August 19

It was a shame to leave Ewing Cove, but our ice was getting low and we both wanted showers. The computer usage seemed to have been the big drain on our boat batteries. Since we have scaled back (hence the long gaps between blog updates) we have been able to keep the batteries topped up between motoring (2A), and the solar charger (0.3A), against the anchor light (0.8A x9hrs) and other boat instruments.
We had favorable current around the north and west sides of Orcas Island, past my old YMCA summer camp, Camp Orkila (only took 20 more years for Jesus to really sink in). We pull in to Deer Harbor (crowded, also a sea plane base), get fuel, ice, water, showers, and get out of there. We motor around to West Sound, to discover that the store the guide book says is there isn't any more. Rather than head up to Eastsound for provisions, we anchor here and make do with what we have until tomorrow. We both got a little sun this afternoon, so we spent time below getting caught up on email and this blog entry. Later, I try a little fishing (no), a little crabbing (crab ring gets stuck under the anchor road and gets to stay their until tomorrow), and finally I row over to a nearby public island for a little hike.