So Puget Sound anchorages

If you have time please coment on the folowing South Sound anchorages.
Refer to the number.

1.... Shelton: Is the marina still run by the Shelton YC?
Can one anchor a bit NW of the Yacht Club!
How much current is in Hamersly Inlet?
2.... Anchoring just so of the Little Scookum Inlet in Totten Inlet.
3.... Anchoring just NW of Hope Is.
4.... Anchoring between Flapjack point to the far shore to the east.
5.... Anchoring Just SW of Dougall Pt. In Pickering Passage.
6.... Anchoring at the bottomof Henderson Inlet.
7.... Anchoring just NW of MicMicken Is.
8.... Anchoring at the so end of Filucy Bay.
9.... Anchoring near the entrance to Von Gelden Cove.
10... Anchoring just east of the bridge to Fox Island.
10... Anchoring well up into Wollochet Bay.
11... Would one be a navagational hazzard anchoring in the middle of Gig Hbr.

1)

http://www.sheltonyachtclub.com

I'm going to assume yes as my recollection of Oakland Bay is too small to support more than one marina. I could be wrong though as we spent very little of our time so far looking at anything boat related yet.

If you have time please coment on the folowing South Sound anchorages.
Refer to the number.

1.... Shelton: Is the marina still run by the Shelton YC?
Can one anchor a bit NW of the Yacht Club!

I don't know for sure who runs the marina. Yes, you can anchor NW of the yacht club. But it is a foul bottom from old logging operations

How much current is in Hamersly Inlet?

Up to 3 kts. The part between Libby Pt and Church Pt is the worst. Near Skookum Pt it gets a little tricky at full ebb or flood.

2.... Anchoring just so of the Little Scookum Inlet in Totten Inlet.

Yes that is good anchorage.

3.... Anchoring just NW of Hope Is.

No, the currents are fast and the bottom is not good holding ground.

4.... Anchoring between Flapjack point to the far shore to the east.

Yes, good anchorage.

5.... Anchoring Just SW of Dougall Pt. In Pickering Passage.

I wouldn't do it. Currents up to 2 kts and perhaps boat traffic. Jarrell Cove has a marina and a state park.

6.... Anchoring at the bottomof Henderson Inlet.

From about midway down stay to the east. Old logging debris and pilings make the western side foul.

7.... Anchoring just NW of MicMicken Is.

There are state park mooring bouys there.

8.... Anchoring at the so end of Filucy Bay.
9.... Anchoring near the entrance to Von Gelden Cove.
10... Anchoring just east of the bridge to Fox Island.

I think I'd use Wollochet

10... Anchoring well up into Wollochet Bay.

Should be good.

11... Would one be a navagational hazzard anchoring in the middle of Gig Hbr.

I think so. It's a small busy harbor. There is a public dock. City of Gig Harbor Jeresich Dock.

Henderson bay is problematic because of winds, go to the south end of the bay by Pen rose state park. No issues in GH bay but the public dock is free for 3 days this time of year it should be about empty.

Filucy Bay is fine

East side of Fox Island bridge is pretty exposed... FI yacht club in Cedrona cove is close by and has reciprocals with most yacht clubs

Bottom of Wollocett Bay is OK but filled with homes...

Nomad Willy said:

If you have time please coment on the folowing South Sound anchorages.

Refer to the number.

Click to expand...

3.... Anchoring just NW of Hope Is.

Possible but if one of the state park moorings are available I think it is a better option. The NW side of Hope Is has a pretty steep slope into water that is a little too deep for comfortable anchoring given the currents. The wind can also pick up through that channel. Hope Island is a nice little spot. Another good reason to have a WA marine pass.


5.... Anchoring Just SW of Dougall Pt. In Pickering Passage.

I have not anchored there, going by there it has seemed a bit exposed. McLane Cove, right across the channel, is a nice little anchorage however. Jarrell Cove has a lot of State Park moorings as well. The park is a nice place for walking.


7.... Anchoring just NW of MicMicken Is.

Excellent anchorage. Protected, good holding bottom in a convenient depth. Again, there are also State Park Mooring balls on that side of the Island. This is one of our favorite spots in the South sound. At the end of the summer when the weather has been hot and the tide is right, the water is warm enough for swimming.

8.... Anchoring at the so end of Filucy Bay.

This is a good spot to anchor although there are private homes on the beach south of the point. I tend to prefer the North end of the bay as it is secluded. Watch out for the fish farming apparatus but there is plenty of room and is nice and protected unless you have a strong South wind.

Nearby are the mooring balls at Eagle Island. This is a popular spot with great views.


10... Anchoring just east of the bridge to Fox Island.

I have never done it but in that area I would consider Horsehead Bay. Surrounded by private homes but a nice protected anchorage and a lovely spot.

10... Anchoring well up into Wollochet Bay.

Excellent place to anchor. Anchor off the Tacoma Yacht Club outstation past that last little jog in the bay. Good holding, and quiet unless it is a summer weekend and the wake boarders are out.

11... Would one be a navagational hazzard anchoring in the middle of Gig Hbr.

On a summer weekend there are lots of boats anchoring in the harbor, so everyone is used to it. Anchor in the middle of the harbor leaving enough room from both the SW and NE sides of the harbor so traffic can get out of the marinas. Eat at the Tides tavern and there is a very convenient pumpout station right next door at the City Dock.

Another spot I like in the South Sound is the inner Oreo Bay.

Re: Gig Harbor.

No issue with anchoring. You'll notice boats moored long-term within a hundred yards of the muni dock. There is a major construction project right now which has completely destroyed the waterfront park until next spring...if we're lucky. You can moor at the dock free,but who'd want to?! Rest rooms and pumpout are out-of-service. Anchor right off the pier and dinghy in. Theres another short term dock right next to the Tides Tavern.

One problem with GH, maybe the only downer is that there are no groceries in the lower town any more. Two chandlers, but no grocers.. go figure. In the summer theres a great shuttle bus every 30min to the uptown shopping, but now nada.

Bill Butler
Seeadler
Tacoma & Ashland

While not really a grocery, there is a deli which sells wine and a mini-mart selection of some grocery items. They have great deli sandwiches as well. I can't think of the name off the top of my head but it is just up the street from Kelley's.

dhays said:

While not really a grocery, there is a deli which sells wine and a mini-mart selection of some grocery items. They have great deli sandwiches as well. I can't think of the name off the top of my head but it is just up the street from Kelley's.

Click to expand...

True, Good deli, but The Harbor General Store is really misnamed. There's a "health food" store too, but both are short on inventory and long on price.

Bill

Thank you thank you thank you ...
Temps are about 20 degrees now so not even getting much work done on the boat. Got a little more work on the antenna cable to do. Got to prime the fuel lines and re-install the Wabasto. Re-route the GPS antenna cable. And a few other odds. The boat is an hour away and much snow is predicted. Could drive the "Burb" but it gulps gas and not much heat. But I'll get-er-done.

Wonderful response re the anchoring. I choose anchorages mostly that were protected in SE winds and didn't consider wake boarding for winter. May use Swantown as a hub and grocery stop. One thing that came up on this thread that I had'nt considered is logging debis on the bottom. Always aware of that in Alaska but slipped my mind here. I can see where Henderson Inlet was probably the site of a mill (or several) for probably 100 years. I'll probably just avoid it. And where fresh water enters some of these places ice could be a problem. Seems to me the South Sound is frequently about 5 degrees colder than up north. Oh well Willy's seen ice before.

Many thanks to all here and WifeyB I'll prpbably get onto Active Captain. I do after all take my i-pad on the boat on all trips. Thanks for the link.

Nomad Willy said:

Wonderful response re the anchoring. I choose anchorages mostly that were protected in SE winds and didn't consider wake boarding for winter. May use Swantown as a hub and grocery stop. One thing that came up on this thread that I had'nt considered is logging debis on the bottom. Always aware of that in Alaska but slipped my mind here. I can see where Henderson Inlet was probably the site of a mill (or several) for probably 100 years. I'll probably just avoid it. And where fresh water enters some of these places ice could be a problem. Seems to me the South Sound is frequently about 5 degrees colder than up north. Oh well Willy's seen ice before.

Click to expand...

Eric,

If you are a member of Yacht Club I would highly recommend the Olympia Yacht Club recipricol dock. There is a grocery store right there and it is a convenient place to walk to the Saturday Market etc... I can't recommend the Olympia city docks there, they aren't bad but not great and have no power. Swantown has great docks but is a very long walk from any stores and resupply.

Unless there is a very long, hard freeze you shouldn't have any issue with ice.

I also noticed that autocorrect caught me up. I tried to mention Oro Bay, but it came out as Oreo Bay. Oro Bay is on the East side of Anderson Island and is a great anchorage. Just mind the channel markers going into the inner bay.

Haha,
I see Oreo/Oro Bay. Only protected part is the west end and it looks very small and shallow .. on my Navamatics chart. That's a big part of this thread though as those that have been to these places have a lot more realistic scope on what's there. I could throw an anchor over the stern and limit swing. Probably just going to Filucy Bay would be a easier though ... unless there was a NE wind.

No I'm not a member of any yacht club. May be a good idea as time goes by. So many just do it for the reciprocal moorage. Low tide cheap if ya use it. Does Olympia Yacht Club rent moorage to non YC people?

Nomad Willy said:

Haha,
I see Oreo/Oro Bay. Only protected part is the west end and it looks very small and shallow .. on my Navamatics chart. That's a big part of this thread though as those that have been to these places have a lot more realistic scope on what's there. I could throw an anchor over the stern and limit swing. Probably just going to Filucy Bay would be a easier though ... unless there was a NE wind.

Click to expand...

The inner part of Oro bay actually has plenty of room. There are some private moorings there but even in the summer when there are plenty of transient boats anchoring, you can always find a place to anchor with lots of room to swing. No need for a stern anchor.

Filucy Bay is great however. Pick the South or North end depending on the predicted weather.

Very goog sir!
You're input will definitely get used.

Craig,
I sent the Shelton Yacht Club an e-mail via the link you sent me thanks.

FWIW, I think the Waggoner's guide is a great resource and worth the cost. It has information on marina's, but also has some pretty good information on various spots to anchor. Active Captain is also very useful but I'm old school enough that I like a paper resource as well.