Paddling the Salish Sea 80 Trips: puget sound

Showing posts with label puget sound. Show all posts

2/29/20

Federal Maritime Quarantine Station for Puget Sound opens at Diamond Point in Nov 1893

At the time of writing this, the covid-19, otherwise called Coronavirus is in the news and beginning to span to globe. With that, I remembered about the quarantine station on Diamond Point in the late 19th century. Diamond Point is Trip #37 in the book.

Diamond Point is also in the news as adjacent Miller Peninsula State Park will be expanding quite a bit fairly soon. Read more from the Wa Trails Association

Here's some words from the History Link article on the quarantine station..

This essay made possible by:
The State of Washington
Washington State Department of Archeology and Historic Preservation.

In November 1893, the Federal Marine Quarantine Station for Puget Sound opens at Diamond Point, located at the northeastern tip of Clallam County across Discovery Bay from Port Townsend. The Quarantine Station provides disinfection services for vessels wishing to enter Puget Sound, and an isolation hospital for passengers found to be suffering from or suspected of carrying infectious disease. The facility will grow from three to 27 buildings

over the course of its 43 operational years.

A "Pest House" for People

Dr. B. S. Conover, previously in charge of quarantine services at the Port Townsend Marine Hospital, was the establishing physician. After a few months he was succeeded by Dr. William G. Stimpson.

The site of the quarantine station, now Diamond Point but then known as Clallam Point, was part of a military reservation established by President Andrew Johnson (1808-1875) in 1866 and dissolved in 1870. The Diamond Point land was then privately owned until 1892, when the federal government purchased 156 acres on which to build the quarantine station.

The Quarantine Hospital was an adjunct of the Port Townsend Marine Hospital. The By Juan de

Fuca's Strait

Marine Hospital at Port Townsend was founded by Dr. Samuel M. McCurdy (1805-1865) in 1855 to provide medical services to seamen. Isolation facilities were primitive: Sailors with contagious diseases were isolated in a "pest-house." James G. McCurdy describes this isolation facility in .... READ MORE..

Rob Casey is author of Kayaking Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands, 60 Trips and Stand Up Paddling Flat Water to Surf and Rivers, both by Mountaineers Books. He owns Salmon Bay Paddle a SUP school in Seattle. Get in touch: rob@salmonbaypaddle.com

2/11/20

Eglon Beach to Point No Point - Trip #20

Views of Point No Point and the beach between the PNP Lighthouse and Eglon Beach. Trip #20 in the book.

The point is a glimpse of what West Point and other low points around the Sound looked like prior to being developed. Lots of history there.

I paddled it during the Seventy48 Race last year. Beautiful mostly undeveloped beach worth checking out. Fun tide-rips off PNP.

I ended my Seventy48 race at the point realizing I'd rather be enjoying the beach vs trudging on for last 20 miles (had already done 50 in less than 24hrs).

Access via Eglon Beach or PNP. No legal camping in there but lots of great guerilla spots.

Get a burger and shake at Hansgrille at Hansville just beyond the point. Fun local scene there.

Photos from the web.

9/15/19

Paddling the Port Washington Narrows - Bremerton

I was excited when a former Ballard resident and friend, now living in the Manette neighborhood in Bremerton, asked me to teach a SUP class there. I hadn't paddled the Port Washington Narrows since writing Kayaking Puget Sound in 2011.

The Port Washington Narrows is a tidal stream that connects Dyes Inlet with Puget Sound. For each tidal cycle, water runs through the narrow channel up to 4 knots, sometimes higher.

My class was a beginning SUP class with five students. My goal was to teach them the basics in a protected area, free of current, then take them up and/or down the current.

We launched at Lions Park, covered the basics in an eddy, then paddled south against the flood, but in a protected eddy, towards downtown Manette and Bremerton. At the Warren Ave Bridge, we played in some boils and light eddy lines behind the bridge supports, and showed them how to ferry across current.

Then we headed up the Narrows using the approx 3 knot flood getting a free ride back to Lions Park.

It was fun introducing the Bremerton residents to a new perspective in their town. The empty beaches were lined with madrone trees.

Despite a 16 knot SW wind, it was glassy in the Narrows between the bridges. A local paddler friend mentioned waves can develop in the Narrows when wind bucks current. Where to Launch below pics.

Dock at the Boat Shed for a beer and bite. Located in Manette.

Riding the flood below above the Warren Ave Bridge

Pocket view of the Narrows and Anderson Cove from Lillian Walker Park

Good Put-ins..

-Lions Park

-Lillian Walker Park (nice protected cove)

-Evergreen Park (nice protected cove)

-2nd Street, downtown Bremerton

-Bachmann Park

-Tracyton Boat Launch

Warning! Watch for swift current around bridge supports, pilings and marinas. *Paddle Boarders - wear a waist quick release leash to avoid foot entanglement.

Get Tidal / Current info from NOAA and Mobile Graphics.

Wind Predictions: iWindSurf, WindAlert, Windy

Rob Casey is author of Kayaking Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands, 60 Trips and Stand Up Paddling Flat Water to Surf and Rivers, both by Mountaineers Books. He owns Salmon Bay Paddle a SUP school in Seattle.

7/2/19

16 Night Paddling Tips

Night paddling is an amazing and surprisingly eye opening experience. Doing so will allow you to see your local waters in a different way and allow you to use your senses differently to safely navigate.

Here's 16 Tips for Night Paddling

(With Puget Sound in mind, but ok for anywhere)..

6/20/17

Boating - Mysterious Anchor Image - Deception Pass State Park

During my tidal rapids SUP class last week, we came across this anchor image on a rock at the south or right entrance to Bowman Bay in Deception Pass State Park. In the book this is, Trip 28

I've seen it before, the question is, what does it mean? And how did it get there?

Anchor image in Deception Pass State Park

Learn more about my book Kayaking Puget Sound and the San Juans, 60 Trips. I also offer SUP and Kayak lessons available throughout the year at Salmon Bay Paddle. Questions about paddling on the Salish Sea, give me a holler anytime at salmonbaypaddle@gmail.com or 206-465-7167

5/15/17

Coast of Puget Sound - Great Book about the Geology of Puget Sound

Due to the many posts I've added about the geology and development of Puget Sound, fellow paddler Granville Paules sent me an out of print book that puts all the Puget Sound and Salish Sea geology into context.

If you want to learn how Dungeness or Ediz hook were made, how beach erosion affects your beach place bulkhead and many other things, check out this book, if you can find it.

The Coast of Puget Sound

by John Downing

Learn more about my book Kayaking Puget Sound and the San Juans, 60 Trips. I also offer SUP and Kayak lessons available throughout the year at Salmon Bay Paddle. Questions about paddling on the Salish Sea, give me a holler anytime at salmonbaypaddle@gmail.com or 206-465-7167

5/14/17

Erratic Boulders of Puget Sound

"A glacial ‘erratic’ is a rock fragment carried by glacial ice and transported some distance from the outcrop from which it was derived, and generally resting on bedrock of a different type* [although glacial or alluvial sediment may directly underlie the erratic. " (source: NW Geology)

Many erratic boulders line the shores of Puget Sound. Some large erratics can be found in Seattle such as 4 Mile Rock off the south side of Magnolia and this one below off North Beach of Discovery Park. Read more about erratic boulders (source: NW Geology)

Possibly the most interesting erratic is Haleelts Rock on the north end of Bainbridge Island which has a petroglyph on it's north facing side. See pic below.

6 erratics around Puget Sound

List of of 15 erratics around King Country, WA

Haleelts Rock, Bainbridge Island

4 Mile Rock

Discovery Park erratic, North Beach

3/7/17

Spring Tides on Seattle's West Point, Trip #18

In cleaning out my laptop I came across an archive of webcam images from a privately run webcam that focuses on Seattle's West Point Lighthouse. The owner is a kite/sail boarder. They depict my 'backyard' paddling spot which I visit regularly. I've seen West Point in all times of the year from flat calm and glassy to gnarly 51 knot gales. I've surfed 10' freighter waves (no joke!) off the point and had half mile rides from tugs from the middle of Shilshole Bay to the point. On bucolic glassy summer days, it's a great escape from the hoards of paddlers on Seattle's lakes. Trip #18

Here's the webcam link

These images pulled from the webcam show a variety of conditions for the point.

-2-3 tide most common April-July

30-40 kt Southerly (gale)

Container ship passing, waves in soon!

March 7, 2017, lowish tide, calm conditions

Support the Washington Water Trails Association and the Cascadia Marine Trail. The wwta works to create and protect access for paddlers on Puget Sound as well as provide an extensive network of over 60 paddle-in camping sites - www.wwta.org

2/6/17

Portage - A Vashon Shortcut - Trip #11

Portage from Maury Island, Seattle & Mt Rainier in backgroun

If you're paddling down Puget Sound from Seattle to Vashon Island, there's a long way around Maury Island, (SE Vashon) and a short way. The long way is over 8 miles from Tramp Harbor to the south tip of the island.

By portaging from Tramp Harbor over Portage, a narrow isthmus separating Vashon Island from Maury Island, the route through Quartermaster Harbor is only 4 miles in protected water.

Portage is approx 200 yards wide at high tide. Watch for speedy traffic. In Joel Roger's Water Trail book, a classic read, NW paddling guide Joel is seen crossing Portage during his epic paddle from Olympia to Pt Roberts following the Cascade Marine Trail.

The Shomamish People used Portage not only to shorten trips but to catch birds. By raising 300' wide nets, they would catch birds passing through the narrow gap.

Looking to rent a SUP on Vashon? Fat Cat Paddle Boarding operates during the summer on the south side of the point.

Joel Rogers crossing Portage

1/28/17

Point Robinson on Vashon Island - Trip #11

Point Robinson is a point on the SE section of Vashon Island that juts out into Puget Sound facing the beach front town of Des Moines. The Sound zig zags a bit here this forcing current traveling north and south quickly around the point. Some say freighter waves jack up here when opposing the current. The historic lighthouse was built in 1885 and automated in 1978. The lighthouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.

There's several routes for paddlers to access the lighthouse. Des Moines from the east is approx 2.6 miles which includes a crossing of that section of the Sound. Think about current when crossing, over compensating your route - go further north if the current is flooding. You can also access it from various put-ins on Vashon, the closest being Portage which separates Vashon and Maury Islands.

The lighthouse and surrounding grounds are run by the Vashon Parks District and the light keeper quarters are maintained by the Lighthouse Friends. You can rent the adjacent lighthouse keeper quarters for the night via VRBO. There's also a Cascadia Marine Trail campsite north of the point and up the hill.

Lodging & Visitor Info - Vashon Parks

Pt. Robinson Stewards have fully restored the two Keepers' Quarters on the property for use as rentals. All proceeds from these rentals goes back into the park's restoration and maintenance. For additional information about renting the Keepers' Quarters, contact Eric Wyatt, Lodging Manager, at 206-465-3180, ewyatt@vashonparks.org, or see VRBO.COM to learn about all of our vacation rentals.

Sunday tours of the Lighthouse are available mid-May through mid-September. During the off-season, tours can be scheduled by calling Captain Joe Wubbold at 206-463-6672.

The Ship's Store Gift Shop is open seasonally on Saturdays and Sundays, noon to 5:00 p.m. Call for additional information at 206-463-1323.

Address: 3705 SW Pt. Robinson Rd., Vashon, WA

LRob Casey is author of Kayaking Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands, 60 Trips and Stand Up Paddling Flat Water to Surf and Rivers, both by Mountaineers Books. He owns Salmon Bay Paddle a SUP school in Seattle. Get in touch: rob@salmonbaypaddle.com

1/19/17

Armored Shorelines of Puget Sound

"Shoreline armoring" refers to any kind of structure built to immobilize beach sediments and prevent natural erosion of the shoreline.

Approximately 27% of the total shoreline length of Puget Sound is armored with some type of retaining structure, although in urban areas such as the city of Seattle, the percentage is much higher.

The location of shoreline armoring often overlaps with ecologically valuable habitats for birds, fish and other organisms, but the effects of this overlap are not well understood. Research is needed to determine the effects of armoring in Puget Sound, particularly under what circumstances armoring has negative effects.

For more background information on the impacts of shoreline armoring, see proceedings from a recent workshop entitled Puget Sound Shorelines and the Impacts of Armoring

The above info from this website

1/5/17

High Winter Daytime Tides of 2017

Tis the season for big daytime high tides and a few King Tides, the highest tides of the year on Puget Sound. The image below was from November 2016, about a 12.5' high tide. King Tides usually go to or above 13' heights creating problems for low bank housing, docks and marinas. Seattle area tides have a smaller range than those of the South Puget Sound. Whereas the Strait of Juan de Fuca and outer coast have ever smaller ranges than Seattle.

Notable daytime high tides in 2017..

1/2-4 - 12.5'

1/13-15 - 12.9'

In contrast, in Spring and Summer leading up to and just after summer solstice we'll get into big tidal exchanges going from a -3.6 on 6/25 at noon to a 12.4' high that same day at 7:49pm. Pretty cool and fun to watch the change. Get out there and explore the low tide beaches and note how every ridge or depression effect incoming tidal flow and/or waves.

Follow tides using the resources listed on the following post from earlier this week. Click here to view

12.5 high tide in Seattle, Nov 2016

1/4/17

Kayaking the San Juans - My Story in Kenmore Air Magazine..

Last Spring I was asked to write a piece for Kenmore Air Magazine on kayaking in the San Juan Islands. I also contributed all the photos to story as well, a perfect mix of my favorite skills. Check it out to learn about where and when to paddle the islands.

Click here for a link to the story

8 Tips for 2017 Paddle Trip Planning

Tis the season to recycle the 2016 tide and current charts and bring on the New Year of explorations and possibilities! I've been working for over a week planning out my 2017 classes and tours which is quite a project with surf camps on the coast, surfing classes on the Strait of Juan de Fuca, tidal rapids classes in Deception Pass and freighter wave classes in Seattle, plus a few tours on the Strait and elsewhere. My dyslexia pops up occasionally when I find non matching data between my website, Google Calendar and social media marketing. And it's always tricky when like region tide tables don't match - even being 1-2 hours off from another guide. This is common on the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

These are the guides I use..

Pre-season prep for Salmonbaypaddle.com

Captn' Jacks Tide and Current Almanac - Spiral bound guide perfect for figuring out current and tides for Deception Pass and coastal regions. I find it easier to use the book than using online option. I have two of the books, one in the office and one in the car.

Evergreen Pacific 2017 Seattle and Port Townsend Tide Graph Calendars - This one goes on the wall as my main print calendar. As friends know, my daily schedule is based around tides which are beneficial to my favorite types of paddling, freighter wave surfing and downwinding in Seattle.

Online..

Mobile Graphics has a nice online site for tidal current predictions.

NOAA Tide Table Mobile App - Easy to read tides on my phone.

WindAlert - to check real time wind speed (and forecasts). I use the free version, kite surfer buddies have the paid version for more detail in kite surf spots.

Surfwater - PNW based surf app for local wind, surf (size, period and direction) and tide real time data and prediction (free).

NOAA West Point Lighthouse Station - My backyard per se - I use daily for air pressure, wind speed and direction, air temp (14F wind chill today), water temp. The Marine Forecast (clickable at top) is 95% correct for surf and inland waterway predictions. Marine Forecast Search your local spot.

In Person Water Check..
If the above doesn't work for you then use a in-person check of your beach. That's always my tool for final confirmation on whether to run a class or not, or whether to go - is it flat or too big?

7/18/14

Driving up to Mt Erie, Fidalgo Island Above Anacortes

View of Whidbey, Skagit, Hope and Goat Islands.

Mt Erie can be accessed by Deception Pass State Park from a short steep drive to the summit. The view above shows Erie Lake, Hope, Skagit, Kiket, and Goat Isalands on the left, and Whidbey Island on the right.

6/12/14

SUP Exploring Everett Harbor, Trip #21

Here's a great video from Seattle SUP'er Darrell Kirk who explores the 19th century ship hulks of the Snohomish River mouth in Everett, WA. Follow Darrell and his many wonderful paddling videos of the NW, Missouri and other places he takes his inflatable SUP to for work trips. Trip #21

On #Paddling.net, Click Here.

Main Link, Here

10/6/13

Paddling around Burrows Island - An Easy Getaway

A 5-10 minute paddle from the Skyline Marina in Anaocortes, Burrows Island is a somewhat obvious yet hidden getaway. Skyline Marina is a huge facility yet undeveloped Burrows seems like it belongs in the Inside Passage or SE Alaska. There is a lighthouse on the western side of the island and a trail which circumnavigates most of the island. South of the island is Allan Island which is private.

On the eastern edge is Alice Bight, a small bay with a Cascadia Marine Trail campsite and rather comfortable outhouse.

Tidal currents rip around all sides of the island making it an fun circumnavigation. I like to cross from Skyline Marina and play in the small standing waves on the island's NE corner. Boat wakes collide with incoming current making for a few fun glides.

2/14/13

Campsite Update Cypress Head, San Juan Islands - 2/13 for Trip #42

Here's a mid winter campsite update for Cypress Head on Cypress Island.

"My crew and I were out there from the January 10th- 17th, reconstructing the 7 campsites located on the tide island above the tombolo. So far, we have constructed several hundred feet of split-rail fence along the eroding bluff on the site's north and northeast sides, and constructed 7 brand new tent pads at most of the former "unofficial" camping spaces. The tent pads are 10'x10', and will fit any large family tent, and possibly two 2 person tents. Obviously, our hopes are that campers will use only these camping spaces when on the upper campground. The two sites on the tombolo's west side remain unchanged, besides being slated for new fire rings. All sites will be receiving new fire rings, and improvements to the picnic tables will also occur before the May opening. A new access trail to the tide island's south side will also be constructed before then, as the old trail takes hikers along parts of the eroding bluff. Several of the social trails around the campground were also decommissioned upon our visit, and a number of hazard trees were removed in the process. As to our code of ethics and general awareness, several bags of trash (mostly plastics) were removed from the beach."

Submitted 2/13 to the WWTA by:
Kristian Tollefson
WCC Crew Supervisor; Skagit DNR