History of the Sucia Group The isolated coves and bays of Sucia once served the Lummi Indians in their seal hunting days. They later provided excellent hideouts in the 1800s for smugglers of illegal Chinese laborers, as well as for hiding illegally imported wool and opium. Still later, the islands played a large role in rum-running during liquor prohibition of the 1920s and 1930s, and in recent years they have figured in drug-trafficking. The smuggling goes on and on.
      The first Sucia homesteader was Henry Wiggins, for whom a reef is named in Echo Bay. He moved to the Mud Bay area in 1860. The Wiggins' family raised cows, fox and sheep, as well as farming fruit trees and other crops.
      A plaque along the beach between Fox Cove and Fossil Bay details fascinating information for history-hungry cruisers. A U.S. Lighthouse Reserve monument was set at this spot in 1895, when surveyors laid out two reserves for lighthouses. A second monument is at Echo Bay near Ewing Cove, a third is in the forest midway between Ewing Cove and the head of Echo Bay, and a fourth is at Johnson Point.
      In 1925, surveyors extended the survey system to Sucia Island by triangulating from the north shore of Orcas Island. The surveyors' marks can be found along the bluffs, bays and small islands of Sucia.
      From 1900 to 1909, a rock quarry operated at Fossil Bay. Large barracks and cookhouses were built on the hill above Mud Bay, where there was a dock. The quarry shut down when sandstone rock, used to pave Seattle streets, was found too soft for paving.
      The Herndon family (Harnden) moved to deserted Mud Bay in 1920 to live in the old quarry workhouse. Herndon built his famous boat, the Tulip King, which ran excursions among the islands. In 1929, the family returned from vacation to find all their buildings had burned down. Devastated, they left the island. A stone water cistern is all that remains of their farm. Others schemed of ways to get rich on Sucia. Someone staked a placer gold claim on the island; in 1924 a coal claim was filed, and another dreamer attempted to raise foxes. Private logging operations existed on the island sporadically from the late 1800s until 1955. Numerous tree stumps are found along the old logging roads, which today are trails and park roads. In the early 1950s, skipper Chris Wilkinson lived on Herndon Island and renamed it "Christmas Island." (The actual name is Wilkinson Island although the name shown on navigational charts is Herndon Island.) Wilkinson took visitors out on his 50 foot ketch, the Orcas Belle, for romantic cruises of the San Juans. We last saw the ketch at Dockton on Vashon Island in the late 1990s.
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State Parks Information
Parks Ranger David Castor suggests we pass on the following information to mariners who plan to visit these islands. Brochures are available with more information.
  • Don't cruise in the islands without good charts; know how to use them.
  • When navigating around these islands realize the geology of the islands is uniqueĞlong narrow fingers of submerged rocks and reefs are often between bays.
  • When you think you've gone far enough to miss a reef, go farther.
  • Rangers have seen 'amazing maneuvers' of anchoring, where boats have anchored too close to shore and crews wake up in the morning surprised to find they are surrounded by beach.
  • 'Pack it out' has really improved the parks. Rangers used to take 100 bags of garbage off Sucia daily in the summer. Now that people take such good care, they off-load only 10 bags annually.
  • There are definite fire hazards on the islands during the driest part of the year, July, August and September. Use caution and firepits.
  • No camping is allowed except in designated campsites.
  • Kayakers have the most impact on flora and fauna as they can easily access any shore. Kayakers are asked to be careful when beaching their craft and when going ashore.
  • Tourist season is also breeding season for many sea mammals and birds. Mariners are asked to be extremely sensitive, keeping clear of wildlife refuges and other breeding and nesting areas. Sucia Islands Marine State Park Facilities

          Facilities include 48 mooring buoys: Fossil Bay, 16; Snoring Bay, 2; Echo Bay, 14; Ewing Cove, 4; Shallow Bay, 8; Fox Cove, 4. Buoy moorage fee is $7/night. The two docks in Fossil Bay have mooring floats; boats under 26' are $10/night; boats from 26' to 34'11" are $13/night; boats 35' over are $16/night. All buoy & moorage fees are from May 1-Sept. 30. Moorage is limited to 3 consecutive nights.
          Sucia has 55 campsites & two reservation group camps; picnic shelters, water, fireplaces, composting and pit toilets, 10 miles of trails & roads, most open to hiking & bicycling. The island has no pumpout and no power.
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    Charts & Publications Useful in this Area
  • Chart 18421, Strait of Juan de Fuca to Strait of Georgia
  • Chart 18423, Bellingham to Everett, including San Juan Islands
  • Chart 18431, Rosario Strait, Cherry Point, Patos, Sucia, Matia
  • Tidal Current Tables (Current Year)
  • Tidal Current Charts (Current Year)
  • Puget Sound, Northern Part
  • Tide Tables (Current Year)

          Sucia, is featured in Jo Bailey and Carl Nyberg's newest book, Gunkholing in the San Juan Islands, a Comprehensive Cruising Guide Encompassing Deception Pass to the Canadian Boundary. They are also co-authors of Gunkholing in South Puget Sound, from Kingston-Edmonds South to Olympia.
          Both books are available from the 48° North Gift Shop, as well as at book stores and chandleries. Jo and Carl can be reached at 206-323-1315, or at gunkholing@earthlink.net, for slide show presentations of the Northwest.

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