Poulsbo Poulsbo is on the northeast shore of the bay, about one mile past Keyport. The skyline is dominated by the beautiful spire on the First Lutheran Church, built by early pioneers. Rugged Olympic mountain peaks can be seen above the western shore. There’s plenty of anchoring room in the bay which is rimmed with cabins and homes, many in forested settings. Poulsbo has three marinas: the first is Liberty Bay Marina, with no guest moorage; the second is Poulsbo Yacht Club with reciprocal privileges; the third and last is the Port of Poulsbo Marina, right in downtown Poulsbo. 
You can moor at the Port Marina where there’s moorage for about 130 guest boats.  A park and picnic area are right at the marina, which also has clean restrooms, hot showers and laundry, fuel float with gas and diesel, and pumpout station. Nearby are delis, marine supplies, bookstores, bakeries, markets, restaurants, drug stores, video rentals, boutiques, liquor store, good places to walk, Marine Science Center, and just about everything else the whole crew will enjoy. Marina phone: 360-779-3505.
Poulsbo was settled in the 1880s by Scandinavian fishermen, loggers and farmers who felt at home in the “fjord-like” surroundings and the long coastline where they could fish. They logged and then farmed after they’d chopped down most of the trees.
As in most Puget Sound communities where roads were scarce or nonexistent, early transportation to Poulsbo was by water on “Mosquito Fleet” steamers that plied the waters between villages and towns on the west side of the Sound and Seattle.
(While Jo was a reporter on the North Kitsap Herald in Poulsbo during the early 1990s she moored her sailboat Sea Witch there for several years. She found it a wonderful spot with everything she needed, including friendly boaters.)
Around the South of Bainbridge If indeed circumnavigation of Bainbridge is the goal of this trip we need to mention some more neat places to cruise past and perhaps visit later.
Leaving Liberty Bay it’s just 2.5 miles across Port Orchard channel to one of our favorite gunkholes, Manzanita Bay on Bainbridge. This is a “must return” anchorage for anyone who’s ever been here.
Ah, Manzanita, how sweet it is. This might be another ideal destination for a first cruise. It can be reached by going around either the north or south end of Bainbridge. Along the west side of the island, a couple of miles south of the Agate Pass bridge is delightful Manzanita Bay. It has everything: a good anchorage and a spot to row ashore at Dock Street, where there was once a steamer landing. If you want a restaurant or other facilities, you’ll not find them here. But it’s a beautiful gunkhole.
Brownsville is about 3 miles farther south down the channel on the west side. There’s a great marina here with guest moorage for about 60 boats, restrooms, showers, laundry and a fuel float with gas, diesel and propane. There’s a deli with groceries, wines and marine supplies.
Another 3.5 miles south is Illahee State Park with 5 mooring buoys and a float.
Point White, the southwest tip of Bainbridge Island is 1.3 miles across the channel from the park and marks the west end of Rich Passage. This angular channel separates Bainbridge from the mainland shore of Kitsap Peninsula.
It is the main deepwater passage connecting Puget Sound with Port Orchard channel, Bremerton, Port Orchard (city) and Dyes Inlet. Rich Passage is about three miles long and currents may reach more than 5.4 knots during extreme floods and 5.2 during ebb.
This is an exciting busy waterway, with strong currents and eddies, short chop, occasional pea-soup fog and a lot of traffic, including ferries, which make dozens of daily trips, large Navy ships, commercial vessels and hundreds of recreational vessels during warmer months. Pay close attention to the navigation aids and navigation traffic rules and regulations here, as elsewhere.
Fort Ward State Park is on Bainbridge north of Orchard Rocks. Two mooring buoys are here; strong currents may swing boats around.
Continue through Rich Pass until beyond Bainbridge Reef and you’ve reached Puget Sound again.
A couple of more good gunkholes on the island’s east shore to visit later are Blakely Harbor and Eagle Harbor.
Now it’s time to head back to home port.
Let’s hope your first gunkholing cruise close to home was successful and that you’re planning many more in the future. Drop a line and let us know how everything worked out!
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