Hiking | Water Dog Site

Stuart Island To Sucia Island State Park

July 8^th, Stuart Island To Sucia Island State Park

Trip Length 14 nm

We decided to spend a night anchored out at Sucia Island Fossil Bay.

The anchorage at fossil Bay is mostly taken up by moorings and there is not much room to anchor so we ended up fairly far out in the cove with no protection from the South East. In the calm conditions was no problem and we had a great view out over the water outside bay.

After walking the Island there is a lot more room in Echo Bay where you can anchor in great spots and if Shallow Bay, on the west side with green/red markers at entrance, has enough depth it looked nice also. Both Echo and Shallow had nice beaches to dinghy too.

Sucia Isalnd Fossil, Echo and Shallow Bays

We took a very nice hike around the perimeter of the island where the trail crosses over from Fossil Bay dock over around the bottom to the most North west point of Echo Bay. On the way back we cut over to the trail with the red/green markers at Shallow Bay on the west side of Sucia.

Once we got to Echo Bay we could see that there are plenty of nice anchorage spots there verses the tightly spaced Fossil Bay.

No dock at Echo Bay for dogs but beach looked good for dinghy landing at end of bay.

At the North West point of Echo is a nice clean beach for dog swimming to reward you for the walk.

We then back tracked down the trail and took a right to go over to the trail skirting the dinghy beach at Shallow Bay.

Fishermans Bay To Stuart Island State Park

July 6 and 7^th, Fishermans Bay To Stuart Island State Park

Trip distance 14 nm

Got out of Fishermans Bay at around 1100 hours with a +3 tide so we would have plenty of depth on the way out. With our 5’3” draft never saw less than 5’ under keel.

Had a nice sunny day for the cruise over.

Went close along the south side of Speiden Island to see if we could spot any of the exotic animals which are supposed to be on the island but did not spot any.

We anchored in Reid Harbour but decided it would be nicer next time to be over on the other side in Prevost Harbour where the water is cleaner since more open to water flow on the tides.

We then took a ride to the dinghy dock past the moorings at the head of the bay.

We then walked over the hill, directly across from our dock, to Prevost Harbor dock and around to Charles Point and back.

The next day we went left at dock across bottom of Reid Harbour over to public boat ramp where the road starts which you can take to the Turn Point Light House.

Along the public road you run in too the former school, which is now closed, where the Benson family have chests where you can buy shirts and hats with Stuart Island logo’s. It is based on the honor system where you pay later via their web page with credit card or PayPal.

Once you take a right on the public road then a left further down you end up at the BLM land Turnoing Point Light House

On the way back we took a slight detour to visit the very small town of Prevost where the islands ferry dock is located by heading straight down road instead of taking first right. Home steads line the street.

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.

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.

Port Townsend to Port Ludlow Anchorage

Wednesday June 6-7

Port Townsend To Port Ludlow

Trip Distance 14 nm

Got out of Port Townsend at around 0900 and headed south towards the Port Townsend canal. Along the way we crossed a Navy base at Walan Point with a submarine docked inside. We gave it a good wide distance as a navy boat with sub-machine gun on front tracked us to make sure we did not turn towards sub with nefarious intentions.

The Port Townsend Canal is a short fairly narrow pass which is a short cut heading south towards Seattle from Port Townsend. We passed at slack tide and had not trouble at all with deep water the whole way.

Stopped for one night at Port Ludlow.

This is a one resort town. Nice large inn with maybe/probably good restaurant (well reviewed). Very dog friendly. Many trails in surrounding cookie cutter residential neighborhoods, to a small town center with gas station, grocery, bank, cpa etc… a tiny town in itself. There is a golf course on other side of bay and an RV park which seem to often be near marinas. I found a trail on line to a waterfall. Its small but it was a cool walk, good info on area, lumber industry etc.

Waterfall hike, not a lot of swimming opportunity

On the way back next to the falls we walked through the Port Ludlow RV park which was small but had nice wooded sites.

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.

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.

Florence To Newport

Thursday May 24-25 2018

Trip Distance 38 nm

Our planned route in OpenCpn is in blue, our actual track of the voyage is in fusia.

NOAA Marine Zone Forecast PZZ255 Marine Zone Forecast

N wind 5 to 10 kt, rising to 10 to 15 kt in the afternoon. Wind waves N 2 ft at 4 seconds. W swell 6 ft at 11 seconds. Secondary swell S 3 ft at 16 seconds. Patchy drizzle in the morning.

Nice short trip was nice after the last few longer ones.

We really enjoyed Newport since there are trails out the beaches on each side of the jetty and also some town walking with shops for Patty.

We almost got stuck in Florence as mentioned in the last blog since the Siuslaw Bar closes almost every day when the current starts going out and the swell steepens and start breaking in the entrance. We had a 0700 Florence bridge opening but when we heard S/V Tango on channel 22 getting escorted out we got going and mad it out the bar for An uneventfull short trip to Newport where we arrived at 0100. We ended up staying two nights where for the first day we hiked out to the beach on the south side of jetty and on the next day hiked over the US 101 bridge to Newport on the North side of river. The Port Of Newport Marina is the first recreational boaters marina we have seen since we left san Francisco. The working boats stay across the river to the North at Newport.

Water Dog At Port Of Newport Marina/RV Park

It was opening day for Halibut and the cleaning tables where packed with people cleaning fish.

For the hike out to the beach you start on the trail under the south side of the bridge and proceed down the south jetty.

You then can cut over to the left on to the trails through the dunes to get off the road as we did if you like.

Our first evening we checked out the Rogue Brewery. There are also Rogue spirits. This place is a true farm to table organization as they have Rogue farms which grow grains, hops and flavoring veges (ie cucumber gin) and then incorporate into the beer or spirits. Dinner was ok (not great food…go for the beer).

The next morning we took a short walk on the Estuary Trail across from marina to the east and then on over to South Beach for lunch of oysters and Halibut. Freshest fish we found in Newport.

A little later in the day we walked over the US 101 Bridge to Newport proper. A bit of a tourist town but is was nice to see a number of fish processing plants along the shoreline along the main drag.

we then took a short walk under the north end of the bridge towards the beach and then turned back to the right up the trial towards the bridge for trip back.

Bandon To Florence (Port Of Siuslaw)

Sunday May 20 to Thursday May 24th 2018

Trip Distance 60 nm

Warning: We found that the Siuislaw bar closes more often than others along the coast and opened only on the after the slack tide incoming current, twice each day. This is even with nice seas with 3-4’ swell. With the bridge tender asking for minimum two hour call before opening got dicey having to call bridge tender with bar closed a couple hours before high slack and you just hope the bar opens.

Here is a web page we found will all the bar status that would be a good idea to get closings as you go.

Washington/Oregon Bar Reports (Open or restricted Etc):

https://www.wrh.noaa.gov/pqr/marine/BarObs.php

Fairly short leg to Florence which we have enjoyed visiting by car so we decided to stop there for a few day’s. About half way there the starboard stabilizer fin stopped moving the way it should on the TRAC monitor where it just floated around center. I went ahead and went below to mid-ship space and pinned the fin to disable it. Water Dog handles well in moderate seas with one fin so all is well.

Florence is about four miles up from the Siuslaw river entrance and has some nice looking sandy beaches along the starboard side with more development along the port.

Holly on bow river watch for shallow water

We pulled up to the guest dock for a side tie that’s just past the bridge on the port side of river.

We happened to arrive on Rhody(Rhododendron) day at Florence so they had the fair in town with rides and games as well as the local Harley riders.

Had a great bowl of Crab Chowder at little floating place Novelli’s crab shack … all seafood from their own boat.

Took a walk just north of guest dock where the Port Of Siuslaw office is and their nice RV park.

The people at the port were all super nice.

Florence Marina And Rv Park Office To The Left

The next day we want over and got 840 gallons of diesel at $2.28 per gallon, a great price right now. No high speed pump so took a couple hours to pump but Jasen was very nice to watch the pump for that long.

We went out to dinner one night. Someone had recommended the Firehouse Grill for the best clam chowder. Another local passed by and mentioned the Water Front Depot as the best place to eat. I (Patty) had seen it on yelp as the best restaurant in town so when Alex wanted to divert I said sure. We had a great meal at the bar with an attentive and friendly bartender, Tom. When I asked for good sipping Tequilla he offered one up which was good. He suggested cinnamon instead of salt prior to the tequilla then follow with an orange slice YUM!…. Alex asked for a special drink which Tom made (bourbon or scotch based drink)

Ended up the starboard stabilizer fin hydrolic cyclinder nut had come loose so the fin was not longer attached to it and was swinging free. Ended up taking it out to make sure cylinder OK and re-installing Wed.

We called for 0700 bridge opening the night before but at 0700 bar was closed so we called to cancel. We then heard Tango being escorted out by coast guard and called bridge back to open and we where lucky enough because he was still on bridge (we actually ended up going through at our scheduled time of 7am).