South Puget Sound cruising destinations?

[Marco Flamingo]

With the WA restrictions on recreational boating being lifted soon, Beth and I are considering a cruise to South Puget Sound. When talking about it, we realized that we have been south through the Tacoma Narrows on only one occasion to spend a night at anchor at Kopachuck State park about 20 years ago.

The other thing we realized was that in all of our cruising, and my cruising before we were married, we (and I) have spent very, very little time overnighting at marinas. We have tied up overnight at the marina in FH for the CBGT several times, but always spent the nights at a friend's condo.

Other than FH, we (I) have spent a total of one night tied up as a paid guest at a marina in my boating life. A few years ago at Sullivan Bay in the Broughtons, we paid a fee and spent the night (at Beth's request). That's it. One night out of at least 100. My other cruising boat's didn't have anything that could be plugged in, but I'm still not concerned about plugging in every night. I guess I just don't get the marina thing. I only go to marinas out of necessity either for fuel or expensive groceries.

So our cruising to South Puget Sound would not include staying at marinas if that is even possible right now. Do Brats have any favorite South Sound anchorage spots where one doesn't feel like they are peeping Tom's in somebody's backyard? Sorry Tom.

Mark

[markm]

I am following along on this topic. Coming from the south tip of Whidbey it seems that accessing the south sound would be fairly simple and another vantage point. With zero knowledge of "cruising" in the Puget sound does the South sound see more action than the San Juans? I would assume so due to the population. However you don't hear much of south sound cruising. Wish I could answer you Mark but instead I am just jumping in.

[Pat Anderson]

For us, the best destination in South Sound is Jarrell Cove State Park.
This is from a C-Brat Get-Together in 2008.

[chromer]

[Marco Flamingo]

chromer,

No, I forgot that that was one of the three CBGTs. It is another time that I paid for overnight moorage with the Brats. Other than that, I've pulled an anchor every morning and loved it. (That's the best picture of the Limpet that I have seen).

I saw Jarrel's Cove as a possibility when looking through the Marine Atlas vol. 1. I have an old floating key fob from the Jarrel's Cove Marina and have never been there. It also looks like Vaughn Bay might be a good anchorage.

Hammersley Inlet has always seemed like an interesting "thread the needle" type of passage, but the prize at the end of 7 miles is just the Manke lumber mill in Shelton. Oro Bay on Anderson Island also looks interesting. It's right across from the Nisqually Flats which might have good bird watching if not too windy. There is also an interesting little bay on the north end of Fox Island that doesn't seem to have a name in the Atlas. It looks to be on the other side of the island from the navel acoustic testing area, so it should be open.

Budd Inlet doesn't seem to have much in the way of anchorages and the channel approach to Olympia looks like it requires some extra attention. Percival Landing in downtown Olympia has walking access to the "Evergreener hippie" bars in Olympia (watch the TV show Portlandia to get the vibe), but now is probably not a good time. Maybe just go in far enough to see the Capitol building and salute our valiant Governor.

I think I have a Waggoner's around somewhere but have never even looked at what it covers in the South Sound. I'll have to track it down.

Mark[/i]

[Wandering Sagebrush]

Mark, have you looked at the Jo Bailey/Carl Nyberg gunkhole book? I’ve not read it, but it might have some good info.

There is also the Mueller South Puget Sound, Afoot & Afloat guide.

[robhwa]

Marco; I think you have good sites/anchorages. A few items to add: 1) Eagle Island State Park north of Anderson Island and Maury Island bay are popular anchorages. Balch passage between Eagle/Anderson or Eagle/McNeil can host hundreds of seals. Even though the shores are empty, do not land on McNeil Island, of course, as it is a prison. 2) You can beach a C-dory at Andy's Marine Park/Carlson Bay on the SW side of Anderson Island if you want to wait through a cycle and hike Andy's Park trails. There is a pair of nesting Pileated woodpeckers nearby. Listen for a noise that sounds like monkeys in a rain forest. Most of the shores are fine for a C-dory to beach, though there are some rocky areas where tides wash, and some sucking mud in the most protected bays. 3) on the NW side of Anderson Is there is a bed of tens of thousands of sand dollars that can be seen at low tide, live and dead. Kids, in particular, love the white, dead, shells. 4) Oro Bay is very popular right now. We've been seeing a lot more boats than normally during this virus thing. There is a 50 ft guest moorage at Oro Bay Yacht Club. Be careful of anchoring in inner Oro Bay, as there is a lot of junk that can snag an anchor there, but if you stay in deeper water you should be OK. However, the most inner anchored boats will be on their bottoms/sides during low tide. Outer Oro Bay should be fine, can be windy, but no big deal. You are welcome to tie to my float (8x12 wood with orange bucket), access shore, and use my kayaks and/or bicycles if you so desire. Much of the island is private and there aren't a lot of options for accessing shore. Just let me know and I'll meet you. You can paddle into the Nisqually or even motor into it during high tide. Birds galore. Careful of the tribal crab pots (black floats), in the river, or you'll snag one. The river stays OK, but the flats can get pretty shallow at low tide. Nisqually flats is a birding paradise, and a crabbing paradise during normal years when they open the season. It has been closed the last 2 years. If you have a fishing rod, you can easily catch flounder. 15 ft of water and just about any bait. Limit 15/day. During late summer/fall we can have King, Coho and Pink runs, sometimes really good fishing, but of course its spotty as they have to run the gauntlet to get this far. Mostly around here its is just fun to check things out. I've been sailing but haven't put Problema'dela into the water yet, but I have had my Hobie sailboat and kayaks out. Have fun.

[Marco Flamingo]

Rob,

This cruise was intended to be the maiden voyage of my new boat, which has a 4 foot draft. Not good for the C Dory tactic of running aground and beachcombing till the tide comes back in.

I knew that McNeal Island was easy to go ashore but very, very difficult to leave. I'll bet the clam digging is really good.

I also have a new inflatable, but I think I'll be busy enough just checking out and learning the main boat's systems such that I don't need to mess with a tender yet. I'll be stuck aboard.

Thanks for the invite and all the ideas.

Mark

[Catman]

Rob and Mark, thank you for all that useful South sound information. Nice photo, Pat. I always enjoyed sitting around the campfire there and elsewhere. Markm on South Whidbey, the San Juans routinely attract many more boaters than waters south of the Narrows Bridge. But given the current situation that may not be true now.