Round Two of Strong Winds

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Today was round 2 for strong winds here on the island.  The winds shifted from SE yesterday to NE today.  It was a cold walk to town for coffee this morning.  The winds kept building through the day and the gust were very strong.  After coffee I headed down to the shop and white caps were across the harbor all the way to Shaw Island.  


The images was really washed out but you can see the ferry coming in and all the white caps.  Click on the image to get a better view.

I spent some time at the shop hanging around.  We have some really go specials on for the holiday but not many people come down to the waterfront to shop.  But I am there Friday and Saturday.  My buddy Will did come by and he picked up some warm weather clothing for a great price.  I spent most of my time looking out the windows as boats passed by in the channel.  A Coast Guard Cutter made its way into the harbor.  They were tied up near Griffin Bay.  I guess the winds were getting strong out there and they decided to come tie up in Friday Harbor.  

Since the shop was slow a couple of friends and I went for some coffee at the Griffin Bay Bookstore on Spring St.  This a great place to get coffee.  I am not sure if many islanders know that they have coffee there.  But it is one of my favorite spots to hangout and drink coffee.

After some time joking around with friends and looking at books I decided to head to the shop and close the doors for the day.  It was time to go check out the water.  So Lyle (my roommate), Guinness and I loaded up in the Previa for a drive out to Ruben Tarte Park.  It faces NE looking up Presidents Channel.  I kind of figured it would be a high energy zone to check out the winds.  Plus it is a beach that we use on out Multi Day Tours and it is usually really calm there.  NOT TODAY!  It was great.  Looking across to Jones Island and white caps and deafening winds was all you could take in.  While were there you could see that some snow feel on the higher points of Orcas Island.  Earlier I was on the West Side of San Juan and the Olympics got a nice coating of snow as well.  The snow level was pretty low, so I assume the high elevations got a good amount of snow last night.

Well I took some video and a few pictures.  Nothing compares to being there yourself.  I am sure everyone can tell I really love it when the sea puts on a show.  It just gets me all excited.  Call it strange but I can't help it.


This is Ruben Tarte Park.  I have not seen it like this very many times.  It is usually a nice calm place.  But today it was high energy and lots of fun to see.


It was great to see the energy here.  I have launched my kayak here many times.  Once late last summer I launched to go spend the night with a someone on Jones Island, located just across the way.  It only took about 15 to 20 minutes to paddle over.  A day like today would take forever.





Here I am looking towards Waldron Island as I pan right across Presidents Channel to Orcas and Jones Island in the distance.

The sound is loud on the video so you might want to make sure the volume is low.  The wind is really loud.  Looks like it is going be a cold night and cold for the next few day.  

I hope everyone is having a great weekend and thanks for taking time to stop by to view my little world.

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