Maiden Voyage to Mystery Bay on Marrowstone Island

[baz]

Subject: Maiden Voyage to Mystery Bay on Marrowstone Island

Our maiden voyage for our new 2018 R-27/OB is planned to be from Edmonds to the Mystery Bay State Park on Marrowstone Island south of Port Townsend. This is some 35 miles one way depending on the route taken.

Route 1) One can start from Edmonds and go north to the Portage Canal at southern tip of Indian Island and then travel north and up through Port Townsend Bay to Walan Point & the Indian Island Naval Magazine (shells/bombs maybe) area that is guarded with a lengthy string of water barriers 😱 and then eastwards around the top of Indian Island and then south into Kilisut Habor and continuing south to the west side mid point of Marrowstone Island's Mystery Bay and then head to Mystery Bay State Park which has a dock/jetty. My son and grandson would be with me and they want to spend a few days with a friend on the island, so will drop them off and we can then return back to Edmonds.

Route 2) The other way would be to travel north all the way from Edmonds and follow the east side of Marrowstone Island and then west around the top of the island and into Kilisut Harbor.

I'm suspecting Route 2) will likely be more difficult with winds/waves etc blowing into Admiralty Inlet and down into Puget Sound.

The Route 1) seems to me to be a shorter distance (and maybe a longer time with the transit through Portage Channel) and less likely for encountering difficult wind/sea conditions, especially considering this will be the maiden voyage.

BTW - Any advice for transiting Portage Canal... ?

What say thou fellow Tugnuts of the PNW area ? Which route do you favor and why ?

Thanks... 🙂

 

[2Troopers]

Hi Baz

We've made that trip several times for overnights and day-trips to Ft Flagler and Pt Townsend. Either direction, if the water's nice, we stay in Admirality Inlet and look for whales. If it's not, we run along the west, through the canal to try and stay out of the wind. The canal has always been straight forward for us - well marked, wide enough, lightly traveled and even running against a knot or so of current has been fine.

Enjoy the maiden voyage
BK

 

[BradOwens]

I prefer going through the canal and up Port Townsend Bay because I think the scenery is nicer.

 

[baz]

Decision has been made for the maiden voyage for our R-27/OB next Friday. It will be Route #1. Thanks to all who provided some guidance and their thoughts as to which route to take. 🙂

If 1st mate is up to it we might very well zip over to Port Townsend after dropping off our son and grandson at the State park and spend a couple of days there, and afterwards return to the Marrowstone State park to pickup son and grandson and motor back to Edmonds where we all live within but 0.5 miles apart.

Yesterday we had an enormous beautiful-looking owl sitting in one of our backyard trees. The local murder of crows were kind of upset and made a terrible racket trying, presumably, to get the owl to fly off. However, the owl was having nothing to do with them and simply ignored them altogether. The owl stayed all day and next morning I could not see it anywhere. I'm treating this as a good omen and good luck for our maiden voyage. 😀