Posts In The “Washington State” Category
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…
Andrew Anderson Marine Park, operated by the Anderson Island Parks and Recreation District, is a lovely park on the southwest side of Anderson Island in the south Puget Sound (map of area). The nature preserve, sometimes called Andy’s Marine Park, provides the only public saltwater shore access on the island and is part of the…
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…
Deception Pass State Park is the most popular in the state, drawing some 2 million visitors each year. The 4,000-acre reserve has miles of walking trails and more than 100,000 feet of saltwater and freshwater shoreline. The biggest attraction of course is Deception Pass itself, where currents can reach nine knots as more than 2…
We always spent Christmas afloat, usually in Canadian waters. Some years we’ve travelled to the Sunshine Coast, Desolation Sound, or the Broughtons. This year we stayed closer to home, in the San Juan Islands. We had considered going to Barkley Sound on the west coast of Vancouver Island instead, but didn’t have time to research safe…
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…
With gale force winds forecast for the Strait of Juan de Fuca, we anchored last night in Watmough Bay at the southeast tip of Lopez Island. The bay appears to have good protection from southeast weather, but we saw exactly the same winds as at unprotected Smith Island at the eastern end of the strait:…
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…
This year we spent Thanksgiving aboard in the South Puget Sound (the area between Olympia and Tacoma Narrows). With extreme high tides above 15 feet, we were able to explore the drying heads of several inlets: Henderson, Hammersley, and Eld. The weather for the most part was excellent—bright blue skies and little wind. Temperatures were…
Earlier today as we sailed out of Henderson Inlet, just north of Olympia, we heard the Coast Guard asking for assistance for a downed aircraft in Commencement Bay. At around 12:40 the vessel Grand Madison reported that it had rescued two people from the water, one an elderly lady slightly hypothermic. At 12:50 the Coast…
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)…
We traditionally spend Thanksgiving in the San Juan Islands. On the way up this year, we encountered a Navy chopper quite near the water surface practicing rescue maneuvers using a buoy just off Port Townsend. We could see it in the binoculars a long way off and could not figure out what it could possibly…
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…
Those who have gone boating since the events of 9/11 have undoubtedly discovered that the waters and naval bases of the Puget Sound and surrounding areas are now much more heavily guarded than in the past, with pleasure craft coming under substantial scrutiny. If you haven’t been out since then, you will find that we…