Roche Harbor is one of my favorite marinas.
With Gale Warnings in the Straits and strong winds buffeting the boats, the flotilla moved to Roche Harbor in order to transfer passengers ashore. I waited until mid-day, hoping the winds would abate, but alas they were still very strong when the dock lines were dropped and we headed out.
It’s only five miles from Reid Harbor to Roche Harbor and the short exposure to the howling winds in Haro Strait was easy for Sea Eagle to take in stride. Once we entered the harbor and called the always accommodating Roche Harbor staff, the entertainment began. The harbormaster quickly found a slip for us on the funky, older guest docks, which stack boats two-at-a-time in long, narrow berths and we had no trouble docking the boat against the 25+ knot wind gusts. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for many of our dock neighbors.
Roche Harbor
The staff at the marina had their hands full, but did an outstanding job helping inexperienced boaters dock in the breezy conditions. The tall, narrow berths proved challenging for many, with little room for error, but many a gallant effort by the marina staff kept the boats from bashing and there was only moderate yelling/screaming involved. I know I shouldn’t consider that entertainment, but some times you just can’t help but watch….
The girls went off to the swimming pool, which they tell me is an outstanding (and free) facility, while I caught up on some boat maintenance and cleaning chores while water was readily available.
For dinner, we made Pizza’s on the BBQ, using garlic Naan bread, pizza sauce, cheese, pepperoni and cashews. It proved to be an excellent meal and we had many requests for more and guests wanting to know how the heck we cooked a pizza on the grill.
BBQ Pizza. Who knew?