It's like stuck between a rock and a hard spot. If you have a sailboat, you end up powering much of the time, but only the rich can afford fuel right now. Guess we are getting a taste of what the Europeans have dealt with for years. How the gas companies can file record profits is beyond me! One of the boaters who spent a lot of time on the Inside Passage we contacted lately about interviewing. He told me sadly that he wasn't going to go this year. Too expensive.

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The emphasis is on a safe, fun and enlightening experience:

Long boats (or ship's boats) are a wonderful way for a group of 6 people enjoy our marine environment. We will row, sail, sing chanties, observe marine wildlife and relax. There are no passengers on the Plume, only crew. We will find a job for you no matter your skill level or experience. We hope you leave with positive memories of teamwork, hands on history and an appreciation for the beauty and biological diversity that Bellingham Bay offers.

The San Juan Islands are a great place to see eagles.
We are lucky to live in an area where we can see Bald Eagles almost daily for most of the year, and watch them fly by, perch up in the trees, swoop down to catch a fish or gull, or carry food back to their chicks in huge nests high in the trees.

Adult Bald Eagles are of course easy to spot. Both males and females have the dark brown body, white head and tail and bright yellow beak and feet, which makes them difficult to mistake for anything else. But they don't get this characteristic coloring till they are ~ 4 years old. Youngsters are big, dark brown birds with varying degrees of white mottling on their undersides and wings, and they have a dark beak . Some people don't realize that these are Bald Eagles, while others assume that any big brown bird must be a young eagle. What else has a wing span that big?

Every boater in Bellingham Bay knows Fairhaven Shipyard. They have sailed or powered past the huge vessels in for repair, and wondered at the size! They are a very prominent feature of the Fairhaven coastline. Seem from downtown Bellingham the yard forms a perfect point on the horizon. Huge cranes and dry docks captivate the skyline, and cast a looming shadow on the waters beneath.

At the 'World of the Shipwrights' show at the Whatcom Museum we were offered a tour of working boatyards. This is the first we've been to, and the one we are most curious about. Perhaps because we have seen it so much; it is part of our identity, yet nothing is known of it, until now.

We recently visited Wikipedia on the internet to get some information. Amazing how little they have on the San Juan Islands. Most of you are familiar with the islands and have cruised and hiked throughout the archipelago. Please go to their web site and add any information you have that might be of interest to others. Also included in this is a list of islands in the San Juan's, those following islands are the few they have information on….

Spieden Island:

is a privately owned island (James Jannard - founder and major shareholder of Oakley, Inc.) in the San Juan Archipelago in the state of Washington. It has a land area of 2.0898 km² (516.4 acres), and no permanent resident population as of the 2000 census.

Dear Mr. Porterhouse,

The two week loan of your 36-foot sailboat was greatly appreciated. I'm sure you have had many enjoyable days aboard and thought we would too. Unfortunately, your boat has a number of problems that need looking into.
Lois Ipsqueak and Leroy Tootle were my guests aboard for the cruise, and both were a tad upset with the holding tank odor, until I ripped it out and tossed it into the Dumpster at out first night's marina. You needed a new one anyway.
Our meals had to be seriously curtailed after the stove burners flared up and melted the headliner. And I'm sure it was a simple oversight, but you neglected to mention that the barbecue on the stern pulpit was useless, because its propane tank hadn't been filled before I borrowed the boat.

Visitors absorb waterfront scenes as the Island Caper leaves Squalicum Harbor on a Bellingham Bay History Cruise.

This is the 22nd year Whatcom Museum has sponsored these summer excursions for the public. Richard Vanderway, education curator, narrates the tours popular with locals and their out-of-town guests.

"Native Americans and settlers first saw the land this way - from the water," Vanderway tells about 100 passengers on the sunset cruise.