A Perfect Holiday Daytrip in the South Sound

It’s been a long time coming. For almost nine months Sea Lab has been sitting patiently on her trailer waiting for something to happen, quietly deteriorating as she sits… like idle boats do. You see, sometimes life gets in the way of being on the water, and this year held so many events and changes we just haven’t had the opportunity to get out. By July in a typical year, we would have collected a couple of weeks’ worth of days on the water and would be readying ourselves for a three-day weekend over the fourth, but not this year. We hadn’t been out since October.

I can’t remember a year we have not been on the water for Independence Day, so we made time. It almost seemed like too much trouble to go for one day since we both had work commitments the days before and after the holiday, but we put the blinders on and squeezed in prep time for the boat (quite a lot of it was needed after sitting so long). One of the things keeping us so busy is that we’ve moved, and our homeport is Grapeview now instead of Tacoma, and we were eager to explore our new home waters. We’ve cruised in Case Inlet before, but it’s different when it’s the place you’re from instead of the place you visit once in a while.

Our longtime friends Al and Sue joined us early, as we had to race to get Sea Lab launched at Latimer’s Landing just under the bridge to Harstine Island before the minus-3-foot low tide. After removing the tie-downs and making sure the plug was in, I was re-learning the launch process in my head while backing down the ramp. Sea Lab slipped the confines of her trailer with an almost audible sigh as she was finally reunited with the salty water of the Salish Sea. Al and Tekla caught her lines as I rolled back up the ramp and parked in the nearly empty lot. The motor had no hesitation at the touch of the key and we were away—under the bridge southing down Pickering Passage, a route we could never do in our former sailboat, Moondance, as the mast was too tall.

We slowly motored along, enjoying the beautiful clear warm morning on the Fourth of July. There was not another boat in sight down the east side of Squaxin Island as we slid past the big fish pens and oyster beds that were being worked on during this morning’s very low tide. It felt so good to be on the water again.

We spotted a raft of larger boats anchored in the shallow bay at the south tip of Squaxin so we pulled in and shut the motor off to drift quietly. Al broke out some bratwursts left over from grilling the night before, crusty charred and cold—a real sailor’s breakfast, and we felt healthy and rejuvenated. We drifted into 6 feet of depth and decided to head back into deeper water.

As we cruised through the shallow waters at the southern end of Peal Passage, I retold the story of sailing our first boat Seashell, a Venture 17 swing keel, through this area early in our sailing careers. We were beating up the channel in a nice breeze, water flowing past the gunwale. We tacked a couple times before I looked down and noticed sand dollars on the bottom and realized we were aground and our tacks were merely pivots on the keel stuck in the mud. I can’t remember how many times we’ve laughed at that event.

Sea Lab entered Dana Passage, and we realized Boston Harbor was just across the way and would make a good stop, possibly the taps would be open for a nice cold lunch beverage. As we approached, we could see plenty of room on the guest dock, so we threw the fenders out and tied up. I noticed right away that the docks were all brand new. Having been here on my birthday just last August, I remembered the docks had been in pretty rough shape. Now they are beautiful. We hiked up the gangway made steep by the seriously low tide to the store and, sure enough, the taproom was open. We each got our favorite and went to claim a table on the landing overlooking the marina and beach. I just love the bustle of a marina during high season on a festive and beautiful day!

We made our way back to Sea Lab past the upper docks which, along with the boats tied to them, were sitting in the mud thanks to the extreme minus tide. The mood on the docks was celebratory and happy, conducive to many greetings and conversations. We shoved off waving to our new friends in the boat moored behind and made our way through the anchorage deciding along the way to run up to Joemma Beach State Park on Key Peninsula to see if anything was happening there.

The water was glassy smooth, so I ran us up to 20 knots along the shore of Harstine Island and up Case Inlet. In the 20 minutes it took to get there, Alan commented it would take him half a day to get there in Kingfisher, his Ranger 29 sailboat. When we arrived at the park, I was surprised to see there were only three boats on the docks for this holiday weekend and wished we could be out overnight. Just try to go on a spontaneous camping trip in western Washington on a holiday weekend and see if you can get into a campground. On a boat, your chances are much better. It’s a piece of knowledge the lubbers don’t know.

I got a text message from our friends Rob and Tracy. They had just launched their boat the Blue Pearl and were wondering where we were, maybe we could rendezvous. They suggested Dutcher’s Cove just south of Vaughn Bay. The water is shallow there and it would be a good day for a swim, so we pointed that way. In keeping with the theme of the day, when we got to Dutcher’s Cove there was no one there. We planned to drop anchor and hang out until Rob and Tracy arrived, but when I pushed the windlass button nothing happened. Hmm… it worked fine last time we were out in October. I always wonder what tiny physical event happens to cause things like that. Was it that one last molecule of corrosion somewhere in that system that developed in just the right place to cause a break in that circuit? Now was not the right time to search for answers, so we abandoned our plan for swimming and re-booted our course for Jarrell Cove and headed off. None of us had swimsuits anyway…

Jarrell Cove State Park is a longtime favorite destination, and we moseyed our way across Case Inlet and the northern tip of Harstine Island into Pickering Passage. Once again, we arrived at a fabulous park and there was plenty of room to pull into the state park’s dock. After we tied up, I called Rob to alert him to our change of plans; they decided to see if they could get the buoy at Eagle Island State Park. We lamented the loss of a meet up on the water, but there will be other times. The four of us went up to the park for a walk in the trees and then back to Sea Lab for snacks and fizz waters, marveling at the day all the while.

We decided it was time to go and pulled the dock lines, then glided through the moored boats and paddleboarders and back into Pickering. Soon, the bridge where we launched was in sight and we readied to land. As we pulled up to the dock, I could see that now the tides were now at peak high, 17 feet higher than low that morning—the float was a long way from the ramp and the gangway was very high above. This was a problem I hadn’t encountered before. There’s always something new to learn! I ran up to the parking lot and got into the roasting hot truck and backed down the ramp. Then, with some spliced lines and thigh deep wading, we warped Sea Lab back to her trailer and hitched her up and I pulled up the ramp and out of the water.

We said our goodbyes and discussed plans for doing it again, and Al and Sue headed on their way while Tekla and I readied for the short drive home. On our way, I realized that all my anxiety and stress from the past months had drained away and I felt grateful for the boat and the body of water that has given us so much. I’m a lucky guy.

Dennis and Tekla and their Sailor dog Tim Tim have recently changed their home cruising waters from Tacoma to Case Inlet at Grapeview and are excited to explore the South Sound in greater detail.