WA360 2025: Day Twelve

Day 12 Goal Map:

The forecast for today still had more winds than we would like. However, we were just a few miles from Bellingham’s Community Boating Center where we were able to get overnight moorage. And then just a few blocks from Fairhaven village Inn where we were able to book a room. So we decided to make the trek up the coast, stay in a hotel tonight, and get an early start tomorrow when the weather looks like it’s ready for us

We broke camp in the rain and then our new friends, Courtney & Greg drove our gear to the boat launch so that we did not have to carry it down the 10 minute hike to the beach. We went down to the beach and paddled our empty kayaks over to the boat launch where they met us with our gear.

We set out just about 2:30 PM and the winds were everything they were predicted to be. The water was on the spicy side, but nothing we couldn’t handle. Many times throughout the afternoon’s paddle, I was glad to know that there was a hot shower and a bed waiting for me at the end of the day. I was also reassured in our decision not to do an open water crossing in these conditions.

When you’re just going a few miles and you know where you’re going to sleep tonight, spicier water is a lot easier to handle than when you don’t know where you’re going to end up for the day and you’re trying to paddle in it all day.

As of this writing, we’ve each had our showers and we are selecting where to go for dinner. Looking forward to an early start in the morning to see how far we can get on this year’s race.