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Friday Harbor Waterfront Views By Capt Crabby

I’ll tell you what’s up.  Tempers.  And, believe it or not, the SOBs are agitated over little bunny rabbits.  American Camp, one of two historic National Parks on San Juan Island, has been home to a very, very large and growing herd of bunnies.  Understand, these bunnies were not in American Camp when Colonel Pickett was eating poached pork, but were introduced later by mainland tourists bringing their unwanted furry pets to the island, and dropping them off here to keep us company.  And the bunnies thrived to the point where they became, at least in some peoples’ opinion, not just a nuisance, but a hazard.  Herds of bunnies, stopping cars on the road, and pressing their pink runny noses against the windows.  Feral bunnies chasing dogs, stuff like that.  The National Park Service held public meetings to discuss ideas on rabbit reduxtion.  Maybe shoot them?  Egads, no!  Maybe poison them?  Are you nuts?  How about send them back to the mainland?  Hmm, maybe.  But then, suddenly, the rabbits nearly disappeared.  Was it a natural population crash, as we studied in 8^th grade biology?  Did the bunnies meet and decide to get off the island while the getting was good?  Or was it something more sinister?  Probably….So a bunch of concerned SOBs  formed Save Our Bunnies (SOB), and got some lawyers to work pro-bunny, which subsequently caused another group of SOBS to rally, forming Sautee Our Bunnies (SOB).  The latter group is having a fund raising dinner next week.  I’m looking forward to it.

Also up…Christmas lights.  Up the masts and rigging.  In my valued opinion, only one thing is more beautiful than a lighted boat on smooth waters at night… and that is a whole parade of lighted boats on smooth waters at night.  And look …across the harbor… it’s a boat parade, the Fire boat and the Sheriff’s boat leading the way, red lights flashing, sirens blowing.  At the tail of the parade,..Yes…it’s the Santa Boat, and on the bow is the big fat guy himself, waving like mad.  The lighted boats circle slowly around the harbor, turn and come back down along the Main Breakwater, passing close by the cheering, schnapps-warmed onlookers. Up at the top of Spring Street, a fire truck appears, red lights flashing and sirens whoop-whooping. The truck idles slowly down the hill, makes the circle around the twin giant elms in Memorial Park, lit from above by a canopy of white lights strung through the tree branches.  It stops at the foot of Spring Street Landing, and yellow suited fire people hop down.  The boat parade is passing by Spring Street Landing, and the Santa Boat breaks away and pulls smoothly alongside the pier, the Captain much relieved.  On the pier, little kids are jumping up and down squealing, looking first at the Santa Boat, and then at the fire trucks, and trying not to pee their pants. Santa disembarks and winds his portly way through the crowd, scaring babies and patting little heads as he goes.  The yellow suits help the red suit up onto the fire engine. Whoop-whooping, it pulls slowly around the circle, and leads a convoy of noisy pedestrians and cars up Spring Street, passing under the lighted decorations hanging from the street lights.  The truck leaves a wake of red flashing exhaust as it disappears over the top of the­­ hill.  Back in the harbor, the now-forgotten parade boats have headed back to their slips, the lighted masts still visible, but dispersed all over the harbor.  Just down the waterfront, an old salt sits on a bench, watching the last of the cars disappear over the top of the hill on Spring Street. He sniffs a few times, clears his throat, and turns to look out over the harbor.  A peaceful quiet creeps in like the fog around Spring Street Landing.

Oh, ain’t that sweet now. Sniff, sniff….Ahem.  Anyway, that there is a romanticized vision of the annual Friday Harbor Lighted Boat Parade, which is sponsored by the Friday Harbor Sailing Club www.fridayharborsailing.com , and is scheduled for December 11, in the beautiful Port of Friday Harbor.  The town will be all decorated with the Island Lights Festival, and all the cute little shops on Spring Street will be all fancied up and festive, and have special promotions.  Gosh, I’m getting choked up again…excuse me. Sniff, sniff.  Christmas does that to me.  Very bittersweet.  I never did get a pony, you know. Maybe this year.

Up at the other end of the harbor, in Shipyard Cove Marina, the Flat Earth Society’s Holiday Decorating Committee is working on their Festival of Lights. The Committee meets daily for morning coffee, and so far this year they have Scotch-taped a string of miniature holiday lights above the big window, and have also taped up some of last year’s Christmas cards on the glass below that.  On the meeting table is a bowl with tiny red and green marshmallows.  There is some discord within the Committee, as some feel that the display is already far too exuberant, while others are pushing for at least another string of miniature lights.

There is a lot of open water in the Guest Docks at the Port of Friday Harbor right now, but those slips will be filled up for the Resurrection Salmon Derby on December 3-4^th.. The brokerage docks at Friday Harbor Yachts are also empty, since legendary broker Bish Wheeler sold off nearly every listed boat in his annual Yacht-A-Thon, the 96-hour, non-stop, soul-draining, deal-making frenzy in late October.  Get well cards and new listings can be sent directly to his office, and will be forwarded to him.