local knowledge,, sea-tac area----

[notaclue]

Hey Nutters, need some help here. the christina bee will be arriving at Des Moines marina on tuesday the 8th , my daughter in law wil be delivering my bride from sea -tac and we obviously have to be in bremerton on friday, any suggestions on where to stay, things to do, any good anchorages [ we prefer the hook to marinas] she is coming in at high noon.. thanking you in advance,, skipper steve, who has no clue...

 

[j&lgray]

Hi Steve,
You have a number of options. Blake Island Marine Park is a short distance away from Des Moines and you have the option of staying on a dock or taking a mooring buoy. The dock does not have power or water. We have stayed there many times and enjoyed it. Probably the best mooring buoys are on the east side of the island but no matter which side there may be wakes from the state ferry traffic.

Another option is to anchor in Quartermaster Bay near Vashon Island. This is a bit closer to Des Moines (no more than 10 miles without me looking at a chart) and though I have not been there, it gets a nice write up. Further than Blake Island but still an easy trip are: anchoring or staying at the dock in Poulsbo or Brownsville Marina, staying at Port Orchard at a dock which is across the bay from Bremerton, going into Winslow Harbor on Bainbridge Island and anchoring or staying at the low cost city dock or going to Gig Harbor and staying at the free city dock or anchoring in the bay.

The options are wonderful and that is why boating in Puget Sound is wonderful, particularly in September.

 

[notaclue]

john and laurie, from your posts on the yanmar impeller to yout trip to princess louisa you two continue to be a fountain of knowledge regarding cruising in the great nw..we will be spending 14 [COUNT THEM] days in the gulf islands following the rondivue... looking forward to also picking dave's [LOBO] brain on other places in the gulf islands .. I will be rolling out of Auburn ca, on sept 3 and arriving in anacortes the evening of the 4th.. can't wait to meet everyone and personally thank dave and maureen for spearheading this event,,, steve and tina, without a single clue

 

[Starry_Night_Joe]

You can come out of Des Moines, south around Vashon and into Dockton. It is not as far in as Quartermaster, and has shore facilties. It is a state park, for boaters.

When you come out of Dockton, go up the west side of Vashon Island - Colvos Passage. There is less traffic and it has a very interesting feature - there is very little southerly current. On an ebb, you get the northerly push, but there is a shelf at the north end that limits the flood.

You can instead stay in scenic Gig Harbor, which is further past Dockton and Quartermaster, on the southern end of the Kitsap Peninsula. Stay at the city dock and walk around downtown. It is about 27 miles from GH to Bremerton City dock by boat.

If you want to get north and stay closer to Bremerton, there are places to anchor out in Sinclair Inlet, just watch for ferry and Navy traffic. Along the southern end of Sinclair, just east of the Annapolis ferry dock, there is an inlet below the veterans home (Retsil) that has good holding for anchoring out.

An alternative is to turn northwest out of Des Moines and go up to Elliott Bay. You can anchor out or go into Bell Harbor.

And one last option is to again go northwest out of Des Moines and head over to Eagle Harbor on Bainbridge.

Watch your timing going through Rich Passage. You can actually get 5-6 knots of current through there.

Joe