Fried in Fisherman Bay

Blogwise, we had been missing in action for some time, working stupidly long hours to get a top-to-bottom rework and redesign of our cruising guides completed in time for the boat show season. We were almost there, deadlines colliding like light tracers, but we needed a break and a good IPA.

So we puttered off San Juan Channel into Lopez Island’s Fisherman Bay, anchoring amid other boats with more or less the same idea and tied our dinghy at the dock in front of The Galley Bar and Restaurant.

In the bar, we ordered a pint of the finest and traded stories with patrons and staff about nothing in particular. We just wanted to hang out. Comfortably. No surprises. The perfect definition of “a break”.

Fisherman Bay has become one of our favorite places to do that, with lots of sheltered anchorage and easy access ashore. There are dinghy docks, as well, at the two marinas: the Islands Marine Center and the Lopez Islander Marina.

Both marinas offer transient moorage. The Lopez Islander Marina has a resort focus, with a restaurant, pool and hotel accommodations. The Islands Marine Center tilts toward those seeking marine services or marine bits and bobs from their chandlery.

Of course, the services and facilities at either marina are available to boaters staying at the other, or on anchor for that matter.

There is also shore access from a beach near the shops in the village, handy for visiting the supermarket, pharmacy or other shops or restaurants. There is also a tourist information office to find out what’s on and where.

If I wanted to work, which I definitely did not on our last visit, I would tote a laptop to the public library housed in a lovely, restored mansion about a half way between the marinas and village. It has work space, decent WiFi and lots of charm.

And, if in season, you will be a sorry excuse for a picker if you can’t fill a container with blackberries when walking from the south.

But we were much too late in the season for that, so we made pests of ourselves, dinghying from boat to anchored boat to ask how they made those nifty supports for their solar panels and where they bought those folding cup holders. Boatie chatter.

We also slipped them bookmarks, of which we always carry a bundle. They are useful tools for keeping your page while cleverly advertising Salish Sea Pilot cruising guides. We don’t even mind if you use one in a paper cruising guides since we all know how difficult paper guides are to manage.

By and by, we hauled anchor, reluctantly. It was time to go back to work. The boat show season was fast approaching and a chill was blowing in off the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

(Fisherman Bay is covered in Salish Sea Pilot’s Cruising Guide to the San Juan Islands.)