The book, San Juan Islands: Into the 21st Century was published less than two years before The Columbia River. The San Juans are scattered across the Strait of Juan de Fuca, recently renamed the Salish Sea, between Bellingham, Washington State and Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. They enjoy a relatively warm temperature -- average about 75 days and 60 nights in summer. The waters are part of the North Pacific, so never really get warm. However, with the sun overhead, islanders and visitors enjoy paddling around and waterskiing, sometimes in dry suits. This man could use a couple of kayak paddles but doesn't seem to care.
The San Juan Islands are a vacationer's paradise at least six or eight months of the year. Even in winter it is rare to have any snow in this part of the world, but it does occur occasionally -- and leaves within days. In the 1800s would-be gold prospectors headed for the Fraser River of Canada had to go first to Victoria to get a license and often paddled their boats through the calm San Juan group. Only four of the larger islands (about 172 islands plus others more popularly called rocks) are served by Washington State Ferries. Residents on other islands must take a small boat, commercial small boat, or a barge rented to take vehicles or other heavy gear on and off islands.
The North Pacific Ocean waters farther south at the mouth of the Columbia is the villain that sends formidable swells at times to confront the outflow of the river and make it difficult for boats to enter the ocean. Essentially, the north-to south coastal shore of Washington stretches from around the San Juan Islands and Olympic Peninsula to the mouth of the Columbia River.
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