Friday August 18th – Today we are headed to Sucia Island. Leaving Roche Harbor we pulled the crab pots one last time yielding 2 more legals.

After arriving in Echo Bay on Sucia, Skylar and his friend Johnny packed up the kayaks with all their camping gear and paddled to shore in search of the perfect camp spot for the next couple nights. Skylar came back very disappointed. “No fires”! he said in an angry voice. “what’s camping without a fire”. And what’s worse he forgot to bring his Jet Boil to even cook any food. I actually agree, camping without a fire is just not the same. But they made the best of it and we gave them our portable BBQ so they could at least cook some food.

We set out the crab pots then the boys went hiking on the island. After a few hours we checked the pots but nothing but rock crab. Another pull later and nothing again. Then I remembered a spot we would set the pots as kids. We took the pots over where no one else was and set them in the secret spot for a nights soak.

The boys slept on land while Julie and I kept a watchful eye on a large boat that had a hard time anchoring. After trying to set the hook a couple times they finally settled in way too close to us. They realized and moved again a good distance away.

As the current changed direction, they started getting closer to us. Sometimes it’s hard to tell if perspective just changed or someone’s anchor is slipping. At about 10pm I chalked it up to perspective changing. At about 11:30pm it sure looked like they were really close but in the dark, it was hard to tell. We went to bed but something didn’t feel right so at midnight I got up again knew for sure they were slipping! During the next 5 minutes, they dragged at least 100 yards right past our boat narrowly missing us. As they came by I got out my high-powered flashlight and shined it all around their boat trying to wake them up. They finally got up and realized what was happening. Luckily, they were able to pull the anchor and get re-anchored (away from everyone) without incident.

The next morning our secret crabbing spot had 2 large keepers! The boys cleaned the crab then they kayaked over to Fossil Bay with Julie, Ava and I following in the dinghy. The kids went on a hike while we scoured the beach for treasures.

That evening Johnny, Skylar and I took all the cleaned crab to the beach and cooked it. Then we shelled all 15 crab until our fingers ached! The boys spent one more night at their fireless camp while we stayed anchored in the bay. A fun 2 nights at Sucia Island!

Thursday August 17th – Time to head back to the greatest country on God’s green earth, the USA! We left Otter Bay, crossed the border and cleared customs at Roche Harbor.

Skylar’s friend Johnny is flying into Roche so we got a slip for the night and set the crab pots. After 2 pulls on 2 pots we had 11 crab, a great day! We waited for Johnny’s 5:50pm arrival via Kenmore Air, welcomed him off the plane then used the kids labor to clean all the crab with of course the Killer Crab Knife (www.crabknife.com).

We all went to dinner at the Madrona Grill that evening. Julie, Ava and I hung out on the boat while Skylar and Johnny explored the marina and quarries.

Tuesday August 15th – After a beautiful night at Russell Island we pulled anchor and headed to Otter Bay Marina for a couple nights.

It was nice out and Julie wanted to go to the pool but we convinced her to go on a hike instead. She reluctantly said ok, after I told her the weather forecast for tomorrow was hotter and we should go to the pool then. I wanted to check out this hike around a lake I read about so we dinghied across the bay to where I thought the trailhead was.

Not knowing anything about it we asked a park caretaker where to go but he couldn’t tell us how far the hike was. Regardless, I was determined to loop the lake so we kept moving, first down the road then onto the trail. It just kept going and going, up really steep hills then down. We made it 5 miles in all but it wasn’t the leisurely walk Julie had in mind, she was about ready to kill me as we were not prepared for that kind of adventure. Ava did particularly awesome! That night Julie and I had fun working on floor plans for a rental we are going to remodel.

The next day turned out to be not quite as hot but after a long lazy morning on the boat we went to the pool anyway. I guess I should listen to my wife more often!

That evening we set the dinghy up for downrigger fishing and went out in the main channel to try our luck. A beautiful night out on the water but not even a bite!