 Hawaiian Chieftain:  104 feet long, built in Lahaina, Maui in 1988 (a contemporary interpretation of a traditional design).  Both of these ships are now owned by the Gray Harbor Historical Seafarer's Society and are used for training for high school students, sea scouts, etc.

The terrain in this area requires creative placement of homes.  Now here are some stairs that can get your heart pumping!  

Gotta have champagne!

The cook preparing a spinach omelet - it was a wonderful breakfast.

See how the color of the water is changing?  The river meets the sea..............

On our way to Vancouver BC to pick up Jill and Ray!  (Aug. 1, 2014)