A REAL VACATION! Part 5: International Drug Lords

Situated as it was on the northern coastline of Samish Island, our cottage and its grounds looked out over Samish Bay, a quiet part of Puget Sound where very little happens. We discovered on our first night there that a large cargo ship of some kind was anchored out in the bay. It seemed odd to us at that point, but it was to become stranger still as the weekend went on. Why would a huge boat like that be sitting around in a little bay that doesn't go anywhere, doesn't connect to any port or industrial area of the Sound?

You should know that this story is far more interesting if you imagine the craziest explanation possible. (Most things in life are like that.) We chose to believe that the large cargo ship was waiting for some sort of huge drug deal.

Here is the boat on our first day. Notice how suspicious it looks? (Try harder to see the suspicious nature of the boat. Seriously, try harder.)




When we returned to our cottage on the second day, a sailboat had anchored very close to the bank by our cottage. The cargo ship was still there. It seems obvious that the suspicious lingering of the ship had attracted the attention of others besides us. The sailboat had to belong to undercover DEA agents staking out the ship.



Why else would a sailboat stay all night watching the ship?




On the third day, the ship had rotated enough for us to get an excellent picture with further details.




On the fourth day, the ship had rotated again.




By that evening, the sailboat had been joined by a fishing boat and a small speedboat.






Then something happened! A small speedboat came out to visit the other small boats. Then the speedboat went out to the ship, sped around it, and motored back around the corner of the island and out of sight.




Later I did see pictures in a coffee table book showing several of the same cargo ships waiting in various neighboring coves and bays. As it turns out, they wait for up to a week for the nearby oil refinery to be reading for loading or unloading their products. Although I do think that our story about the DEA staking out the drug ship is far more exciting.