SJI Summer Day 50 - Sucia Island

Before I begin my report about wonderful Sucia Island, I want to extend an invitation. I really like to see comments! Please comment! Remember...it's just the two of us on this boat…for days at a time. (We talked to a six-year-old on the beach yesterday…thank god.) I’ve only received one comment that was in any way objectionable. “Wind is no excuse.” Really?

The crossing yesterday was less-than-fun. We sped up and got it over with quickly. 2 to 4-foot swells aren’t scary, but they are uncomfortable. At one point, I turned around to look at our wake to see what things look like when we are doing 12 to 14 knots through lumpy water. This photo doesn’t seem nearly as turbulent as I experienced it.

We were headed for Fossil Bay, the largest anchorage around Sucia, and a popular place. As we passed the bay just before Fossil, Snoring Bay (named for a park ranger found snoring on the job), we noticed there was one boat tied to a ball, and one ball open. We continued a few yards more and saw there were docks, at least a dozen mooring buoys, and plenty of boats in Fossil Bay. We did an abrupt U-turn and tied to the second ball in Snoring.

Very beautiful here. The sandstone cliffs are dramatic. We motored to shore to drop off our park registration and took a short hike to one of the points. Oh, and had an interesting, if non-linear, conversation with a six-year-old boy about our boats, a whale (he changed that to seal), his camping plans, our plans, and a few other things.

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View out from the point

View into Snoring Bay

View from head of Snoring Bay

We also watched a resident otter swim around. It dove for clams, came to the surface and awkwardly crunched and gulped, then went to shore, groomed for a bit, and then did it all over again. Do they really eat the entire clam, shell and all? (I have wondered about those piles of poop we see that seem to be crunched up shells…)

We rocked and rolled a bit last night, and it's raining this morning. Hoping for better weather so we can hike more trails on the island.