Thomas Hamilton | Water Dog Site

Spencer Spit To Rosario Resort Marina

June 27-28, Rosario Resort Marina

Trip Length 6.5 nm

Relaxing morning at Spencer Spit, took dogs in to do thy business and then packed up dinghy, vacuumed boat and off to Rosario. About a 5mile cruise across main channel where ferries go to East Sound.

Rosario is a historic mansion owned by Robert Moran (shipbuilder late 1800 to 1900s) and he did now want his 1300 acre estate broken up so made sure it was sold and kept together…so the Resort and Spa were born. We arrived around 2:30, checked out the grounds, had lunch/early dinner at the marina Cascade Bay Grill(Good food !) and then explored the mansion.

Robert Moran must really liked organ music because the entire middle of the house has a very large organ room which fills all the rooms around it with organ music when played.

Spent two nights at Rosario as on our full day we took a taxi up to the top of Mt Constitution with dogs in tow. Then walked the approx. 10 miles down hill back to the marina. This is a great hike to take along streams, lakes and water falls the entire way, highly recommended.

The taxi dropped us off at the top of Mt Constitution where you have great views out over the water with Sucia Islands and Rosario straight from the tower built by the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps ) back during the depression.

We then walked back down to parking lot where we started trail down back to Rosario Resort via trail to Twin Lakes, Mountain Lake through the water falls then Cascade Lake.

You then run in to Rustic, Cascade, Cavern and Hidden Falls along the trail.

You then cross the road at the entrance to the park for the final part of the hike along Cascade Lake to Rosario Resort below the lake.

At the bottom of Cascade Lake is a really cool bridge made of large logs set as an arch forming bridge, we did not need to cross it to go back to Rosario but we could not resist going over and back on it to check it out.

Decided to splurge and had dinner on the veranda at the mansion. Dinner was so so for the food but nice ambiance with view of the bay from most tables.

Hunter’s Bay To Spencer’s Spit

June 26^th, Spencer Spit Anchor, no dinghy dock

Trip Length 5 nm

Cruised north up Lopez sound, around Frost island to north side of the spit to anchor for the night.

There is a tiny channel between frost island and the spit but not knowing these waters we went around Frost island. Then we saw TONS of boats use this short cut…

Spencer turned out not to be our favourite spot since beaches had a lot of scummy material on them and the hiking was sub par.

Dinghy to shore, walked on the beach and through the park. Not much hiking and beach was a bit dirty but we still had fun and dogs got some good swimming in.

I have learned dinghy docks are important as more dirt and mud and sand from dogs and us when we have to land dinghy on beach. RV Park did have nice spots that were fairly isolated so an RV park stay might be nice.

James Island To Hunter’s Bay Anchorage

June 25^th, Hunter’s Bay Anchor, South end of Lopez sound

Trip Length 5 nm

Anchored near the public boat ramp dock at hunter’s bay.

Walked the dogs and then took a nice bike ride to Iceberg Point. Passed MacKaye Harbor (which has a dinghy dock/boat ramp) and Agate beach. Mackaye Harbour and Barlow Bay looked like a really nice protected anchorage.

Last mile is a walk to the point after locking up bikes you go a little ways further down road lined with houses and take a right at the small Iceberg Point sign. Beautiful view of Strait of Juan de Fuca and northwest towards San Juan Island. Cooked a nice dinner then to bed.

Anacortes To James Island State Park Dock

June 24^th, James Island State Park Dock

Trip Length 8 nm

Now that we are in the San Juan islands our cruises are pretty short…5-15 miles it seems. We left Anacortes Sunday AM. Fog bank in Guemmes Channel with ¼ mile visibility…we were kind of used to fog with San Francisco so forge on.

We broke out of the fog in the middle of Rosario Strait so the rest of the short cruise to James Island State Park was sunny. This stop was a “maybe” as it did not have good anchoring…idea was to get a spot at state park dock or keep going. We secured a spot (a bit of a crash landing as current slammed us against the dock/no harm done).

We walked the few trails on the island which are very nice but pretty short going around the south side of island. We tried finding a trail on the North side but ended up bush wacking through some very steep parts that Patty did not like much but did see one deer. Once we got back to boat we cooked out on grill and then turned in.

The island does have some very nice camp sites with wonderful views that people can get dropped off at dock or kayak too.

It was rolly before bed but settled down in the evening.

Langley To Anacortes

June 21-23 Anacortes

Trip Distance 35 nm

Left Langley mid morning, cruised northward in Skagit Bay to the Squanomish channel which is a man made canal that provides a short cut to Anacortes WA (instead of going through Deception pass which would then require one to go around the top of Fidalgo island to get to Anacortes). Neat entrance to the south end of the canal. We had the current with us so good time made.

Past La Conner (a cool town we visited by car before) and then out into open water of Padilla bay which connects to Fidalgo bay. We arrived at Cap Sante early afternoon.

Took a nice walk to Rotary Park Cap Sante itself with the dogs which starts at the far North end of the marina. At the top beautiful views! Took another trail down and found Frisbee golf in the woods of all things. Got in a good dog swim also!

Continued exploring and ended up at the “commercial” boat ramp next to Secret Cove restaurant. We did not eat or drink there but it’s a nice spot on the Guemmes channel. Hung out that night with plans to bike ride the following day.

The next morning we were walking up the dock and ran into friends Pam and Vince on Tugzilla! They had just splashed their boat as have a grand tour planned for the summer with a couple other Nordic Tugs.

We chatted and planned to have dinner. They had met people in the boat next to them and we all ended up going to dinner at the Lantern Pub downtown. Then stopped by these new friends boat “this’ll do” for Lopez island ice cream. They shared some stories and maps about cruising the islands. Nic evening.

Saturday we ran into Pam and Vince. Went to the farmer’s market together and then the W T Preston Snag Boat Snag boat Museum. A huge boat used to pick up logs and clear the waterways in the early 1900’s to 1960s. It was cool. Museum in building and walk through the snag boat to see the steam boilers etc was way cool!

After that we rode bikes to get things from hardware store and some Canadian dollars. That night had an upscale meal and Anthony’s (which was excellent).

Poulsbo To Port of South Whidbey Island Langley

June 19-20

Trip Length 30 nm

We had a short quiet cruise from Poulsbo to Langley via Agate Pass. I saw some birds in the distance at the most southern tip of Whidbey. Likely going after fish so I watched with the binoculars. I saw a few killer whale dorsals. Far in the distance but cool.

We pulled in for starboard tie on end of dock on inside of break water where Duncan came out to help with lines. You will be very lucky if Duncan is there when you come, very nice help full and can provide all the info you need about Langley etc. Very nice clean wide docks where we set our chairs out to sit to watch water at cocktail hour. Also best water pressure we have ever seen at any marina, great place to hose off boat.

Duncan At Port In Booth, Best Harbor Master Ever

Langley is a small town with some restaurants, good views of the water and galleries. Not much hiking other than beach walking and around town. We got there mid afternoon and just checked out town. In the middle of town are the stairs down to the beach where we took a left at the bottom and walked down tide line for 1/2 mile or so.

Top Of Stairs In Langley Down To Dog Beach

Bottom Of Stairs In Langley Down To Dog Beach

Had dinner out which was good. Decided to stay another day. In AM we took the dogs on a nice beach walk and then around town. Nice quaint place.

They have a bunch of very tame feral rabbits roaming the town. The dogs were very interested in the rabbits, thinking of them as rabbit poo pez dispensers and play toys. Did some training on leave it with both dogs ?

Sequim Bay (John Wayne Marina) To Port Townsend

Sunday June 3 to 5th

Trip Distance 15 nm

Port Townsend is a very nice town to visit with nice walks down the beach to the park on the north side, nice shopping in town and the start of the Olympic Discovery Trail along the bay south of town for bike rides. Beach walk is MUCH longer at LOW tide and it was not too muddy. Nice.

Got out of John Wayne Marina a little late at 1100 to catch the incoming tide and save some fuel. Ran at a little under 1600 RPM and 5 GPH at 9-10 knots so had a quick fuel efficient trip.

Day was over cast as you can see from looking in too Discovery Bay as we passed by it on our starboard side pilot house door.

We soon rounded the Point Wilson Light House and arrived at the narrow entrance to the Port Hudson Marina. The entrance makes a short dog leg to the right so a good long toot on the horn to warn some one coming the other way.

The marina is directly to the North of the water front down town section with many nice shops and places to eat. Our slip was on the far side across from town next to the Port Hudson RV park. The RV park had some nice spaces along the water but are pretty packed in due to the small space.

Later in the day we walked up the dock and across the RV park and took a left at the water for a walk to Fort Worden State Park along the edge of the beach at low tide. Dogs got a swim in along the way.

Fort Worden Park Walk

Port Townsend Beach Walk, low tide…at high no beach just cliff

Just a quarter mile down the beach we ran in a set of stairs up the bluff to a very nice Chetzemoka Park. The park is very nicely done with views of the water and lush greenery and grass.

On the way back we stopped at Doc’s directly behind the boat where I had the Mussel’s in Curry Sauce appetizer and Patty had clam chowder. The mussels are highly recommended.

On Monday we walked south along the road above the waterfront to Up Town and viewed many old Victorian houses on our way to the court house to check on details on boat rules in Washington State for taxes.

Port Townsend Houses, a few like this one are B and Bs

Port Townsend Houses, many nice yards and spring!

We then got some sandwiches from Aldrichs Market in Up Town to eat at the park across the street.

After looking for at least 10 years Patty found the right table at the right price for our foyer.

Neah Bay (Makah Marina) To Sequim Bay (John Wayne Marina)

Friday June 1-3 2018

Trip Distance 71 nm

Since it started raining Sunday we ended up staying at John wayne Marina for three nights from Friday to Sunday.

We got out of Makah Marina at 1100 hours to catch the incoming current to Sequim Bay. Patty read some good stuff about John Wayne Marina which is run by Port Angeles which is a large commercial port just West of John Wayne. John Wayne donated the land back in the 60’s to Port Angeles with the requirement that they build a public marina at the site.

On the charts saw something new where you have the normal traffic separation zones in the middle for ships to pass port to port, like cars in the US. On the outside of the normal lanes on the US side you see traffic indicated for starboard to starboard passing zones as you can see in the photo below with the small arrows in the lower left below the normal traffic separation zones for ships. The NOAA chart notes barge traffic and fishing vessels pass starboard to starboard in the area. I followed this and all the small vessels complied to this on past Port Angeles.

Strait Juan Defuca Traffic Seperation Zones

We are used to pretty heavy large ship traffic in San Francisco Bay but the shipping channel in the Strait Of Juan de Fuca was very heavy with 300’ or larger ship coming one after the other in the main shipping channel as shown on AIS on our port stern quarter below.

We then had one ship cross our stern as he crossed us as he went in to Port Angeles then another cross our stern as they exited Port Angeles, exciting stuff.

Rules of the road or Chicken 😕

The entrance to Sequim Bay takes a pretty short dog leg to the starboard side with the natural sand spit to port protecting the bay as you go in then to port but is is easy and wide.

We ended up deciding to stay on the outside of the transient dock so we could have a view outside the marina break water.

Forecast was for light winds but even with light NW winds we got a little wind wave action from the entrance from NE.

The marina has very nice green manicured lawns on the 22 acres so is very pleasant and dog friendly with trash cans and doggie bags at the top of the ramp.

At high tide good pebble dog beach. At low tide mud and likely one could dig in the mud for clams and such. A stream empties right at the junction of marina and beach of RV park.

The next day Saturday we took a short walk past the John wayne RV park at the south end of the marina and up to a short cut across the back of RV park and up along the south side of Sequim Bay along Olympic Discovery Trail. The trail runs along the shore for many miles on the Olympic Peninsula along the shore and is a great hiking and bike trail. The RV park had small spaces parking lot stile but some did have nice view of bay from across road.

Olympic Discovery Trail South Left Side Road

Sunday things cleared up rains wise and we went back up too Olympic Discovery Trail but this time took a right to head to the City of Sequim to see what is there.

Patty At Start Olympic Discovery Trail North To Sequim

Not much at downtown Sequim to look at so just passed through and turned around to go back over trail.

Westport To Neah Bay Makah Marina

Thursday May 31 2018

Trip Distance 104 nm

NOAA Marine Forecast

Today NW wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell 4 ft at 9 seconds. A slight chance of showers in the afternoon.

Got out of Newport Marina by 05:30 for an early start on our longest leg for a day trip, we did the longest 160 nm leg over night to Crescent City. We arrived at Neah Bay Makah Marina at 19:00.

Had a pretty rough ride for the exit out the harbor since we had the ebb tide going out. Don’t ever underestimate what can happen on these bars when you cross even on a nice day like we had where the combo of 2’ wind waves with 4’ swell really rocked and rolled us even on a 58’ well found boat.

The rest of the ride was fairly smooth with just some small somewhat rough patches.

Sun came out by 0900 and we had some nice views of the Washington coast on the way up.

Washington Coast Deception Island Light House

Around 13:50 Patty spotted 7-8 whale spouts off the port side so we got a few decent views of whales but they stayed pretty far off.

Arrived at Cape Flattery around 17:00 and got some good views of the Light House and rocks on our way by.

The next day we took a short walk around the Makah Mari and played a little chuck it with the dog’s before we left for John Wayne Marina for our next stop.

Garibaldi to Westport

Sunday-Thursday May 27-30 2018

Trip Distance 87 nm

NOAA PZZ250 Zone Forecast

6NM W Cannon Beach OR

NW wind 10 to 15 kt with gusts to 20 kt. Wind waves NW 3 ft at 5 seconds. W swell 4 ft at 11 seconds. Patchy drizzle in the morning.

This is our next to last leg with a long 110 nm leg from Westport to Neah Bay at the mouth of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Got out of Garibaldi Marina at 0600 on our way too South Port Marina. Only stayed at Garibaldi one night since we have a good weather window and not much to do at Garibaldi. Was a very nice calm day which turned out to be better than the NOAA forecast. Feeling lucky with all the good weather we have had for all our legs on the trip so far. We ended up staying until Thursday at Westport waiting for a good weather window.

We once again came in on the ebb tide at 13:30 so we the swells coming over Westport bar got bunched up and had a fun ride down the back of the waves.

When you enter marina you go down past the fish plant dock on the port side where the guest dock is located, we took a starboard side tie on float-6.

Water Dog Starboard Tie Guest Dock Westport Marina

Westport has a large charter fishing fleet on the side we docked at on the North side and also a large fishing fleet mostly on the other south side of the marina.

If you walk to the outside jetty, around the North side of the marina to the entrance the Fisherman’s Boardwalk allows you to view Grays Harbor and the fishing fleet on the North side.

We then took a quick outside tour of the Westport Maritime Museum across form the marina where the dogs enjoyed the nice watered green lawn. They have a large glass display case so you view exhibits from along the lawn.

On Monday had breakfast at Blue Buoy (good basic breakfast stuff) right across from marina. We then took a hike over to the viewing tower and then down the paved trail along the South jetty through West Haven State Park to the beach for a dog romp.