"I've never seen such an awesome, beautiful place in my life."
      The young man from New York stepped off his friend's boat onto the float in Fossil Bay, amazed by the madrona and fir trees reaching skyward from rocky bluffs above the beaches of Sucia Island.
      "We just don't have this incredible sort of place back East." Wide-eyed, he spread his arms, embracing the beauty around him. Those of us who heard him realized how much we take the simple gradeur of this island for granted.
      There's something very special about this island with its many bays, coves, beaches, forest trails and incredible beauty that inspires first time visitors to be unabashedly enthusiastic and keeps us returning. Whenever we return to Sucia we feel like we've come home, it's that kind of place. It is THE most popular of all the San Juan Islands, the cruising destination for over 100,000 boaters each year. But it doesn't matter how many people are here, we find our favorite spots away from the crowds, and how lovely it is.
      Sucia is a bit north of Orcas Island in the San Juans and a few miles southeast of the Gulf Islands on the edge of the Strait of Georgia. The island is occasionally blown about by winter gales and summer winds. Currents swirl in and out of its many bays.
      A quick look at our charts gives an indication of why Spanish explorers decided the rocks and reefs surrounding the islands were "foul," naming them Sucia, their term for foul. The islands are well charted now, but too late for those early explorers.
      Owned by Washington State Parks, there are 10 islands officially in the Sucia group: Sucia, Little Sucia, Ewing, Justice, a sprinkling of islets called Cluster Islands, not designated on the charts, and several smaller, unnamed islands. Land area of all these islands is about 749 acres, with shorelines of more than 14.5 miles, six major anchorage areas plus 10 miles of trails and roads.
      Shoals include Clements Reef off the northeast, Danger Reef at the southeast, reefs in Ewing Cove, Wiggins Rock in Echo Bay, extended reefs off Little Sucia, West Bank only 0.5 mile west, and reefs off Ev Henry Point at the entrance to Fossil Bay. Many of these shoals are "discovered" anew each year by first-time visitors to the islands who leave bottom paint, if not the boat, on the rocks.
      We begin our counterclockwise circumnavigation of Sucia at Fossil Bay, the hub of the park. Fossil Bay is about 0.5 mile long and 250 yards wide, between 100 foot high, steep-sided Ev Henry Point on the west and Wiggins Head on the east. Both have charted shoals off the points, but the shoals off Ev Henry seem to test more skippers who cut too close. The bay ranges from three fathoms near the entrance to one fathom near the head.
      Anchoring is generally good in Fossil Bay, but it is susceptible to southeasterlies. In the summer the buoys are usually filled and boats anchor wherever possible. In the off-season you can snag a buoy or tie at the dock. In the winter you may be, as we have been, the only boat in the bay. That's awesome!
      Dock One, the east dock, is the main park dock at the head of the bay. A map and information about the island are immediately above the dock. From here trails fan out around the island. It's a short walk to restrooms and water. Drying Mud Bay is east of the dock, and the ranger station is at the head of the bay.
      Dock Two, the west dock, is near the head of Fossil Bay, and the state park moors here. A concrete launch ramp next to the dock is used by park boats to load and unload park supplies and equipment.
      The picturesque abandoned rock quarry is nearby. We think of it as a Greek amphitheater with sunlight and shadows creating constantly changing patterns in the hewn rock. Sinuous and flesh-colored madrona trees are everywhere.
      Between the head of Fossil Bay and Fox Cove is a low grassy isthmus with picnic tables and camping areas, toilets and water faucets. Beaches are great for wading, beachcombing and hardy souls may take a dip.
      Snoring Bay is east of Fossil Bay, around Wiggins Head. There are two mooring buoys here and a group camp is at the head of the bay.
      We round Johnson Point with its shoals and we're about to explore large Echo Bay, another favorite place. Let's face it, though, they're all favorites!
      Echo Bay can be entered through two narrow passages, along either side of South Finger Island, or through the wide eastern channel between North Finger Island, Ewing and Sucia islands.
      The skinny route between South Finger and Sucia is picturesque. It's only about 100 yards wide at most. Depths are 2 to 7 fathoms west of South Finger.
      It's a spectacular trip between North and South Finger islands, with 11 to 17 fathoms. Both islands, privately owned, have sandstone sculptured cliffs.
      Justice Island, all two acres of it, is off the northwest end of South Finger Island. While the west half is private, the east half of the island became part of state parks in the 1990s as a "gift." Unaware it was the heart of the most popular marine park in the state, a Florida couple had purchased most of the island in the winter for use as a drug drop site. The Coast Guard and San Juan County Sheriff heard about the plan and had the island under surveillance. A large amount of baled marijuana was seized when a fishing boat near the island was boarded by Coast Guard and federal drug agents. Part of the island was seized and turned over to state parks as a wildlife area with no camping. The west half of the island is still privately owned.
      Wiggins Reef, charted but unnamed on the chart, is along the northern rim inside Echo Bay, about 500 yards west of Ewing Cove and about 100 yards offshore, all within the three fathom depth curve. Watch for the submerged rock at its east end. The cliffs along here are spectacular with fascinating rock formations.
      We sometimes anchor in the shelter of the Finger Islands if we can't get one of the 14 buoys in Echo Bay, and hope for fair weather. Southeast winds can spring up suddenly, even in summer, and since there is a 25 mile fetch, wind and waves can be pretty impressive. It's fairly common to drag in here—many of us have done it at one time or another. The chart shows a mud bottom, but we're not sure about that, given the way we've slid across it.
      At the head of Echo Bay there is a reef just offshore which is mostly covered at all but low tides, when it is great place for beachcombing. The head of the bay is lovely, with driftwood at the high tide line above a fairly steep gravelly beach that is temptingÑand cold for swimmersÑbut a good place to land a skiff.
      A narrow isthmus separates Echo and Shallow bays, and it's a brief walk between the two. Restrooms, information boards, picnic tables and campgrounds are on the isthmus, serving both bays. Trails radiate south from here to Fossil Bay and Fox Cove, southeast to Johnson Point, east to Ewing Cove and northwest to Lawson Bluff.
      A terrific hike is to Ewing Cove from the head of Echo Bay. The trail follows bluffs along the bay, with madronas barely managing toe-holds along a somewhat precipitous shoreline. Views are breathtaking of Wiggins Reef and of the windswept trees on Finger Islands.
      An old 1895 U.S. Light House Reserve monument is on a bluff above the beach, just off the trail, which then wanders through remains of an old apple orchard. Was it the Wiggins family, or the Herndons who planted the trees, or perhaps one of the quarry workers who wanted fresh fruit?
      Ewing Cove is another treat. The cove is off the east side of Echo Bay, formed where Ewing Island and Sucia create a small bay with four mooring buoys amidst the rocks. Although there's limited space, it's a choice spot, unless it's blowing a southeaster. This is also an underwater park for scuba diving, with a sunken vessel providing a reef for fish habitat. Anchoring is possible with care, but we prefer to tie to a buoy here because of strong currents racing into the cove through a slot between Ewing and Sucia islands.
      A rocky reef extends from Ewing Island Reef Daybeacon, a diamond-shaped white dayboard on a pile, west toward the charted but unmarked Cluster Islands about 250 yards off the southeast shore of Ewing Island. Many boats have contributed bottom paint to the reef.
      Cluster Islands are an intriguing string of islets forming the southern boundary of this cove. A great place to roam the beach, especially on a low tide, with interesting tide pools and beachcombing. Kayakers love this area.
      Ewing Island forms the northeast side of the cove, and a wide indent on Sucia edges the west. There's a good beach here, campsites, picnic tables and restrooms, plus trails back to the head of Echo Bay.
      Between Ewing and Sucia is a narrow pass out into Georgia Strait. We went through the pass with the ranger in his fast, shallow-draft park boat.
      "I'd advise you NOT to go through here in your sailboat!" he cautioned us. "The pass is narrow, the current swift, and waves come from all directions, particularly in a northerly." He suggested the pass can be used by small boats during slack water. Continuing our trip around Sucia, we go out past Ewing Island Daybeacon and head northwest outside of Ewing Island. Danger Reef buoy, white with orange bands and worded "Danger Reef," is 0.3 mile east of Ewing Island. It marks the southeast end of Clements Reef and unnamed charted rocks southeast of Clements.
      The Coast Pilot describes Clements Reef as... 0.5 mile north of Sucia Islands... two miles long and 0.3 mile wide." The entire reef is National Wildlife Reserve. Don't disturb the area, which is a breeding and nesting ground.
      Clements Reef red nun buoy "2", marks the reef's northwest end. Between Clements Reef and the north side of Sucia depths go to 30 fathoms, so there's no problem going between the reef and the island. Fishing is good out near the reef, we've even caught fish here.

...Sucia article next page

...back to 48° North title page.

Last month we began our sweep through the magnificent outer islands of the San Juans with a visit to Matia Island. This month we tour the San Juans most visited island—Sucia.


                by Jo Bailey and Carl Nyberg