Schooner Zodiac San Juan Islands Seafood and Wine Cruise – Day 2
Schooner Zodiac San Juan Islands Seafood and Wine Cruise – Day 2
Schooner Zodiac San Juan Islands Seafood and Wine Cruise – Day 2
By WAVEJourney
WJ Tested: Sailing the San Juan Islands Aboard Tall Ship Schooner Zodiac in July 2018 was More Than Spectacular!
Schooner Zodiac
DAY 2 SAILING LOG:
The 7:00 AM breakfast bell rang and the galley filled up quickly with passengers, then crew, hungry to start the day. Lots of freshly brewed coffee flowed, but the biggest hit was the crab cakes egg benedict with a zesty roasted red pepper hollandaise sauce. Delicious!
By 8:00 AM Henry was conducting the passenger briefing and described the day’s schedule. Plan A (there’s always a few plans made just in case things need to change) was to sail to Roche Harbor for a 2 PM arrival. Once we arrived and tendered to the dock, it would be a easy mile long walk to the San Juan Island Distillery.
Jill at the helm of Schooner Zodiac
Volunteer crew, Dennis, was in charge of the sailing stations rotation for the day. This meant passengers that wanted to participate in learning about charts, watching for obstacles from the bow, being messenger (when the bow watch needed a warning relayed to the person on the helm), and steering Zodiac at the helm (trying to keep this tall ship on the line needed) did a rotation.
Keeping Zodiac shipshape means she needs constant care and cleaning, so while vintner Rob Newsom played guitar on deck, the crew and a few passengers swabbed the deck and prepared for departure.
Rob Newsom of Boudreaux Cellars plays guitar on deck of Schooner Zodiac
The morning was super still, quite warm and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. All fingers were crossed for decent wind to make sailing possible.
All crew preparations were completed by 9:00 AM, therefore, it was time to raise the anchor and motor in the direction of Roche Harbor.
Preparing Schooner Zodiac for departure from Parks Bay at Stuart Island
Sitting on the deck as we motored along, we watched bald eagles flying past, ferries traveling between islands, and lots of float planes passing by.
Spieden Island in San Juan Archipelago.
The tide and current were too strong to raise the sails for quite some time as we motored past Spieden Island and Henry Island. We realized we were within sight of Vancouver Island and some of the ferries passing us were heading that way. Marine life started to entertain us with sightings of orcas, harbor porpoise, and harbor seals.
Ferry in San Juan Islands
By noon, Zodiac was pulling into Roche Harbor just as the lunch bell rang. Today, cook Caz had prepared a wonderful cioppino with squid, mussels, shrimp, and crab legs in a light tomato broth. Served with freshly baked baguettes and butter, this meal was a big hit with passengers.
Cioppino with squid, mussels, shrimp, and crab legs in a light tomato broth.
At 1:00 PM it was time to don our PFDs and take the tender to the Roche Harbor dock.
Roche Harbor on San Juan Island
While waiting for the rest of the passengers we had time to enjoy an ice cream before Henry walked with us out to the San Juan Island Distillery. Our tasting included Westcott Bay Cider (traditional English style), Spy Hop Gin, cordials and liquors. All very good.
San Juan Island Distillery
Spy Hop Gin
After walking back to town there was free time for about 45 minutes before tenders started shuttles back to Zodiac.
Schooner Zodiac tender at Roche Harbor
Once everyone was back on board and the crew prepared the ship, we departed for Reid Harbor on Stuart Island. It was only about a 25-minute motor to our destination in another beautiful secluded bay at which we’d spend the night.
Hors d’oeuvres of mini crab cakes
Hors d’oeuvres of tuna salad crostini
Hors d’oeuvres of mini crab cakes and tuna salad crostini were a delightful snack with a glass of wine once the anchor dropped for the night in Reid Harbor.
Tonight Rob Newsom shucked fresh oysters and gave us a chat on the wines he makes at Boudreaux Cellars in Leavenworth, Washington. There were more tubs of shucked oysters to dig in to from the batch Rob picked up the previous day at Taylor Shellfish. What a treat for oyster fans!
Shucking fresh oysters
Dinner was a seafood BBQ featuring blackened lemon and herb-stuffed whole trout. Pasta shells with white wine and broccoli accompanied the fish. Delicious meal once again!
Fish barbequing on Schooner Zodiac
Dinner of bbq whole trout, pasta shells and broccoli.
Lots of wine flowed throughout the evening while some passengers listened to the guitar playing, and others chatted with new friends.
As the night was once again beautiful and warm, we decided to sleep outside on the deck with the stars overhead. Crab season opened at midnight, so at some point one of the crew dropped the pots over the side in hopes of catching a few for the morning.
Good night!
Sunset from Schooner Zodiac at Reid Harbor on Stuart Island
NEXT: Schooner Zodiac Seafood and Wine Cruise Day 3
PREVIOUS: Schooner Zodiac Seafood and Wine Cruise Overview and Day 1
Note: WAVEJourney were guests of Schooner Zodiac for their July 12 – 15, 2018 Pacific Northwest Seafood and Wine Cruise. Read our full disclosure statement to see that this has no effect on our reviews.
