By Jo Bailey and Carl Nyberg




Bainbridge Island is a gem, a forested island in the middle of Puget Sound due west of Seattle, with delightful anchorages in quiet bays and parks. Lush greenery sometimes hides older cabins nestled in the woods or along the shorelines, although we do see more construction all around the island. We were truly delighted to find several new destinations from previous visits. We want cruisers to know of these new and old anchorages and moorages on Bainbridge Island, so we’re going to circumnavigate it, starting at Port Madison.
      Port Madison, at the far north end of the island, is our first destination. There is now a new park—with a public dock—on the south shore of Port Madison. This is one of our longtime favorite anchorages. Until recently shore access for boaters has been limited to just a few road ends. (Carl lived in Port Madison for about 8 years in the 1960s, so it’s long been a favorite destination for us.) The new dock and park is between the Seattle Yacht Club outstation and the Port Madison Yacht Club. Boaters can now anchor, tie the dinghy at the dock, climb a set of stairs to the lovely medium-high, grassy waterfront lot, and from there walk the roads in Port Madison. The park dock will be signed but the park had not yet been named in mid-October. It is temporarily called “Spargur” on the Island Park maps although it is on Hidden Cove Road.
      The new park is in addition to T’Chookwap Park which is immediately east of the Seattle Yacht Club. T’Chookwap is a one acre view site of Port Madison but has no beach access from the high bank.
      The one navigation aid in Port Madison is red day beacon #2 marking a rock immediately west.
      As long as we’re in the neighborhood, Port Madison continues to the west and south around a bend into Hidden Cove, a beautiful protected anchorage tucked in behind the bend. The mud bottom cove gets pretty skimpy on low tides, so check your depth sounder before you anchor. There is no beach access as the shoreline is all private with homes lining the shore, but it’s a lovely place to anchor for a quiet night in a charming gunkhole. Chart 18446 with a scale of 1:25,000 and soundings in feet is a must.
      From Port Madison we go east past Point Monroe where there’s a 30 foot high navigation light visible for 6 miles. South along the shoreline Fay Bainbridge State Park is just a few hundred feet from the light.
      This is a beautiful 17-acre shoreside park, with two mooring buoys and year round camping. Hanging on a buoy here can be pretty lumpy if there’s much of a wind.
      The park’s long, low beach has 1,420 feet of shoreline with drift logs tossed randomly. Even though all the printed information claims a boat launch, the little “ramp” is pretty well covered with logs. Launching a kayak or a canoe here could be a challenge what with climbing over the logs, but could be done by the young and strong. There are play and picnic areas, restrooms with showers, trails, and the historic “Port Madison Bell.” The bell was bought by the community in the mid-1800s to be used by the town crier to notify of important events. Fay Bainbridge has been here a long time, and is well used by locals and visitors alike.
      We go south along the island’s eastern shoreline, past Skiff Point and Yeomalt Point, keeping well-off the shoal which extends about 1/2 mile south-southeast of Wing Point and is marked by red nun buoy “2.” Turn to starboard and head into the heart of the island, Eagle Harbor, home of downtown Winslow, the ferry landing and countless interesting places to visit.
      Follow the navigation aids in the channel into the harbor, and be aware of sometimes heavy boat traffic.
      Another new waterfront park is along the channel on the north shore, about halfway between the tip of Wing Point and the ferry terminal. The 12 acre park, called Hall Property, is easily visible with its low shoreline and related estuarine wetland communities. This park would be ideal for kayakers, we think. Anchoring off would be okay, but there might be a lot of wake from the ferries and a steady stream of other boat traffic in and out of Eagle Harbor.
      Just west of the ferry landing and the ferry maintenance yard on the north shore of the harbor is Winslow’s Waterfront Park, not new but really nice. A long public dock extends into the harbor with room for 8 to 10 boats. You can moor at the dock free for 3 hours and after that it’s only 25 cents per foot. There is no power or water. Park dock phone is 206-780-3733.
      There’s also 200’ of linear moorage in the harbor for the same fee, or anchor out and dinghy to the dock.
      A boat launch ramp is next to the dock, where there’s also a small beach. The park has picnic tables and a kids’ play area and tennis courts. A waterfront trail from the dock follows the shoreline for about 1/2 mile going both directions.
      Winslow Wharf Marina in downtown Winslow has a large sign on the outside pilings. The marina is open year round and guest moorage space varies, so call ahead, 206-842-4202. Moorage rates vary by boat size, ranging from $19 for boats under 24’ to $36 for those over 46’. Bainbridge has been here a long time, and is well used by locals and visitors alike. Power and water are included, there are restrooms with showers, laundry and a pumpout. The office is on shore at the head of the ramp, but for off hours registration check with the dockmaster at B-42.
      Harbour Marina is open all year and unoccupied slips are used for guest moorage if available. The marina is below Harbour Public house, and has restrooms, showers, laundry pumpout and power. The charming waterfront pub features good food, beer and wine. No one under 21, please. Call ahead for the marina at 206-842-6502, fax 206-842-5047, info@harbourpub.com.
      Queen City Yacht Club, Seattle Yacht Club and Meydenbauer Bay Yacht Club all have outstations for members in Eagle Harbor. At the head of the public dock is a great “walkabout guide” to downtown Bainbridge Island, which we used to call Winslow. In it you’ll find everything you ever wanted to know about places to eat and drink, shopping of all kinds, including antiques, clothing, groceries, arts and crafts, pharmacy, ice cream cones, a chandlery; many things to do, such as visit the historical museum, a movie house, swimming pool and so on.
      The Eagle Harbor Book Company on Winslow Way is one of the most delightful bookshops around. If you need supplies, Town and Country Market with just about everything, is adjacent to the park. Check the guide. We do enjoy Winslow, in fact, this is really the only place to get supplies on the island.

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Hidden Cove at Port Madison.
View from T’Chookwap Park over private docks toward entry to Port Madison.