2024 Trip Highlights and Stats

This year was another amazing one with some super long trips, beautiful anchorages, and fun adventures!

Numbers for the Year

• 3007 nautical miles
• 479 hours underway
• 140 different trips
• 239 days spent away from home port
  • 136 days at docks
  • 2 days on mooring balls
  • 101 days at anchor

I took possession of Aruna on the 30th of December 2023, and the next day took my first trip with her into the San Juan islands. I think these are pretty fantastic numbers for a year when I had a new-to-me boat and needed to deal with some project work early on.

New Boat & Short Trips - January to April

The first trip of the year was from Friday Harbor to Shilshole, after spending a couple of days out and about. In the first few weeks, I took some trips out to Port Madison and Poulsbo just to get used to the boat.

I took a trip with Fortitude down to Gig Harbor at the end of January. One of my favorite pictures all year was Aruna in dense fog with all her lights on when we were coming back from a late dinner at the Tides Tavern.

After a few short trips, I decided to head north and re-connect with Tom on Equinox. Stops included La Conner and Eagle Harbor on Cypress Island. He had winter moorage in Bellingham, and I spent a few days there enjoying the town.

After Bellingham, I headed over into the San Juan Islands for a week or two and ended up with some amazingly sunny weather. I had most of the anchorages and docks to myself, and enjoyed using the boat and getting used to her systems.

There were only a handful of big projects I did early in 2024 including my music and work desk area, and upgrades to the electrical system to help with faster charging while on generator, and better visibility into the existing system. These projects made some of the longer trips possible throughout the year, and I'm glad I was able to fit them in early on in the season to benefit from them.

The dogs have found Aruna to be "acceptable" and have multiple ways of ensuring they can micro-manage everything around them. It is quite a bit safer for them to be outside given the enclosed nature of the entire deck, and that makes me a lot more comfortable.

The Big Canadian Trip - May/June/July/August

Duration: 90 days
Distance: 1450 nautical miles
65 days at anchor

I departed Seattle at the beginning of May, and returned at the start of August.

This was one of the most memorable trips I've had in years because I got to explore areas I had not been to in a long time, or never been to before. The highlight of the trip was time in the Central Coast of British Columbia past Cape Caution in areas that were absolutely spectacular.

The first stage of the trip was a stop in Ganges for some of the most spectacular northern lights I've ever seen. I reconnected with Fortitude and Equinox and enjoyed a dinghy trip to Mayne Island, and a stop at Jedediah Island Marine Park on the way north to Desolation Sound. We parted ways with Fortitude as they were headed to Alaska. Arriving in Desolation Sound in mid-May is always nice as there are very few other boats around.

Otter Island is a nice little spot just before Prideaux Haven that I'd never tried before. Equinox and I stern tied in two different spots and spent a few days enjoying warm sun and beautiful views - pretty lucky for May!

After a stop in at Cortes Bay, we headed over to a few other spots including Roscoe Bay, where I took an amazing photo of Aruna, and Elworthy Island, a new spot for both myself and Equinox. We spent 4 days or so enjoying that area, and decided to make a run up Toba Inlet and see if we could anchor overnight, or just make a day trip. The winds picked up to 30 knots and we quickly decided to abort and head to Carrington Bay.

It was the end of May, and Equinox had to head south. We had a nice meal at the Heriot Bay Inn on Quadra Island, and stocked up on groceries. I headed to Waiatt Bay near the Octopus Islands the next day.

The longest trip of the entire year was from Waiatt Bay all the way to Mound Island in the Broughtons - 73.2 nautical miles and almost 10 hours underway. The tides worked out perfectly at all of the various spots along the way including Okisollo, Chatham Point, and up Johnstone Strait.

Right around this time I started having major issues with my Honda outboard for the dinghy, which had been acting up since March. For the next 2 months, I would struggle with all sorts of issues, spend a ton of time cleaning and rebuilding carburetors, and many other things. Only once I was able to source parts later in August was I able to fix it properly.

My Northern Lights 16Kw generator also started shutting down very intermittently. It took several weeks of troubleshooting to figure out that it was likely a bad relay. The relay eventually did not have any issues, but was being ejected from the socket by vibration. A zip tie was the ultimate fix.

During this part of the trip I visited many spots in the Broughtons including Claydon Bay, the Muirhead Islands, Sutherland Bay, Blair Island Cove, Turnbull Cove, and Goat Island.

I had been away from a dock for more than a month, so it was time to head to Port McNeill for groceries and spare parts I had ordered for the generator. I love the folks at North Island Marina in Port McNeill, and enjoyed my favorite pickle pizza at Devil's Bath Brewing.

I poked my head out into Queen Charlotte Sound, and decided it was too messy to cross, and headed back south to Goat Island for a couple of days until the weather settled.

After a 50NM day to Allison Harbor, I spent a couple of days waiting for a good window to round Cape Caution. Unfortunately my first attempt was not OK, and I got super sea sick (I get sick easily) which is a challenge when single handing. I turned around and anchored back in Allison Harbor and slept for almost 24 hours.

A couple of days later, I was able to make my way around Cape Caution and anchored in Fry Pan Bay. I spent the next week in Fish Egg Inlet and places like Oyster Bay, then headed further north to Lewall Inlet.

My absolute most favorite anchorage of 2024, and I'd say top 1 or 2 ever, was Eucott Bay Hot Springs. The pictures don't do it justice - surrounded on all sides by tall peaks, huge grassy fields coming down to the waters edge, an amazing hot springs, and a big river dumping fresh water into a very shallow bay made it paradise.

I was there for 5 days through Canada Day and July 4th, and loved the warm water, bears roaming the shores, stunning views, and of course the hot springs.

The only downside was snagging a big steel cable while retrieving my anchor, but I got it off pretty easily.

Eucott Bay Hot Springs will remain one of the best anchorages I've ever been to, and I will definitely be going back. It does take some commitment to get there, as you need to head up Fisher Channel and then Dean Channel for about 40 nautical miles from Codville Lagoon. Dean Channel got rough on the way up with winds coming from various directions as the channel wound its way back and forth.

My second favorite anchorage / area of the year is Roscoe Inlet. Stunning views everywhere with amazing rocky mountains, lush meadows coming right down to waters edge, bears everywhere, whales, and more. I chose to anchor in Boukind Bay as the head of Roscoe Inlet looked rough, and there were already several boats there.

I had been to Pruth Bay before many years ago, but wanted to stop on the way south to cross back around Cape Caution. I was blessed with bright sunny weather and very warm temperatures and spent a couple of days enjoying the beaches, the hikes, and the sand.

After crossing back south around Cape Caution, I waited for several days to try to cross Queen Charlotte Sound back to Port McNeill for more provisions. It was mid-July and it had been over 30 days since I had provisioned, and I was running low on a lot of things. I skipped Shearwater while up in Discovery Harbour and probably should have stopped in...

I was anchored in Allison Harbour waiting out the winds which continued to be messy and 25-35 knots down Queen Charlotte Sound. Eventually, I moved to Blunden Harbour, which was only about 2.5 hours away, but it was a very exciting trip with 6' ocean swells and 4-6' waves on top of of them directly from astern. At one point, a pair of humpback whales surfaced right near the boat and traveled with me, perhaps watching over me as I rolled my way into Blunden Harbour. Aruna handled it just fine - she impressed me throughout the year at the weather she could handle.

I made an early morning crossing to Port McNeill and was able to provision. I had been trying to find random and weird Canadian blend whisky for the last few months, and stocked up on some while there.

I left Port McNeill south bound to Port Neville. About 2 hours of the day I was trapped in dense fog with orcas and other whales all around me. It was pretty surreal. From Port McNeill I chugged my way down to Waiatt Bay and connected Shawn on S/V Grace for a few days.

From Waiatt Bay, I headed south to Henry Bay near Comox to reconnect with Tom on Equinox. A few beautiful sunsets later, I skipped over to Little Bull in Jedediah Island Marine Park, and then a long 47 nautical mile day south through Gabriola Pass into Ladysmith Harbour. A few days later, Tom and I reconnected, and headed to Maple Bay. I stopped in Sidney for a few days, and crossed back into the U.S. and to Friday Harbor.

The final few stops on this trip included a very special birthday celebration in Friday Harbor for a few days, and then a stop in Port Ludlow before ending at Shilshole. A new Starlink was waiting to be installed, along with a lot of other spare parts and bits for things that needed to be fixed or improved, including the dreaded Honda outboard.

Fall / Winter - Puget Sound, San Juans and Victoria

After a couple of weeks in Seattle, in late August I departed for a few months and visited some Puget Sound locations before heading back north. Things were pretty messy at work which meant a lot of 12+ hour days working and not as much time to be able to move the boat as the days started getting shorter.

After picking up Josh and the pups, we headed south to Gig Harbor, and then Quartermaster Harbor, one of our favorite places. A few days there, including some crazy thunderstorms with 40+ knot winds, we headed north, expecting to stop in Eagle Harbor or just back to Shilshole, but I noticed room at Blake Island. I was able to shoehorn all 54' of Aruna in near shore behind a small boat. We stayed for a few days and the dogs loved exploring.

A quick trip to Liberty Bay to test out some systems, and then a jump to Port Ludlow. This was the first time that the dinghy engine started working reliably after months of work, and I was very happy. Another jump to Mackaye Harbor, and then off to Brentwood Bay on Vancouver Island. After a few days there, around the island to Causeway Marina for a couple of weeks due to work. Always love the views in Victoria's inner harbour.

Reconnected with Tom on Equinox in Victim Island Cove and we had a great raft up for a day or two. Some additional side trips to Sidney, Henry Island, Blind Bay, Hunter Bay, Hope Island, and back south by the end of September for some work meetings. Unfortunately I got very sick and was out of commission for several weeks.

In Mid-October, having recovered and done a couple of short trips with Josh and the pups, I headed north again. First stop was in Everett where I reconnected with Tom again. A few great restaurants and bars over a couple of days waiting out weather. Further north to La Conner, then Eagle Harbor on Cypress Island, and into Blind Bay to hide from some wind.

Off to Friday Harbor, then Reid Harbor at anchor, then to Westcott Bay to hide from some big winds (again). A few days back in Canada at Oak Bay Marina, which is super cute, and connecting with the guys at BRNKL. Back into the San Juans to many of the usual spots all while maintaining a very busy work schedule.

Back across to Mackaye Harbor and then down to La Conner to hide from weather again. Other spots in the San Juans including Henry Island, Friday Harbor, and the usual haunts. I also was able to replace my anchor chain, which had become almost unusable, hence the high amount of dock visits during this time. I just didn't want to chance it with the stormy season.

In late November I visited Echo Bay on Sucia Island and was the only boat anchored. The weather cooperated for a couple of days, and I headed south to another of my favorite places that I hadn't visited this year - Jones Island. The dock was already removed of course, but I found the usual spot to anchor, and enjoyed the island, again the only boat around.

Back over to Blind Bay for a few work days, then off to Cap Sante in Anacortes for provisioning and to hide from wind. A few more trips to Hunter Bay, Friday Harbor, La Conner, and Cap Sante sprinkled in here to hide from winds and move around.

La Conner became a great place to hide from some of the big storms and winds, and is pretty inexpensive for guest moorage. This time of year most of the spots I like in the San Juans are really uncomfortable in any of the southerlies, and Cap Sante is expensive and also exposed. La Conner is a great place to hide from storms.

Josh and the pups came up to Cap Sante in mid-December, and we've been out and about in the San Juans, La Conner, and elsewhere through the new year, dodging wind storms throughout. A wonderful Christmas and New Years aboard with lots of great food and company.

All in all, a very busy year with great anchorages, awesome food, amazing people, and a fantastic boat. I look forward to an even more exciting 2025.

Where did you go this year? Post your best anchorages or recommendations and pictures below!