Unusual Sailing Spots
Tell us about your micro-adventures and favorite less-popular bodies of water
We’ve written some about micro-adventures—those little close-to-home explorations—but we’re curious about your own adventures and especially the unusual places you might sail. Maybe you row on a tiny body of water just down the road. Maybe you sail a spot not considered especially good for sailing, where you rarely see another sailboat. Tell us about the waters you frequent—even if they aren’t famous for their opportunities. —Eds
My favorite shallow-draft place is Little Skookum Inlet, in the far-southwestern reaches of South Puget Sound. Little Skookum is made for small boats, since it drains almost completely at low tide, so it’s best to wait for a rising tide near the entrance (Wildcat Cove), then row, paddle or motor your small boat 3 miles toward the far reaches of Little Skookum, arriving at about high tide. And don’t be afraid to do a slow meander into Skookum Creek, watching the bottom and avoiding sunken snags, before retreating as the tide begins to ebb. The narrow and shallow inlet is a bit like Willapa Bay (mentioned above by another reader), but in miniature. Just love the estuarial places for our small boats! (And finally, if you want to sample Little Skookum and other shallow-draft destinations in South Sound, the closest launch ramps to Skookum would be Boston Harbor, or Olympia, or the county ramp next to the Hartstene Island bridge.
One of my favorite day trips is to launch at the little used LaConner, WA boat ramp (just north of the bridge), motor/sail south on the Swinomish Slough to Goat Island where I stop to visit the abandoned Fort Whitman, then west and north to Hope Island State Park & Kukutali Preserve State Park (was Kiket Island). If time & the currents permit a quick look into Deception Pass & then back to the ramp. A full and pleasant day that can be shortened as needed. All in protected water. 14 miles round trip to Kukutali with lots of interesting cruising and beach walking.