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Kayaking Port Townsend and Indian Island
Base Camp
Pre-trip Planning
Description
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Sea Kayaking Trip Report
Port Townsend and Indian Island
A Sea Kayaking day trip
around Indian Island
by Brian High
Base Camp and
Pre-trip Planning
We chose for our base camp a one-bedroom "Castle", a quaint little 1880s building that looked like the
little "rook" chess piece at Fort Worden (North of
Port Townsend by Point Wilson Lighthouse). The ceilings seemed
like they were 12-feet tall. The thermostat
controlled gas fireplace, newly remodeled kitchen and bathrooms were great.
We especially enjoyed the claw-foot bathtub. Near the beach. Nice view of
Whidbey Island and the Cascades, including Mt.
Baker and Mt. Rainier.
In planning our
trip, we found the following two articles from
nwsource.com to be quite helpful.
Indian Island: "Kayaking Puget Sound, the San
Juans and Gulf Islands"
August 01,
2002
Kayaking into the pristine beauty of Marrowstone Island
By Gordon Black.
After reading the entry in the guidebook (first link above), we knew we
wanted to:
1. Be at the Indian-Marrowstone "causeway" at high tide
2. Pass through Port Townsend Canal and the Fort Flagler spit with the 2.5- to
3-knot tidal current
Trip
Description
Seeing as how the high tide was around noon and the sun would set around
4:30, this means we had to launch at the Fort Flagler spit, travel south to
the causeway through Kilisut Harbor, portage over the road at the causeway
at high tide, then have lunch, paddle through the canal near
maximum ebb current and return to Fort Flagler.
Since the
tide would be against us at the spit at the end of the trip, we decided to
launch at the north side of the spit (facing Whidbey
Island) instead of the south side in
Kilisut Harbor. We could have also simply launched
from Port Townsend, adding about 2-3 miles (each way) to the trip, but as
chop was forecasted, the winter days are short, the air was cold, and the
trip was already going to be 11 miles of paddling at a minimum, we decided
to do the extra driving (about 45 minutes each way.) Fort Flagler is a very
nice park with great beach access (near campsites, including some Water
Trail sites for kayakers).
This worked
out very well for us. We launched at 10:45am and paddled through the break
in the spit past several harbor seals peering at us from the surface of the
water. Then, we crossed over to the east shore of Indian Island (off limits
Navy property -- a munitions storage facility) and followed the coast for
about 5 miles through the harbor to the causeway. It was very sunny, about
40 deg. F air temperature and about 50 deg. F water temperature. We had a
5-8 knot headwind. We saw heron, kingfishers, cormorants, sea gulls, and a
few other boats (two motor boats and a row boat).
The harbor was beautiful, especially Mystery Bay and the south end of the
harbor. Plenty of signs warned us not to land at Indian Island (US Navy
property.) The shoreline was very natural, though, and made for nice
scenery. The only development we saw on that side of Indian Island were the
signs, a fence near the causeway, and a clearing with a road and some mowed
lawn with a "Firing Range" sign. It took us about two hours to travel
Kilisut Harbor.
We crossed
the road at slack tide, and although some people go through the
four-foot wide concrete drainage pipes, we chose
to portage. We had some trouble finding the route through the winding inter-tidal
passages to Oak Bay, but eventually we portaged again to reach a nice beach
where we launched into Oak Bay.
For lunch we
stopped at the county park beach just before the south entrance to Port
Townsend Canal. The beach is popular among dog walkers and fisherman. We
enjoyed chatting with them, meeting their dogs, and eating our PBJ
sandwiches. We then launched and went through the canal at
maximum ebb current -- about 2.75 knots, staying
mid-channel through it (and beyond) toward Port
Townsend. Shortly thereafter, we passed a private Navy campground area (with
park benches, garbage cans, and RV hookups) on Indian Island and some docks
with "Police" boats - military police.
A police
boat sped off toward the next docks where a large ship was moored. The wind
was picking up and as we traveled north we experienced up to 1-foot wind
waves from behind us. When we got to the ship, there was a big sign that
said to stay 1000 yards away - roughly 1/2 mile. We stayed pretty far away,
at the edge of a line made by buoys. The police boat went out of sight then
returned to a full stop about 1/4 mile away from the ship. The ship looked
like a Navy cargo ship. On the dock was a huge crane. (The ranger at Fort
Worden called this the "Crane of Death".) We waved at the police boat
occupants and they waved back. After we passed and were about 1/2 mile
beyond the ship, the police boat went back toward the channel.
By this
time, we were back at the spit. We passed near it to the north, noticing the
strong current passing through the break in the spit. We were glad to have
parked where we did so we did not have to paddle against this current. We
ferried across it, being eyed by some harbor seals swimming along the
opposite side of the spit. We landed at about 4pm. Subtracting the hour we
took for lunch, we did the 11 miles in 4-1/4 hours, paddling casually. Our
wetsuits had kept us warm all day, but when Marcia took hers off to change
into dry clothes she got chilled, so I kept my wetsuit on. The restroom was
very nice at the park. It even had a hot shower, at least in the men's room.
I did not take a shower, as I was looking forward to a bath back at Fort
Worden.
I highly
recommend this trip, or even a short paddle in Kilisut Harbor. Next time,
though, I think we will either go around Marrowstone Island or stick to the
mainland shore (Port Hadlock to Port Townsend) to avoid the west shore of
Indian Island. Kayaks can be rented in Port Townsend at Fort Worden or other
places.
Also, as the
Wooden Boat School has moved to Hadlock, near the north end of Port Townsend
Canal, be sure to visit this facility offering classes in traditional
(European-style) wooden boat building. Occasionally, Corey Freedman of the
Skin Boat School teaches traditional (Aleutian-style) skin-on-frame kayak (baidarka,
or "ikyak") building here. Across the street are some rental cottages and a
charming little cafe. I assume prices on the cottages would be very
reasonable. The quiet bay, and little activity on this waterfront, would be
ideal for a quiet "maritime" getaway. Hang out at the cafe, peek in on
wooden boat building classes, paddle, fish, or relax on the small beach.
Also, in
Port Townsend check out Pygmy Kayaks showroom and try some wooden "stitch
and glue" kit-built kayaks. They are very friendly and helpful. While in
Port Townsend, you can have some good beer, good food, and sit under a
traditional Alaskan "Hooper Bay" canvas-on-wood-frame kayak, a small
exquisite cedar strip canoe, or pristine Pygmy wooden kayak while you dine
at Public House Grill and Pub.
Related Web
Sites
Fort Worden State Park (Port Townsend)
Rental
houses at Fort Worden (Port Townsend)
Fort Flagler State Park (Marrowstone Island)
Rental houses at Fort Flagler (Marrowstone Island)
Seattle Times reprint of guide book entry for kayaking Indian Island and
Kilisut Harbor
Seattle Times Article about kayaking Kilisut Harbor, Mystery Bay, and
Nordland
Currents at Port Townsend Canal (Oak Bay to Port Townsend Bay)
Tides at Port Townsend
Topo Map of Port Townsend, Indian Island and Marrowstone Island
Nautical Chart of Port Townsend, Indian Island and Marrowstone Island
Aerial Shoreline Photos (Port Townsend, Port Hadlock, Indian Island,
Marrowstone Island)
NW Wooden Boat School
(Port Hadlock)
Corey
Freedman's Skin Boat School (Anacortes)
Skunk Island
Cottages and Ajax Cafe (Port Hadlock)
Public House Grill
and Ales (Port Townsend)
Pygmy Boats, Inc. (Port
Townsend)
Wooden Boat
Foundation (Port Townsend)
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