The Plan.....
Day 1:
Up and out the door way before dawn, on the road by 5:30 am, take the 7:35 Anacortes to Orcas Island ferry, head right to North Beach, launch by 9:05am.  Land at Fox Cove, set up camp, get back in the kayaks for a paddle around Sucia Island.

Day 2:
Paddle over to and around Patos Island, hike to the light house, then return to Sucia.

Day 3:
Break camp and head back to North Beach.

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The Reality....
Day 1:

We were up and out the door way before dawn, on the road by 5:30 am and caught the 7:35am ferry to Orcas.

We met our friends from “Body Boat Blade” and strolled over to one of East Sounds premiere breakfast joints.   Following a leisurely breakfast, we drove to North Beach, packed our boats and headed to Sucia Island at 11:00am.

The weather forecast suggested a strong front with high winds would be passing over the islands tonight, but as we launch, it is a very pleasant day for a paddle.  We made the three mile crossing in very calm water and arrived at Fox Cove.

Winter is a great time of the year for kayak camping as there are no crowds; we were the only people on Sucia Island.  We pitched our tents and were back in the boats at 12:30pm for a trip around the island.

The currents were very strong along the island and either pull against the boats or push us along.  The colorful sandstone features and cliffs of Sucia Island are beautiful.   As we passed along and under the steep overhanging cliffs along the northwest side of the island, a large chunk of rock gave way crashing into the water WAY too close for comfort.  That would have left a mark!!

We encountered harbor seals, river otters, lots of wintering seabirds, oyster catchers, and eagles soaring overhead.  As we passed around the east end of Ewing Island we floated by six very large California sea lions hauled out on the rocks, probably a group of bachelor's waiting for the ladies to return in the spring time.

Landing back in Fossil Bay we call it a day.  It's almost dark by 4:30pm, so we have just enough daylight to line up our gourmet MRE dinners before the night falls.  We sat around drinking hot tea and talking as the sun went down.

The weather forecast prediction of the strong front with high winds proved to be right.  The S-SW wind continued to develop and was very noticeable high in trees, but we had located our camp in a sheltered location.

Bill Porter conducting a 'snap inspecting the quarters'

Day 2:
The next morning we were up at 8:00am as the sun came up, and the wind was still howling out of the S-SW.  The forecast was for winds to subside then pick up again late in the afternoon as a second strong front passed through the area, but this time lasting for several days.  With that news, we decided to defer our paddle to Patos Island until next spring.

We broke camp and set our sights on Doughty Point on Orcas Island 5 miles away and head out into the abyss.  The wind had almost died down to a breeze and we had minimal waves to paddle in.  The only boat traffic this morning is a couple of fishing boats and a coast guard cutter.

Arriving at Doughty Point we got out for a nice walk on the grassy hillside.  The park is only accessible by watercraft and has dramatic views all the way to Canada. We climbed back in our boats and paddled the final mile and a half back to North Beach, and the end of another beautiful winter paddle in the Salish Sea.

Trip summary:
Total miles paddled: about 15
Things to remember: the water is shut off for the winter on Sucia
Wildlife seen: loads of eagles, oyster catchers, seals, the very rare Canadian geese, sea lions, several species of gulls, porpoise, harlequin ducks, and of wintering birds galore