Sailing Adventure From Deception Pass To Port Townsend

Back in the early days of exploring, Deception pass was charted as a narrow passage leading to a small bay. But as it turned out it was just a narrow spot separating Whidbey Island from the mainland. The pass is really two passes with a small island in the middle. Canoe Pass is on the north side and Deception Pass is on the south. From a boaters view on the water there is no confusing which side is the one to use. Canoe Pass is much smaller and due to the curving cliff wall you cannot see all the way through. The water flow routinely exceeds 8 kts, (more on the Canoe side) which makes sailboat transit difficult without planning. On this trip we are on our way from Anacortes to Port Townsend and decide to spend the night at Cornet Bay, which is in Deception Pass State Park. Cornet Bay has a large dock facility with boat ramps, picnic tables, restrooms and hiking. You may choose to tie up to the dock for a nominal fee, or anchor for free. We arrive at and enter Deception pass on our 28 foot sailboat late in the day on an incoming tide. Windsong cruises at about 5 knots and the pass current was probably running at 7 knots or so. This adds up to a 12 knot ground speed, so the cliffs and gorgeous scenery just flew by as we raced along. The water was turbulent with eddies and whirlpools tugging at our keel and rudder. Steering the boat is a full time job. The highway bridge overhead crosses at the narrowest point about 180 feet above. Tourists are watching from the bridge, so it"s a good time to look up and wave. Seconds later Deception Pass is behind us and we are cautiously making our way across a very shallow area. We are sneaking into Cornet bay without going the long way around a little island. It would"ve taken all of five minutes to go around but the gunkholer in me can"t resist thin water. Besides I think, with the tide rising we can float off any trouble I get us into. By the time we complete our little short cut, I have added about thirty minutes and traveled only a quarter mile. While on final approach to the dock my crew is busy hanging out the fenders and getting lines ready. The only boat at the dock is a vintage Chris Craft sedan of about 50 feet. The Chris Crafts owner comes out to give us a hand. The Chris Crafts skipper is a lady of the sea, she may be younger than her boat or maybe older. It"s impossible to tell, and not polite to ask. I don"t remember any problem with current or wind, but we seemed to be yelling and tripping over each other while trying to get parked. I do remember handing our 12 foot telescoping boat hook to someone and the next thing I see is the handle disappearing into the water. After the pole is lost, everyone is silent, the lady on the dock holding our line must think we belong locked up somewhere safe and away from water. I don"t think you ever recover from a first impression gone bad. I tie Windsong using four dock lines, a fore and aft line and two spring lines, picture perfect and by the book, that should help our tainted image.. Smelt are running and there are about 20 fishermen on the docks. Jaiden is 9 years old and is drawn to the fishing like a cat. Pretty soon a lady and her husband have him set up with a spare pole and he is busy catching smelt about as fast as he can throw out the hook. I am talking to the skipper of the Chris Craft, she is up from the Tacoma area and has owned the boat for a long time. It was a real beauty, a classic, all wood hull, acres of mahogany and teak. She had quit doing any bright work cosmetic maintenance years ago, the spar varnish was peeling and coming off in sheets. She told me she was by herself and would spend the summer at one spot or another in the San Juan"s and Puget Sound. Judging by the blankets, sheets and misc junk hanging about, she"d been at it awhile already. Around sunset Linda and I went for a hike out to a point where we had a good view towards Deception pass. It was high tide, the current had stopped, whirlpools and eddies were taking a short break. As we gaze out at the setting sun we spot a little boat being rowed in the pass as if it was a lake. Back at the boat the fish have quit biting and the fishermen have left, a few more boats have arrived and taken their places at the dock for the night. The Chris Craft has a couple long wood boat poles with shiny brass hooks, they have either been stored inside or refinished recently. The skipper says I can borrow one in the morning, just be sure to put it back when I"m done. I silently wonder if she thinks I"ll lose it like mine. Ever since losing our pole I"ve been thinking of a way to get it back. Low tide is just before noon and the water level may drop enough to see my pole on the bottom. The water should be about 9 feet deep at low tide and with the skippers 12 foot pole I might be able to bring mine up. In the morning a few fishermen are around but the smelt aren"t. The kids don"t mind our planned late departure, they find plenty to do. I"m waiting for all the waters of Puget Sound to rush through Deception Pass and lower the level enough to get my boat pole back. I think how if we were under way as planned the current would flush Windsong back under the bridge and in seconds we would be shot into Juan De Fuca strait on our way to Port Townsend. At about 30 minutes before low tide I am able to make out a light colored object on the bottom, I"m sure it"s my pole. I lower the skipper"s varnished wood pole into the water and check to make sure it floats. I don"t want to confirm any suspicions she already has. It"s difficult to maneuver the pole under water because it floats, and my pole on the bottom is hard to see. The angle of the wood pole looks different in the water. I manage to touch my pole and send it further away from the dock. After more practice prodding I determine the middle of the pole. The water is still dropping, but for how long. Once we reach low tide the water will start back up, the current in the pass will reverse and we may be stuck on the inside until slack high tide. That means we won"t make Port Townsend. I want my pole back. I tell everyone to get ready to go, there"s no time to spare, and we"re leaving in a few minutes. The water drops some more and I can see the poles blurry outline quite well. I lean over the edge between the boat and the dock and deftly drag my pole across the bottom until it is right below me. I can"t tell which end has the hook but I"m able to lift one end and begin to stand it up in the water when it slips and falls back to the bottom. Several times I get it started up but then it slips away. I try picking up the other end while rotating the skippers pole just a little and manage to bring the end almost to the surface. I pin the pole against the dock, got it. Lets go, I yell as I put the pole back on the Chris Craft and thank the skipper. We cast off and head for the pass I don"t consider the short cut we came in through, not at low tide and at full throttle. When we get around the island and see Deception pass I know we are too late. Windsong is closing the distance fast but as the canyon narrows the current increases, the very fastest current is at the narrowest point. Windsongs speed over the ground has steadily dropped even though her diesel motor is red lined at 3,000 rpm. We are just barely creeping forward until we are directly under the bridge, for awhile I thought we would make it. I know there are people on the bridge watching us, but I"m not going to wave, I know they"re saying to each other "he"s not going to make it, he"s not going to make it" when I look over at the shore 50 feet away I can tell we have stopped moving. Instinctively I shove the throttle lever harder and glance back at shore, no movement, we"ve lost the race. Right now it is pretty loud on board, a wide open diesel is not quiet, the water is very turbulent and whirlpools form and move around in the eddies. Some of the bigger whirlpools make sucking sounds as they go by. I"m at a loss, I don"t know what to do. I"m about to give up and go back to Cornet Bay when Linda suggests moving closer to shore, where the current may be less. The water depth is very deep in the pass, otherwise there would be massive rapids with this huge volume of water (sometimes there are). We are only 50 feet from shore, but I gently steer us closer while studying the water beside us and ahead of us. At about 20 feet we start to gain a little and I look ahead watching for any sideways water that may slam us into the rock cliff. The narrowest place in Deception pass is only about 100 feet long. If we can somehow make the next 100 feet we"ll have it. Ten agonizing minutes go by as we crawl forward playing tag with rocks and whirlpools. When we start to speed up, I know we"re through. As our speed increases I move further from shore, I turn and look up at the bridge and give everyone a big gotcha wave. Soon we clear the rocky point, turn south and begin to run parallel to the shore on Whidbey Island. The engine is quietly pushing us along at about 4 knots. Looking at the chart I think it"s about 20 miles or so. Finally for the first time today I can relax, let"s eat I say. While skirting Whidbey Island the motion on board is uncomfortable, there"s a swell coming up the Strait of Juan De Fuca and when it meets shallow water near shore it starts to pile and were on top of that pile rocking sideways. I have been following a depth line of about 50 feet which is pretty close to shore. I like being close so I can see the scenery but I move out to over 100 feet deep and the motion gets a little better. As I look ahead towards Port Townsend it looks a little hazy, most likely fog is on the verge of forming. We have had several run-ins with thick fog and no longer consider it fun. Fog is dangerous and to be avoided. The trip so far has been off the beaten track so to speak, close to shore and safe from commercial traffic, but Port Townsend is on the other side of Admiralty Inlet. Where we cross is about three or four miles wide. All ship and barge traffic headed to or from Seattle must use this stretch of water. We"re glad the fog has held off when we make the crossing over to Port Townsend. We don"t see a single ship, just the Keystone-Port Townsend Ferry. Several traveling boats like us are anchored just off shore from the seawall, we pull up to the town dock and tie up for free, no yelling or tripping and the boat hook stayed in its place, but no one is watching. What luck I was expecting either no room at the inn or having to pay $25 a night. Fore and aft dock lines, two spring lines, and we are set for the night. The weather is not really overcast, it"s more like a high fog layer is just above our heads. It is a little cold and damp. Kind of a dreary depressing day since we crossed over. Soon we head into town, Port Townsend has an old town area running along the shoreline and we quickly become immersed in gift shops. The ice cream shop is a big hit. There is a stairway that climbs the hill in the middle of town and we decide to walk up to the top and see what"s up there, our reward is nothing but some housing developments. We follow a circuitous road back to the water and discover a maritime museum and the boat basin where we could"ve paid to stay. Back at waters edge Jaiden is entertained playing in the city park. Next door is the police station with three police cars in the parking lot. One police car is an absolute mess, seagulls have been using it for target practice so much that it would be impossible to see out the windshield. I got a picture. Kailey is in a snit, she wont talk, while we explored the Seafarers memorial earlier she just leaned against the wall and pouted. Walking back to the boat is a short two minute trip. Visiting small towns by boat usually means you arrive at the back door right in the middle of town. Port Townsend is no exception, any glitzy welcome display is probably up the hill somewhere on the main road. Windsong looks cold, small and lonely at the bottom of the ramp, I see someone has come ashore by dinghy. They have dragged their dinghy up onto the dock rather than tie up. Probably a good idea, the passing ships wakes are pounding the seawall. Out a ways are the same group of boats anchored, one undoubtedly belongs to the dinghy. I busy myself making things ship shape. Everything is getting wet, but it"s not raining. The bean bag chair is getting wet but there"s no room in the cabin and it won"t fit in the lazarette. I"m bored and restless, come on Jaiden, lets go for a walk I say. (I"m beginning to look forward to leaving in the morning). We walk straight to a little wine shop I spotted earlier. Its thirty minutes from closing time and the owner is by himself. I know less than nothing about wines so I busy myself comparing prices and looking for cool nautical names. I choose a red wine with a picture of a sailboat on the label. The shop keeper is a transplant from somewhere, so we have lots to talk about, every so often I tell Jaiden to be careful or don"t touch something. Two hours after closing we leave the wine shop and walk back to the boat to find a cork screw. Linda is annoyed and concerned. Probably annoyed with being left behind with Kailey the grump and concerned for Jaidens safety. I don"t remember if we ate or snacked for dinner. It was a rough night Linda tells me in the morning, with all the waves rocking and slamming us into the dock, she hardly slept at all. I have to take her word for it, I slept well. Outside the fog has dropped onto us, the anchored boats are not visible and yet they are less than 500 feet away. I watch the ferry leave and disappear into the gloom before it"s wake reaches us. It"s obvious we can"t leave. With my morning coffee in hand I step onto the dock, and notice we are at an odd angle. Our half inch nylon stern line has parted from the pounding while I slept. I make a mental note to allow more slack, double the critical lines and look into chaffing protection. This may also explain why we had the dock to ourselves. Linda and I study our charts and current tables while waiting for the fog to lift, but I know we will leave when the fog is gone not when the current is going the right way. Our plan is to head north across the eastern end of the Strait of Juan De Fuca. We will go through Cattle Pass and into the protected waters between San Juan and Lopez Islands. This is a distance of about 25 miles, just a little further than when we came from Deception pass. The kids are still asleep when we cast off two hours later and motor by the anchored boats. John
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