Indian Island Circumnavigation

Rating: SKII+

Distance: 12NM

Date: July 25, 1998

Leader: Pete Schwab Participants: 11

Launch: 09:15 Return: 3:45

Weather: Beautiful, ~85F, 5 kt breeze.

Description: Circumnavigated Indian Island in a counterclockwise direction. Launched at Indian Island County Park and paddled east to the isthmus between Indian and Marrowstone Islands. Since the tide was low we had about a 300 meter portage before entering Kilisut Harbor. We crossed over the dunes, through marsh that was easy to walk in (pulled the boats thru water 2 or 3 inches deep. Carried the boats thru a 4’ high culvert under the highway and then about another 100 meters of mud flat through which we pulled the boats to the first available launch in Kilisut. We paddled up to Mystery Bay and had lunch at Mystery Bay State Park. After lunch we headed back north towards Fort Flagler State Park and took a break on the sand spit where Kilsut Harbor meets Port Townsend Bay. We paddled south in Port Townsend Bay on the flood tide and rode through the Port Townsend Canal at max flood (3.4 knots). After a short time spent playing in the rips at the south end of the canal we put back in at the County Park.

Tides/Currents

1. If you plan your portage for low tide you’ll have about a 300 meter walk, drag, and pull.
2. Currents in the Port Townsend Canal can be very fast – ours were 3.4 knots.
3. Tide rips can form at the southwest end of the Port Townsend Canal and shore eddys will form on both the southeast and southwest ends of the canal.

Site of the infamous portage between Indian and Marrowstone Islands. The

portage follows the creek on the right. At low tide it's about 300 yards long.

(Aerial photo copyright by the State of Washington Department of Ecology). For

additional photographs of Indian Island visit:

http://www.ecy.wa.gov/apps/shorephotos/scripts/mapsearch.asp?id=836

Charts:

Waterproof Chart #30 – Puget Sound – International Sailing Suppply.

Puget Sound Current Guide – Island Canoe, Inc.

Chart # 18464

Chart # 18471

Notes:

1. If you plan this trip at with a low tide portage, allow 1 hour for the portage.
2. Indian Island is Federal – you cannot land on any but the south end of it.
3. There is a small beach on Indian on which you could land just north of the canal where the Navy fence turns inland.
4. Another landing accessible by one car at a time is on the west shore just north of the canal – exactly at the red channel marker. This site is (if you had to walk) 1.2 miles from the County Park.

Directions to Launch Site: From I5 @ Hwy 16 it takes about 1 ½ hours (72 miles) to get to the launch site. Take 16 across the Narrows bridge and on to Bremerton. Then take Hwy 3 to the Hood Canal Bridge (Hwy 104). Take 104 to the Port Ludlow turn (Hwy 19) and follow 19 to Chimacum. At Chimacum turn east (right) at the gas station and drive to Hadlock. Turn right at the stop sign in Hadlock, and then bear left after 0.8 miles to Indian Island. Drive ~0.75 miles beyond the Indian Island bridge to the County Park. Turn right into the park and drive down the hill to the launch site.

Facilities:

1. There is a port-o-let in the parking area in the County Park.
2. Plenty of parking at the County Park launch site.
3. Mystery Bay SP has restrooms, picnic tables, and a boat launch.

Sample Magazine Submittal: Indian Island Circumnavigation (SKII+). 12NM. We’ll circumnavigate Indian Island in a counterclockwise direction to include a portage through the marsh, a gentle bay, and some really quick currents through the Port Townsend Canal.

Plenty to see with strange sandstone formations, and lots of wildlife.

References: