Posts In The “North Puget Sound” Category
Approaching the head of Blakely Harbor this weekend, we saw what looked like a rock near where we planned to anchor. It turned out to a small boat, submerged bow-up. It was covered with barnacles and appeared to have been underwater for a while. We guessed that it must have blown in from farther out…
Like many Puget Sound boaters, we’ve passed Point No Point dozens of times on our way to and from places north of Seattle. The last time was on a sunny, warm day with calm winds. It was time for lunch, so we decided to stop there. We found good anchoring depths and holding on the…
A few years back, we arrived one Friday night at Silverdale at the head of Dyes Inlet. It’s usually not a very busy place, but the docks were packed and a fair number of boats were at anchor. We dropped the hook away from the crowds a bit, nearer to the head, and settled in…
Last weekend we anchored off Blake Island Marine State Park. The high temperature for Saturday was 59F. A few other boats were about, but the marina was half-empty, all the buoys on the north side were free, a handful of boats were on the west side buoys, and a few kayakers had landed on the…
While anchored in Blakely Harbor over the weekend, we watched an example of neighborly support. [Map of area.] About 7:30 Sunday morning, a dinghy sped across the bay east of us. This was a little odd, because it was a cold and rainy morning, not ideal for a dinghy tour. Then we saw its…
While docked in La Conner recently, we were fortunate to walk past the Pacific Mariner plant at just the right time. They were wheeling a huge, empty hull, likely of a Pacific Mariner 85, around the building. It appears that they mold the hulls on one side of their property, then transport them to the…
On a recent trip from Elliott Bay to Mats Mats Bay, we passed the Washington State fast ferry Snohomish running south. The last we’d heard, the ferry was still mothballed in Eagle Harbor. A successful lawsuit by Rich Passage residents had taken the passenger-only Snohomish and its sister ship, the Chinook, out of service to…
Snow fell in the Puget Sound this weekend as part of a big winter storm that swept the country. We were anchored at Port Madison, on the north end of Bainbridge Island, when the white stuff started. Even though the temperature was several degrees above freezing, snow began building up quickly. It was a wonderful…
For decades, Vashon Islanders have steadfastly resisted any threat to their peaceful, quasi-rural lifestyle. The island is only a short ferry ride from Seattle and Tacoma—ferries run from both ends—yet the pace here is slower than in the cities. And that’s how the islanders like it
Very rough water off of Port Ludlow, WA this morning. We left Mats Mats Bay, WA at 8:15AM and started our trip back to Seattle and right outside of Matts Matts Bay we saw winds gusting to 52.9 kts (61 MPH). Here’s the weather station display from Dirona: Log entry from Dirona: 20070101 9:17AM (3204.6)…
When Daylight Saving Time gives our Friday evening daylight cruising period a big boost, we begin to range farther north and south of our typical winter cruising ground of the middle Puget Sound. In late April of 2002, we returned to Quartermaster Harbor which juts into the southern shore of Vashon Island and is roughly…