Marrowstone/Indian Islands Circumnavigation

Rating: SKII

Distance:  15 NM

Date:  Sept. 22, 2001

Leader:  Pete Schwab                       Participants:  10

Launch:  09:15                                    Return:  3:15

Weather:  Beautiful.  Very light breezes, seas flat, ~72F, clear.

Description: 

NOTE ON INDIAN ISLAND!  Since the September 11 attack in New York City you now have to stay 1000 yards away from the munitions dock on the west side of Indian.  It used to be 400 feet!  We were stopped by a small Coast Guard boat sporting 3 M-60 machine guns!  Two other CG vessels gave us the route to paddle.  They allowed us to stay about 500-600 yards from the dock, probably because we're slow and easy to watch plus they indicated that they did not want to push us out into other vessel traffic.

    Wow, what a pleasant trip!  We launched from the north beach at Fort Flagler and paddled clockwise around the islands.  The east side of Marrowstone has lots of old Army buildings along its shore, somewhat reminiscent of Fort Warden.  There are plenty of beaches below the bluffs and plenty of places to stop, unobserved.  We paddled this section against the ebb and still made excellent time.  Just a little ways past the southeast corner of Marrowstone we picked up the ebb, now running in our direction, and stopped for lunch on a secluded beach about a mile south of the Port Townsend Canal.  We passed through the Canal at around 1 p.m. and missed the fun of the 3 knot max for that day.  It was only running about 1 knot when we went through.

    About a half mile north of the Canal the fun began!  We could see a small boat rapidly approaching us from the north and were even able to hear radio talk from a small boat docked nearby on Indian.  The small boat turned out to be a well armed Coast Guard vessel similar in size to the PBR river boats used in Vietnam.  There were three M-60 machine guns on board.  They pulled alongside and checked us out, asked where we were going etc.  Then they pointed out 2 other CG boats spread out in Port Townsend Bay and told us the route they wanted us to follow to get back to Flagler.  The rule is to stay 1000 yards from the munitions dock but they allowed us to stay somewhat closer since they didn't want to create a dangerous situation by pushing us out into they area where they had all the other vessel traffic running.  Nice bunch of guys doing a good job!

    So we followed the path and eventually headed back to the north shore of Marrowstone.  A really pleasant day punctuated by a little more excitement than we're used to.  

Tides/Currents: We put in at Fort Flagler and paddled the east side of Marrowstone first, mostly against the ebb.  Absolutely no problem.  Current in Port Townsend Canal was only about 1 kt down from a max for the day of around 3 kts.

Charts: 

Puget Sound Current Guide
NOAA Chart # 18423.  Bellingham to Everett, Including the San Juan Islands, Page E.

Notes:

A nice addition to this trip would be to camp at Fort Flagler.  Do the trip on Saturday, camp out, and then explore Kilisut Harbor on Sunday.  Reserve early!  I tried 3 months out and they were full.

Directions to Launch Site:  

Directions to Launch Site: From I5 @ Hwy 16 it takes about 1 ½ hours (80 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 along SR 116 (Oak Bay Road) for about 7.5 miles to the park entrance at the end of the highway. 

 NOTE:  There is a $4 parking/launch fee

Facilities:

1.  Bathrooms at Fort Flagler right down by the launch site.
2.  While there are plenty of beaches to stop on along the east and south sides of Marrowstone, there are no facilities along the route.  Just the usual bushes.
3.  Please remember, for your own safety, that Indian Island is Navy property and you may not land there!

Sample Magazine Submittal:  Marrowstone/Indian Island Circumnavigation (SKIII). 15 NM. Launch at Fort Flagler SP and ride the tides along the east side of Marrowstone, then back through the Port Townsend Canal.

References: 

Washburne, Randel. Kayaking Puget Sound, the San Juans, and Gulf Islands. Seattle: The Mountaineers. 1996. pp. 184-188.

Mueller, Ted and Marge.  North Puget Sound Afoot and Afloat.  Seattle:  The Mountaineers.  1995.  pp. 168-196.