Cruising the San Juans during Covid

[Two Truths]

We are preparing for a two-week charter out of Bellingham at the beginning of August and I am wondering if the anchorages and marinas in the San Juans and north Puget Sound are more crowded than usual this sunner due to the closure of the Canadian border. Is there anyone out there with first-hand experience over the past few weeks?

 

[Ken E.]

We were in the San Juan's the first week of July. Prevost Harbor on Stuart island and Garrison bay on San Juan weren't overly crowded and seemed like past years. Fossil bay on Sucia looked very crowded as we went by. Roche harbor looked packed....like a virus petri dish.

 

[Toki]

Just did 10 days in the San Juans. Marina's didn't seem crowded than typical, but getting a slip was tougher. I believe some of the marinas may be limiting capacity. For the first time in my years of cruising the islands I was turned away at Friday Harbor. In the past they always figure out a way to squeeze you in. We made reservations in advance at several marinas, I highly recommend doing that.

Anchorages seemed to have typical crowds, although it seemed to us that some mooring balls have been removed since last year.

As far as towns and restaurants go, seemed about half are still take-out only and half are now dine-in. Stores were all open with mandatory masks.

All in all, a great trip with typical crowds and a few restrictions.

Enjoy!

 

[Two Truths]

Thanks to Ken E. and Toki for their quick responses. We were planning to spend our first night or two at Fossil Bay or Echo Bay, but we will be sure to have a plan B.

 

[Two Truths]

P.S. my understanding is that the lack of mooring balls is because the maintenance typically done in the spring was not done this year due to the pandemic, and thus balls that were damaged over the winter were never fixed or replaced.

 

[Norwester]

We were in the SJI the last week of June, and are headed back tomorrow for 2-3 weeks. Our boat is moored in Skyline Marina in Anacortes. There is no transient moorage, but the marina looked like it was about 1/2 to 2/3 of normal activity. A lot of boats on the dock hadn't renewed their registration.

We anchored in Hunter Bay and went up to Spencer Spit for July 4 th. About 1/2 of normal crowd in both locations.

We'll anchor out the next two weeks, just going back to Anacortes for provisions and pump out. On our last trip, we ordered groceries from the Anacortes Safeway thru Instacart and had them delivered to the dock.

I don't think the locals are thrilled about outside visitors right now, so we'll only be going ashore on San Juan, Orcas and Lopez to go for a walk or hike.

Hope you have a great trip and stay safe.
Lyle