By Gary Alexander

The third annual trip around Lopez Island in the 100-foot Mystic Sea promises to be the best yet. Departing Spencer’s Landing Marina at noon on Saturday, June 27, History Afloat 3 will head for the historic fishing waters off the south end of Lopez and San Juan Islands. This fishing theme is in harmony with the Lopez Island Historical Museum’s new exhibit, Salmon was King, which begins with fish traps in the early-1900s, then explores the massive flotilla of boats that fished off Lopez Island in the high fishing seasons of the 1930s through the 1970s.

The first History Afloat in 2013 featured the commentary of Captain Monte Hughes, a long-time fisherman on Lopez Island and skipper of the 100-foot Mystic Sea, our host ship for all three cruises around Lopez. After that cruise, one long-time Lopez resident told us: “I have been on the island for 53 years and I learned so many new things. Monte does a stellar job, with just the right sense of humor.”

Then, in 2014, the second cruise around the island enlisted commentary on mammal life on Lopez with guest commentator, Dr. Jim Kenagy, Professor of Biology, emeritus at the University of Washington and Curator of Mammals at the Burke Museum in Seattle. The second tour also featured commentary on the religious commune of Thomas Gourley near Hunter Bay from 1911 to 1919, along with the early names given to our local bays and islands by the Charles Wilkes expedition of 1841.

The third tour around Lopez will be different in two ways. The first two sailings circumnavigated the island in a clockwise direction, starting with Port Stanley and Swift Bay and focusing mainly on stories of Lopez Island’s east side and south end. This year’s event will travel counter-clockwise, so that we can focus on the prime fishing waters around Lopez Island, and off San Juan Island near Cattle Point. Three great island fishing families will be represented by guest commentators Jack Giard, Ralph Bladt, Bob Hughes and Captain Monte Hughes. The tour runs from noon to 4 p.m. on June 27. There is only room for 60 passengers, and more than half of those places are already reserved. Please contact the Historical Society (468-2049) or drop by during museum hours (12-4 Wednesday-Sunday) to see the exhibit and reserve your spot on History Afloat 3.