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Every morning I get up in the dark, find the woodstove, hunker down and start a fire using old newspapers and wood scraps from the shop as kindling. This is my moment to catch up on the news--briefly scanning pages of the Kitsap Sun before crumpling pages and tossing them into the box.
If it weren't for the fire-starting ritual, I wouldn't have the slightest idea what was happening in the world, since we don't tend to watch TV news or subscribe to the papers. (Our fire starter comes from Mo's sister and brother-in-law, who pass along bags of old papers after they've read them.)
So, anyway, I was perusing an October, 2009 Kitsap Sun this morning while putting a match to the kindling, and noticed that Puget Sound, the San Juan Islands and the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and waters of British Columbia including the Strait of Georgia, Desolation Sound and other channels to the north, have altogether been proclaimed the Salish Sea by the Washington Board of Geographic Names.
Well, huh. The article was quick to point out that the other names--Puget Sound, Strait of Georgia, etc.--were not disappearing. But Salish Sea, inspired by the Coast Salish natives who once thrived on the waters of western Washington and British Columbia, intends to bring a certain kind of ecological unification to our region's waterways, since the salmon, orcas and other critters don't recognize the artificial political boundaries between our state and the neighboring province to the north.
If you do a Google search for Salish Sea, you'll find the attached map, denoting the boundaries of the newly-named labryinth of waterways.
Getting to the point, I'd like to suggest that we organize a Northwest Classic Boat Club exploration of the Salish Sea during the summer of 2011--an expansion of our Puget Sound End to End cruise, to include the San Juans, the B.C. Gulf Islands, Desolation Sound and a few of the stunning channels to the north of Desolation. We could perhaps make it a loop trip that started on a given Saturday, went all week and concluded the following weekend--in other words, one week off work.
But where to start? Since the Salish Sea extends from Olympia to points north of Desolation Sound, we could begin and end in our State Capitol. Members living to the north who didn't want to trailer to Olympia could launch in Tacoma, Gig Harbor, Seattle, Edmonds, Everett, Anacortes or Bellingham and join the armada as it meandered north toward British Columbia.
Most likely we'd leave the Anacortes area en masse, cruise through the San Juan Islands and enter British Columbia's Gulf Islands. We'd then cruise north along Vancouver Island's eastern shore to the Nanaimo area before crossing the Strait of Georgia and entering Desolation Sound. After what might be a few days of exploration in the Desolation Sound region we could continue north to the far reaches of the Salish Sea, near Stuart Island (about 40 miles north of Desolation Sound), before turning for home. On the return leg we could cruise down the B.C. mainland's Sunshine Coast, perhaps enjoying a stop in Vancouver, before crossing into Washington waters near Blaine.
Some of us could go all the way back to Olympia, or end the cruise wherever we started along the way.
We have talked in the past about the possibility of a longer cruise to Southeast Alaska, but my sense is that only a few members would be able to (or want to) take at least a full month off for such an adventure. One week spent exploring our own Salish Sea might make more sense--and be more achievable for a greater number of members.
Having cruised to Desolation Sound and beyond in the past, I can guarantee you that you'd love the trip. B.C. is where it's at, for me, when it comes to cruising...and by going with a carefully organized version of the buddy system, we could assure that everyone would be utterly safe during the adventure.
So....what's your response to the idea? If several of you think you might be up for it, we could begin planning fairly soon, perhaps including a meeting between now and this summer to discuss possible routes, dates, costs, cruise checklists and other details.
- Marty
If it weren't for the fire-starting ritual, I wouldn't have the slightest idea what was happening in the world, since we don't tend to watch TV news or subscribe to the papers. (Our fire starter comes from Mo's sister and brother-in-law, who pass along bags of old papers after they've read them.)
So, anyway, I was perusing an October, 2009 Kitsap Sun this morning while putting a match to the kindling, and noticed that Puget Sound, the San Juan Islands and the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and waters of British Columbia including the Strait of Georgia, Desolation Sound and other channels to the north, have altogether been proclaimed the Salish Sea by the Washington Board of Geographic Names.
Well, huh. The article was quick to point out that the other names--Puget Sound, Strait of Georgia, etc.--were not disappearing. But Salish Sea, inspired by the Coast Salish natives who once thrived on the waters of western Washington and British Columbia, intends to bring a certain kind of ecological unification to our region's waterways, since the salmon, orcas and other critters don't recognize the artificial political boundaries between our state and the neighboring province to the north.
If you do a Google search for Salish Sea, you'll find the attached map, denoting the boundaries of the newly-named labryinth of waterways.
Getting to the point, I'd like to suggest that we organize a Northwest Classic Boat Club exploration of the Salish Sea during the summer of 2011--an expansion of our Puget Sound End to End cruise, to include the San Juans, the B.C. Gulf Islands, Desolation Sound and a few of the stunning channels to the north of Desolation. We could perhaps make it a loop trip that started on a given Saturday, went all week and concluded the following weekend--in other words, one week off work.
But where to start? Since the Salish Sea extends from Olympia to points north of Desolation Sound, we could begin and end in our State Capitol. Members living to the north who didn't want to trailer to Olympia could launch in Tacoma, Gig Harbor, Seattle, Edmonds, Everett, Anacortes or Bellingham and join the armada as it meandered north toward British Columbia.
Most likely we'd leave the Anacortes area en masse, cruise through the San Juan Islands and enter British Columbia's Gulf Islands. We'd then cruise north along Vancouver Island's eastern shore to the Nanaimo area before crossing the Strait of Georgia and entering Desolation Sound. After what might be a few days of exploration in the Desolation Sound region we could continue north to the far reaches of the Salish Sea, near Stuart Island (about 40 miles north of Desolation Sound), before turning for home. On the return leg we could cruise down the B.C. mainland's Sunshine Coast, perhaps enjoying a stop in Vancouver, before crossing into Washington waters near Blaine.
Some of us could go all the way back to Olympia, or end the cruise wherever we started along the way.
We have talked in the past about the possibility of a longer cruise to Southeast Alaska, but my sense is that only a few members would be able to (or want to) take at least a full month off for such an adventure. One week spent exploring our own Salish Sea might make more sense--and be more achievable for a greater number of members.
Having cruised to Desolation Sound and beyond in the past, I can guarantee you that you'd love the trip. B.C. is where it's at, for me, when it comes to cruising...and by going with a carefully organized version of the buddy system, we could assure that everyone would be utterly safe during the adventure.
So....what's your response to the idea? If several of you think you might be up for it, we could begin planning fairly soon, perhaps including a meeting between now and this summer to discuss possible routes, dates, costs, cruise checklists and other details.
- Marty
That is an event that we would plan to attend. On behalf of next years commodores we suggest that you begin the planning process.
Perhaps we missed that in the brochure. Must have been in the fine print? 
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