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The "Inside" Route If this is your first real cruise of the year, head north inside Whidbey Island. This route avoids exposure to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and is both beautiful and interesting. Navigating between Whidbey Island and the Skagit River flats, and on through the Swinomish Channel will sharpen the skills you put away for the winter: reading charts, calculating currents and tides, paying attention to what’s around you. Resist the cute charm of La Conner and press on to Anacortes. Anacortes is a small but real town, with a commercial center within walking distance of its marina and just enough "tourist" attractions to make you feel your vacation has started. Cap Sante Boat Haven is tucked behind the prominent cliff of Cap Sante. Approaching from Swinomish Channel, clear red "2" at the north end of the channel before turning west toward Cap Sante. Give the refinery piers and the tugs and ships operating there a wide berth. Past the piers, stay north of red nun buoy "2" and north of red-and-green buoy "A." Buoy "A" lines you up for the marked entrance channel into Cap Sante Boat Haven, as well as for the private marinas to the south. Enter Cap Sante Boat Haven between green "5" and red "6" on the jetty and breakwaters. A detached breakwater that overlaps the rock jetty is just inside, with a sign directing visitors to "C" dock. Make a turn to starboard after you are past the detached breakwater, net float and pumpout barge. The easiest way to find visitor moorage at Cap Sante is to call ahead by phone (360-293-0694) or on VHF Channel 66a, between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m on the day of arrival. Don’t pull into an empty slip without permission. If you don’t have a reservation and you arrive after hours, tie up at the end of "C" dock and report to the harbor office in the morning. Port Security can be reached at 360-661-5000. Rates and other information are available on the web www.portofanacortes.com.The shallow (less than 1 fathom) fair-weather anchorage outside and south of the breakwater has a silty mud bottom with poor holding quality. Cap Sante Boat Haven has showers and laundries. There are restaurants, delis, and shops near the harbor office, a supermarket a block away, and a summer farmers’ market every Saturday, near the dry-docked W. T. Preston—the Northwest’s last operating steam-driven sternwheeler. The fuel dock is under the hoist between "C" and "B" docks, with a marine supply store and full-service boat repair yard right across the street. The best marine store in Anacortes is north on Commercial Avenue and 2nd Street. Along the way check out the painted murals depicting the people and events of the town’s early days. The "Outside" Route via Port Townsend The weather is fine, you’ve honed your cruising skills all winter, and everyone on board has their sea legs. Head north right up Admiralty Inlet to the Strait of Juan de Fuca. I don’t have to tell you to pay attention to current and stay on the right side of the shipping lanes. Or how Foulweather Bluff got its name. Pull into Port Townsend for a night. Not only will you be refreshed before you tackle the Straits, you’ll find everything you need by way of supplies and feel like you’re already on vacation. There are two harbors for visiting boaters. The larger, Port Townsend Boat Haven, is at the southwest end of the town waterfront; it has a fuel dock and is closest to the supermarket. Point Hudson Marina, at the northeast end, is closest to town. Extensive haulout and repair facilities are near both marinas, as are hardware and supply stores. Both marinas have restrooms, showers, and laundromats. The Port Townsend Boat Haven consists of two basins separated by a jetty and surrounded by an L-shaped stone breakwater that opens to the east. All the slips in this large marina are permanently assigned; in the tenant’s absence these are rented to visiting boats. Approaching, head west of the ferry dock and the clock tower on the high bluff. The marina entrance is at the eastern end of the breakwater, with a reported controlling depth of 10 to 12 feet inside. Stay mid-channel to avoid a ledge of rock near the jetty and the tideflats toward shore. As you enter, the commercial basin will be to starboard; immediately in front of you is the Coast Guard station on the jetty. Motor past the commercial basin and the jetty, then make a turn to starboard for the fuel dock. Call the harbormaster on VHF channel 9 for a slip assignment, or tie to the fuel dock and report to the marina office. After hours, check the pay station on the east side of the harbormaster’s office, where you can choose from a list of available slips (this list is updated daily). Don’t pull into an empty slip before checking with the office or pay station. No overnight mooring is permitted at the fuel dock. The Port Townsend Boat Haven does not take reservations. Point Hudson Marina, a large rectangular basin, is close to town and all its attractions, and is popular with visiting boaters. Approaching, look for the square white tower with its pitched roof. The entrance itself is marked but narrow, inside a timber breakwater that takes a turn to starboard. At low tide, the entrance passage will feel especially tight. A long guest float for boats over 40 feet is on the west side of the basin. There are other slips to the north, and fingers for smaller vessels to the east. Pull into any empty slip without an "Occupied" sign. Report to the office on the east shore, at the end of the complex of white clapboard buildings that once housed the Coast Guard and quarantine station. After hours, use the pay envelopes and fee box on the office door. Point Hudson Marina takes reservations by phone for boats under 40 feet only (360-385-2828 or 800-228-2803). Current information, including rates, is on the web (www.portofpt.com). Anchoring in front of Port Townsend is popular in the summer, but can be tricky. The area between the piers east of the ferry dock is shallow, and the bottom is rock and clay. On almost any holiday weekend a carelessly anchored boat drifts out into the bay or is left aground by an outgoing tide. Anchor in deeper water, 5 fathoms or more, south of the pilings and piers, and off the ferry route. You’ll be exposed, but with adequate scope you’ll be more securely hooked. Port Townsend seems laid out specially for visiting boaters. Embellished Victorian homes are set primly above 19th Century brick downtown buildings. Within the square mile between the two marinas are shops, restaurants, a waterfront park, a restored movie theater, and a museum in the old City Hall. There’s a summer farmers’ market on Saturday mornings next to the police station, and historic markers everywhere. Port Townsend can be a hard place to leave. On to Canada or the San Juan Islands After a night in Port Townsend or Anacortes, you’ll be relaxed and ready for the rest of your vacation. Everything’s been properly stowed by now, most everything is working the way you need it to, and everyone’s eager for a "real" anchorage. It’s time to put that "Things We Forgot to Buy or Fix" list away. Cast off your lines. Your shakedown is over. Whatever your cruising destination—you’re already there. Migael Scherer is the author of A Cruising Guide to Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands and Back Under Sail: Recovering the Spirit of Adventure. ...back to 48° North title page.
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Port Hudson Marina. Since the 1970s, Port Townsend has been a Mecca for wooden boats.
Cap Sante Marina, looking west from the top of Cap Sante.