The 12 Bests of Cruising   Matt Squires, Webmaster

As we approach the twelve days of Christmas, I present my own twelve bests of keelboat cruising in Puget Sound after five years of extensive research.

12. Best Marina
Perched at the far end of Canada's Gulf Islands, Nanaimo's city marina is a long way from the WAC in a club keelboat. But if you ever make it there, the marina services cannot be beat. Friendly marina staff help cruisers with shopping, movies, and public transportation issues. A shopping mall and full service grocery store are a block away. Downtown Nanaimo with its pedestrian friendly shops and restaurants starts at the end of the dock. Fishermen sell their fresh catch from their berthed boats. A waterfront walkway makes a great evening stroll. And if you are feeling too lazy to row a dinghy there are ferries to take you to Newcastle Island Provincial Park, Nanaimo's huge island park.
My only complaint about Nanaimo is that it can be a black hole of cruising - it is very easy in Nanaimo to blow off a voyage "one more day" to buy one more chart, get one last vegetable, or tour one more restaurant.
My second place marinas are Port Townsend and Victoria Harbor. Both marinas offer superb services but they require a lot more walking to get to a grocery store or to downtown.
11. Best Reciprocal Moorage
Day Island Yacht Club near the Tacoma Narrows Bridge is my all time favorite. Many yacht clubs offer opulent amenities like free ice or electricity, but Day Island has it all - unlimited hot showers, friendly caretaker, game room with pool table, magazine rack, and only a short hike to town. And it's all free to WYC members flying their burgee. Grab a current table and plot a weekend trip to DIYC soon!
10. Best Weekend Cruise
Whether you go clockwise or counterclockwise depends on the currents and wind forecast, but either way a trip around Bainbridge introduces you to a lot of what Puget Sound has to offer. Spend one night in Poulsbo, and another night in either Port Orchard or Bremerton. You will encounter ferries, narrow buoy filled channels, reciprocal moorages, strong currents, and delightful quaint towns.
Port Orchard has a farmers market on Saturdays and Bremerton has one on Sundays, so you have ample opportunity to pick up a souvenir of your trip. And a loaf of apple cinnamon bread from Sluys bakery in Poulsbo improves morale on any voyage.
Other cool activities are the Undersea Warfare Museum in Keyport, touring the USS Turner Joy destroyer in Bremerton, and riding the oldest ferry in Washington, a foot ferry between Port Orchard and Bremerton.
9. Best Pub
At the entrance to Telegraph Harbour on Thetis Island in the Canadian Gulf Islands is the Thetis Island Pub. Although the beer selection is only average (this is Canada after all) the atmosphere and the desserts cannot be beat. The owner completely caters to cruisers , offering advice on local history, island activities and shore excursions to nearby Vancouver Island. They host a farmers market and a pig roast every weekend, and the pub is stocked with scruffy sailors and rogues who are happy to debate the benefits and shortcomings of the cat claw rig in the wee hours of the morning. In addition to their friendly atmosphere, they serve a heavenly bumble berry pie ala mode.
Geographically close second place taverns are the Tides Tavern in Gig Harbor and the Public House pub in Eagle Harbor. Though both pubs serve better beer, the atmosphere is more restaurant and businesslike at these establishments.
The pub at Port Browning marina in the Canadian Gulf Islands is also worth a visit, for their friendly staff and their gameroom with darts and pool.

Butchart Gardens in the fall.

8. Best Shore Excursion
If a vacation is long enough to afford a day off in a port, there are some wonderful destinations that let you explore the countryside in a way that cannot be accomplished by boat. My favorite is a moped excursion on San Juan Island. Cruisers get a warped view of San Juan Island - it is a big city, a posh resort, and maybe a lighthouse and some inaccessible bays along the west, south, and east sides. But a moped ride can show you much more. There are two moped rental companies in downtown Friday Harbor that will let you explore San Juan's many parks, historical sites, awesome views, and even a winery. A proper exploration of the island takes between 6 and 8 hours, and uses up maybe a half gallon of gasoline.
Other favorite side trips are seeing the Butchart Gardens fireworks show on a summer Saturday night, and visiting downtown Vancouver.
7. Best Restaurant
My favorite cruising restaurant is the tiny sushi restaurant in Port Townsend. It is half a block inland from downtown, and easy to spot. If you enjoy sushi, their spicy scallops are delicious, and if you don't like raw fish I promise they have a large selection of other Japanese dishes. Be sure to save room for a scoop of their ginger cardamom ice cream.
Also worth visiting is the restaurant above the bar in Port Ludlow. They serve classy American fare and you can dance off the dinner down stairs when you are done.
6. Best Marine State Park
Having explored all major marine state parks and most minor ones (and believe me some of them are really minor) I think the best state park is Fort Flagler on Marrowstone Island, near Port Townsend. This park has everything. There are huge fields and forests to hike through, concession stands for ice cream treats, lovely tidal beaches to walk, a lighthouse, and a museum with artifacts and a slide show. If you want to be pampered with espresso, showers and flush toilets you can find them here. But if you want to get lost in the woods and pretend to shoot at freighters from abandoned WWII gun mounts, Fort Flagler has plenty of that.
For a smaller more intimate experience, James Island in Rosario Strait makes a great small state park. It is relatively easy to get to and easy to explore.
5. Best Weeklong Destination
Although most people will expect me to say the San Juan Islands, I am going to suggest an alternate destination - South Puget Sound. When plotting a week long cruise and dreading dodging freighters at each end, seeing the same old Port Townsend and Friday Harbor ports, and cursing the Point No Point lighthouse, open up the other end of the guidebook and think about cruising below the Tacoma Narrows bridge. There are state parks galore, both the small island parks and huge mainland types. There is only one city, Olympia, which is even more attractive now that we have established reciprocal moorage with Olympia Yacht Club. Navigation can be more challenging down there since the waters are shallower, and familiar landmarks like Mount Rainier are out of place (east instead of south). If you have only one week, consider pointing the bow south instead of north. You won't regret it.
4. Best Showers
There are a lot of factors that go into a perfect shower, such as easily adjustable water temperature, low cost, privacy, warm shower room, strong water pressure, high shower head, a dry changing area, and nearly unlimited length. Most showers available to cruisers fall short in one category or another. But there is one ultimate shower out there that all shower stalls aspire to and all cruisers should seek out - the showers at the Capitol City Yacht Club in Sidney, Vancouver Island. This shower, to put it simply, has it all. Heck, it is even better than the shower in my own house!
Some showers that come close to the ultimate shower are the Port Ludlow Marina showers (the marina manager told me they were free to folks who anchor out and row to the dinghy dock) and the showers at Day Island Yacht Club.
3. Best Stovetop Meal
While I firmly believe the best meals on a boat are oven cooked and I refuse to ever again own a boat without an oven, the reality is that club keelboats are equipped with only cantankerous alcohol stoves. My favorite meal on a stove top is quesadillas - cook up some chicken (fresh or canned) and onions with a seasoning packet, and set aside. Slice some cheese, open containers of sour cream, salsa, and obtain some guacamole. Sandwich cheese and meat between two tortillas and cook in a slightly oiled pan, until the tortilla is lightly browned. Top with condiments and enjoy!
Early in a trip when fresh fish is still available, pan fried salmon (perhaps seasoned lightly with garlic lemon pepper) is a simple and tasty treat.
2. Best Locals
So where can a cruiser find friendly natives, instead of tourists, and businesses that want to steal your hard earned dollars? I recommend nearby Port Orchard. On a recent visit we were treated excellently by the Port Orchard Yacht Club, got a coupon book from an ice cream parlor, chatted with a friendly waitress in a bar, and even had a pleasant discussion with a recently released convict while waiting for a ferry. The Saturday morning farmers market is as much a social gathering as a shopping opportunity and nobody seemed to care if we bought anything. Folks who live and work in Port Orchard are happy, and willing to share it with anybody.
1. Best Obscure Port
In addition to the usual popular destinations that all cruisers eventually migrate to, there are some obscure destinations that don't seem to have much to offer, but nevertheless are fun stops in their own right. My favorite non-cruising destination is Westview, Canada. At first glance this port is a dumpy rainy mill town with an overcrowded city marina and a bleak downtown. But if you actually take the time to explore the entire town it is actually a neat, attractive little place. There is a shopping mall about 10 blocks away from the marina with a proper grocery store. The visitors center can point out interesting walks or any city festivals. On the way to sister city Powell River there is a miniature golf course and a waterfront walk, and once in Powell River there is a small movie house that shows first run movies after a musician plays on a pipe organ to warm up the crowd. Tell a cruiser you are going to explore Westview and you will get a puzzled look, as if you said you were taking your out of town parents to tour Renton.
A closer port that many are from but few ever visit is Shelton, Washington. It is difficult to get to but quaint in its own right.
And Finally, a Best Of That You Will Never See In a Best Of Cruising List:

A view from the throne on Blind Island!

Best Outhouse
Nobody likes to use the head on a boat. Cruisers soon get to be connoisseurs of honey buckets throughout Puget Sound. Some are beat up, some smell real bad, and some ought to have been condemned years ago. But every now and then an outhouse actually creates a pleasant experience, a positive addition to a cruise. And the best one of all can be found on a small unapproachable rock in the geographical center of the San Juan archipelago - the outhouse on Blind Island State Park, near Shaw Island. Imagine conducting your business on top of a van sized box, sheltered from the rain but with a 360 degree panoramic view of all the San Juans has to offer - islands, ferries, boats, mountains, and even a religious convent. Wave to the ferry boat tourists, salute the soaring eagles, moon the nuns in traditional black habits, for you are sitting in the finest outhouse in all of Puget Sound and for a brief moment you get to reside on a magnificent throne and live like the king of the San Juans.

Cover page      Officers/Chiefs     Caribbean Lesson     12 Best    Calendar    Tattle Tale