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South Puget Sound’s beautiful islands and coves are patiently waiting to be visited by sailors, kayakers and others this lovely summer. These intriguing, somewhat lesser-known places provide enjoyable cruising, with the added bonus of quiet bays, ofter available park mooring buoys and uncrowded marinas because many sailors flee north to other destinations. Those are the mariners who feel they’re not on vacation unless they exodus north along with hundreds of their marina-mates, neighbors and other boaters to the crowded shores of the exquisite San Juan Islands, Gulf Islands or beyond, missing the relatively uncrowded waters south of the Tacoma Narrows. We’ll gunkhole at some great places, delightful spots you can visit in a long weekend, a short cruise, or for a couple of weeks if you’re so inclined. You don’t have to stop at all of them, only those that sound inviting. These include Eagle Island State Park, Tolmie State Park, McMicken Island State Park, Stretch Point State Park, Vaughn Bay, with its wonderful Department of Natural Resources sand spit, and Hope Island Marine State Park. Supplies can be found along the way at Zittell’s Marina, Fair Harbor Marina or Jarrell’s Cove Marina. (See the January 2006, 48° North for cruising to other South Sound regions: Kopachuck and Cutts Island State Parks in Carr Inlet west of Gig Harbor Peninsula, and Dockton and Burton in Quartermaster Harbor on Vashon-Maury Islands.) Modern day mariners will enjoy following the early explorations of Lt. Peter Puget and Sailing Master Joseph Whidbey in May 1792, 214 years ago, or 15 years before Lewis and Clark began their incredible expedition across the country. Puget and Whidbey were members of Capt. George Vancouver’s explorations of the Northwest Coast of North America, and were the first recorded non-Native Americans to explore the area. They were aided in their amazing week-long voyage through the entire sound by friendly, extremely knowledgable local Indians who shared their lifelong nautical expertise as well as their meals. Unlike them, we now have detailed charts, navigation aids, marinas, gas docks, state parks, cities, towns and villages all along the way, and even some second and third growth evergreens clinging to some bluffs. (The charts and navigational aids are great, but sometimes we’re not so sure about all the rest.)
So let’s get underway. If you’re approaching from north of the Tacoma Narrows, you might want to spend a quiet night in one of our favorite anchorages just across from downtown Seattle on the south east shore of Bainbridge Island—Port Blakely. You can see the city’s twinkling lights, but you don’t have to be there. It’s good anchoring here in a quiet harbor in the shadow of evergreens lining the shores. Or you might want to stop at Blake Island State Park where mooring buoys and linear moorage surround the island. Either place is delightful, but we’re not going to dwell on them for now because in this trip we want to get farther south. We’ll come back to them in the winter for a good “off-season” cruise. Let’s head down Colvos Passage, that pastoral 11 mile long stretch of water between the west shore of Vashon and Kitsap Peninsula. The pass is lined forests on both shores, hills reaching 350 feet and higher in places, just as in Peter Puget’s time, but no longer as pristine. Several communities on both shores of Colvos, county parks, ruins of old steamer docks, and youth camp and Olalla help make the trip through the pass scenic. Incidentally, we’re very near where Puget and Whidbey left Restoration Point on Bainbridge Island on May 20, 1792, on their incredible voyage of the body of water named for Puget. In fact Puget’s men had their first breakfast at Olalla. Tidal currents in Colvos are unusual in that during the flood they almost constantly flow north, except twice daily for brief periods of time when they are “weak or variable.” Also, plan ahead so that you can go through the Tacoma Narrows at slack or with a flood current. You might want to wait out a strong ebb in Quartermaster Harbor on Vashon or Gig Harbor on the west shore where you can anchor for a couple of hours or overnight. Once through the Narrows a world of wonderful sailing and anchoring opens up; you have many options. Eagle Island Eagle Island, south of The Narrows in Balch Passage, between McNeil and Anderson Islands, is a 10 acre treasure set aside as a Marine State Park. It’s sometimes ignored as boaters scurry through Balch Pass; often they’re so busy staring at the massive prison on McNeil Island they ignore tiny little Eagle. Do remember: stay 100 yards off McNeil and don’t pick up nearby swimmers. Accessible only by water, lovely Eagle has been left natural, with the only additions being a few trails crisscrossing the island — be careful of poison oak inland. Three mooring buoys are at Eagle, one on the east side with a view of Mount Rainier and two on the west. If the buoys are taken, anchoring is possible in three to six fathoms, sandy bottom. Be aware that currents may run fairly strong past the island, especially if there are very high and low tides. The ebb can reach as much as 4.5 knots and the flood can be up to 2.7 knots. Bask in the luxury of surrounding evergreens, enjoy the large number of madrona trees, their twisted trunks of light colored, shedding, paper-thin bark are a constant amazement. Walk the 2,600 feet around the island’s gravel beaches at low tide, swim, wade, or just sit and enjoy. This is a day use only park with no overnight camping, so you can’t send the kids ashore with a tent for the night. When summers are dry, there is fire danger on the island. Seals and California sea lions thrive off the west side of the island. They romp and play, diving and cavorting enthusiastically in the water off the island’s shores, sunning themselves on Eagle Reef 300 yards west of the island at low tides. The reef bares at its south end on a one foot tide and it has a three foot depth at the north end on a zero tide. It’s possible for a boat to run between Eagle and Anderson in six to eight fathoms. We sailed around the island in a recent race with no problem, except that we should have gone around it opposite from the way we did. Eagle Island was at one time an Indian burial ground with burial canoes placed in the trees, as were other small islands around the Sound. Tolmie State Park Tolmie State Park is on a forested beach along Nisqually reach, about 2.4 miles north and west of Nisqually Head. This is a charming place to spend a day or two, an absolute jewel along this shoreline, well worth visiting, and usually not crowded. West of green buoy ‘3,’ Tolmie is easy to spot not only because of the five state mooring buoys, but also because it’s the only forested area along the shore without homes. Hike in the woods on three miles of well-marked trails, swim, dig clams and beachcomb, Tolmie has just about everything. You can land your skiff anywhere along the 1,800 feet of park shoreline. Two white can buoys with orange stripes are not suitable for mooring as they mark three barges sunk below the low water mark to form an artificial reef which attracts fish and other sea life. This provides recreational scuba diving in an area relatively free of currents. In fact, Jo’s sons passed their scuba diving tests at Tolmie a fair number of years ago. This 106 acre park is day-use only so it should be relatively quiet at night. There’s also an outside shower for divers and swimmers, two kitchen shelters with electricity, picnic tables, water, sinks and grills. It first became a state park in 1962. If you are meeting friends who drive to the park, parking permits are no longer required for day visits. Big Slough is a large salt marsh in Tolmie between a long sandspit and the uplands, with a bridge across the marsh. Five interpretive sites describe the hydraulics of the sand flats, the estuary fauna and flora, and explain the view from the high ground of the park, with a brief history of seashore life in the area. This is a peaceful, lovely park to enjoy nature. Tolmie State Park is named for Dr. William Fraser Tolmie (1812-1866), who spent 16 years with the Hudson Bay Company at Fort Nisqually as a physician, surgeon, botanist and fur trader in the 1830s.  Sand Spit - Vaughn Bay ...continue to South Sound Article Page Two ...back to 48° North title page.
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