Blog | Water Dog Site

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 ?

Point Defiance to Poulsbo (Liberty Bay Anchorage)

June 16-19th, 2018

Trip Distance 29 nm

Headed out going North from Point Defiance early to get the outgoing tide. Went up Colvi passage on the inside of Vashon Island then snaked around to get up to Poulsbo.

Pronounced “paulsbo” as it was Pauls place when founded by Norweigans. Pouslbo was misspelling I think done by post office way back when and the name stuck. Another harbor town, some galleries and dining options. Economy here is all tourism: visitors by boat and land to walk the waterfront, eat ice cream etc…

We anchored out at Poulsbo for three nights in 14′ or so of water with nice mud bottom.

You will find the dinghy dock to the left at the fuel dock all the way in next to shore at the Port Of Poulsbo public dock. We missed it first time in since it is shared with fuel dock space. At the top of the dock is a nice park with green grass for the dog’s and room for a short walk to stretch your legs.

Poulsbo is near the head of Liberty bay. Liberty bay used to be dogfish bay as the stream that feeds it and the bay had a lot of dogfish (shark). The dog fish were harvested for their oil. When not in clouds we had a good view of Mt Rainer. Hazy most days we were here so not a clear view.

Pouslbo has a nice waterfront park and boardwalk. We hung out in Poulsbo several days as Alex was to receive a package Monday and it came late enough in the day we stayed until Tuesday.

We walk with dogs along bay to Fish park and nearby Nelson park. There are some cool murals under the bridge when we crossed under it from Fish Park to Nelson Park.

Ate at the Loft, recommended by locals and online. I had halibut tacos YUM and alex had the seafood Chimichunga which was recommended by the guy at the marine store. Also excellent corn and clam chowder.

We did have another biking adventure as we biked to the Walmart where Alex procured a fishing license and we got a few supplies. Then on to Petco for two 30lb bags of dog food. We strapped the bags on the back of the bikes. Took a non scenic way back to port (3 mile ride) but it was mostly down hill so we made it unscathered…now we have 90lbs of dog food on board should last ~9 weeks per my calculations. Tuesday AM went in to let the dogs do their business and Alex visited marine store a 3^rd and last time to exchange fuel pump bulb thingy for dinghy (we bought the wrong size Saturday and they were closed Monday!.

Gig Harbor to Point Defiance Public Dock at Ruston

June 15-16th, 2018

Trip Distance 5 nm

Point Defiance is within boundaries of Ruston (a suburb of Tacoma I think)

Twas a short trip from gig harbor to Point Defiance dock. We wanted to get there early to secure space and we did. For vessels over 30 feet 20 dollars per night ($5 for electric but only one pedastel which we did not use). The dock is right next to ferry landing so we had lots of ferry watching. At low tides (since around this date the low tides were super extreme we were on the ground).

The city original downtown had only a couple businesses. They are developing a waterfront up the small man made harbor with lots of condos being built and a soon to be open bicycle bridge that connects it to the park area. I saw the green space on google maps, researched and decided it might be worth a park. I feel it was!

The destination here is wonderful Point Defiance park with old growth forest, hiking paths, a zoo and aquarium, gardens and a 5 mile drive which can be biked. Also since a point in the sound there is a nice beach you can walk too along the water just North of the marina. We walked the beach in the AM with dogs so they got good running and swimming in.

Then in PM we rode the bikes to the small town center and then on the five mile road. This road is closed to 10am on weekdays and til 1pm on weekends for bikers and walkers. We saw some raccoons begging alongside of the road and good views of Colvi channel, and the narrows bridge (original suspension bridge years ago collapsed due to bad engineering and high winds).

The park also has a rose garden, herb garden, rhodendendron garden and off leash dog park.

Also a recreated fort, Fort Nisqually (two building were donated and moved from original site further down the sound). At this Fort they do camps, period events and its also rentable space. Had burgers for dinner.

Point Defiance Park, cool mowing pattern

Seattle To Gig Harbor Anchorage

Had a nice cruise to Gig Harbor from Seattle. Overcast at times but also some sun. We left Bell harbor around 10:30 am which was a little earlier than Alex wanted …..as on the other end of the cruise we hit Gig harbor at LOW tide and it was a minus 3 tide. Chart said depth would be iffy so we turned around to delay a bit. However, I texted Wayne and he said they went through at low tide and had 12 feet. Also talked to another Sailing vessel who went in before us and said it should be 8 feet. We got through no problem and anchored out.

Took dogs in for a walk where you can take left at base of marina and walk down road to small park at Gig Harbor entrance. Also At base of public dock (which was nice but we did not use) was a nice green space Skanse Park..home of Skanse Net house. there are several old net houses along the harbor edge. Many converted to businesses but this one has been restored to the point one can see the stored nets etc. inside where the hosts described the equipment and nets displayed.

That night we had a nice dinner at the Tides Tavern where we tied dinghy at their dock for easy entry/exit.

We had breakfast at Net house 9 on their back deck the following day as well.

The next day was the farmer’s market in the PM. So in the AM we walked the dogs up to the head of the bay and checked out some other net houses, Eddon boat park, Donkey Creek Park (good for ball), the harbor History Museum which had an old fishing boat from the original fishing village (the Shenandoah which was a working purse seiner until maybe the 60s ? then sank and was donated by the owner). The vessel is a permanent exhibit and is being restored and also the guys were working on an Atlas engine Alex was interested in.

Shenandoah Being Rebuilt At Back Of Museum

Shenandoah Three cylinder Engine Being Restored To Non Working Condition

While we visited there were several children experiencing a one room schoolhouse complete with school marms in costume. We walked around the tip of the bay and briefly checked out the Donkey Creek City Park at then Crescent Creek Park.

On the way back we went to the farmer’s market at the marina, got some cherries and had them all eaten by the end of the day!

Eagle Harbor To Bell Harbor @ Seattle

June 11-12th

Trip Length 5 nm

Short 5 mile cruise across the sound to Seattle bell Harbor. Small harbor with TALL barrier walls so did not get much of a view. We got there early due to short cruise.

Space Needle Seattle Cruise In To Bell Harbor

Walked northward along bay through sculpture parks and waterfront parks (Myrtle Edwards and Centennial) with dogs. They got to swim and played ball.

Also went to Pikes place market to check it out. Wanted to try Pike’s Place Chowder but too long of a line. Ended up at Kells Irish Restaurant and Bar: had a Sausage roll and Lamb wrap and I tried the clam chowder and it was AWESOME chowder. It was good food, Alex had a beer.

Richard called us when we arrived as was trying to hook us up with their friends Steve and Maureen (mo). They had been wine tasting but we did finally hook up around 6pm or so. They just stopped by for a few minutes. Only Steve came as Mo was busy but he brought his niece and her husband and two other young man in the family. We chatted a bit and gave tour of the boat.

The following day we took dogs for a walk past aquarium to another waterfront park but it was all cement…. Saw miners landing where the big ferris wheel is… all too busy and city like for us.

Then we had and approximately 9 mile there and back again bike ride to a place on the east side of Lake Union called Fisheries supply.

Gator Bridge (really the Fremont bridge) LOL! had to cross to get to the Fisheries supply

Alex had ordered some line (floating for docking and regular to make lines). It was a nice ride about town, pretty good bike trails. That afternoon Alex napped and I went back to pikes place to explore. Found the fish throwers and gum wall. Almost got a belt but decided not too. Chowder place still long lines so I got some fresh donuts and a soft vege taco. I got my taco from the Mexican grocery on the main drag. A vendor that sold Slex some pepper jelly said to try the place across the street so I thought maybe this was it… However I did not catch the name and I picked the wrong place me thinks Eventually I wandered by it inside a building with multiple shops and dining places and it was called Los Agaves….will try next time for street tacos… they had our fave al pastor.

Sat up top for cocktails the 2^nd evening and it was nice. Got a good view of Mt Rainer

View from flybridge south to Mr Rainier and Farris wheel on Miner’s landing.

View of Olympic Mountains across Puget Sound

Port Ludlow To Eagle Harbor, Bainbridge Island Public Dock

June 7-10

Trip Distance 29 nm

Bainbridge Island/Eagle Harbor Public Dock is brand new and very nice with all new pilings etc.

Wayne and Linda on Tribute were to meet us there. They were traveling northward from Gig Harbor. They arrived a bit before us and stayed at Queen City Yacht Club outstation.

We got a spot at the public dock but then a big 100 foot boat came and said it was reserved. We said you can ‘t reserve its first come first serve but low and behold there were several cones that said reserved (oops).

Fortunately, right when we were going to move the boat at the other end of the long dock we were on left and the charter tied up there. They were having a party for someone named Brandt that night so later that day partiers arrived and they went out for a cruise. The Bainbridge island public dock is newly renovated, economical and very nice! 50 cents a foot with power. Had 50 amp too. We arrived Thursday and boaters are only supposed to be on the dock 48 hours. The harbormistress who we had communicated with about getting some mail said we could stay Saturday night (night number 3) since weather was not to be that nice ie rain. Ultimately, we stayed Thursday through Monday AM as she permitted us to stay one more night via text.

We had several good walks in Bainbridge island, dog swim in front of yacht club and a bike ride to the Grand Forest park east. On our long walk with dogs we started on waterfront board walk, followed the waterfront trail signs which snaked us through neighborhoods.

We had short detour into the Moritani preserve which was nice green space. Played ball with dogs there. They had some artifacts from previous Japanese owners. Seems Japanees settled on this and Vashon Island to grow strawberries. Some of these poor folks had lands confiscated and were put into internment camps… The waterfront walk also took us to Strawberry Park which is not very developed, a short waterfront picnic tables, and parking.

Nice down town with shops and good high-end grocery called Town and Country market (like a whole foods).

Went out every night with buddies Wayne and Linda. Went to Docs Marina Grill first night; good fish tacos. This restaurant must be a chain as we had eaten at Docs marina grill in Port Hudson. Anyhow we had a 2^nd meal at Docs when we met their friends the Norman and Lisa. I had the Crab Risotto which was awesome.

Had a short walk with Linda on the trails/roads to the right of the marina the next morning on the public paths you seem to stumble upon all over town.

Peace Full Public Path Linda, Patty, Holly

Lisa was a friend of Linda’s from a very young age as they were in boarding school for a year in France. These guys had been on Bainbridge island for nearly 40 years so they know some of the history. Norm had an interesting past. He helped develop the docks in Bainbridge and also Neah bay.

He told a story of a periscope in the bathroom of the Doc Marina Grill building. It was there! Supposedly the wives lived across the bay. The fisherman would come in and off load but then would go to the bar. The periscope was installed so the fisherman could look for and/or at any dinghy’s coming their way which might be a wife looking for the hubby! Nice to meet them.

We also ate one night at Mexican place Isla Bonita across from town and The Country Market food store. Alex had the SEAFOOD MOLCAJETE Mexican Molcajete (Mexican stew) made with shrimp, scallops, and whitefish. It was fantastic…..(From Alex).

Our last night we ate at the Harbour Public House. This is a small but nice pub with good brewery food. Not too loud on a Sunday night.