On Tuesday June 29th we took the ferry to Orcas Island and drove around to a place called Doe Bay Resort. This turned out to be a funky hippie campground with a clothing optional sauna and hot tub. We camped in the UFO campground (Upper Field Overflow) for two nights. On Wednesday June 30th we launched from Doe Bay and paddled around Obstruction Island. Everyone we talked to warned us about the terrible tide currants in this area, so we planned the trip carefully. We launched late in the morning at the end of the ebb current. As we went around the south side of Obstruction Island we got some help from this current and even found a small tidal rip. Rob and Nora had been frightened by the tidal rip off San Juan Island a few days before, so they avoided this rip. Maryly and I went right through it and found it to be mild compared to Yellow Bluff in the San Francisco Bay.
Although we saw bald eagles everywhere, Maryly and I were a little disturbed by the general lack of wildlife. Compared to the Bay Area, and especially the Sonoma County Coast, there were very few seals in the water. We talked to a woman who had grown up in the area and she described camping on the beach as a girl. She said that you couldn't sleep at night from the noise of the whales going by breathing all night long. Now there were only a few pods of whales in the neighborhood and they rarely came into the narrow channels between the islands. In the lifetime of this woman the number of fish, seals, whales, and even sea gulls has decreased dramatically. I had come to the Gulf and San Juan Islands expecting to see abundant wildlife like people describe in Alaska. It appears I was too late and I would have seen more wildlife by staying at home. I would have seen sea lions instead of orcas and osprey instead of bald eagles. For this change I was glad I came. But I could have seen more of every kind of wildlife in my own neighborhood! Does this mean California's coast is healthier than the San Juan Islands?
We landed for lunch on a public beach, then headed back around the north side of Obstruction Island. As we had planned, the flood tide was just starting and it helped push us along the way. The maximum flood was not expected until after 4:00 PM, so we were safe from the rips created by the 5 knot floods that can happen here. We got back before 3:00 PM, time to take a shower and a soak before meeting some local friends of Maryly's for a hike and dinner.