Memorial Day Mystery Bay Cruise
Please join us for this jam-packed joint-venture 3-day weekend cruise to Mystery Bay. Raft up with other CYC, PSCC & STYC members or anchor on your own and visit from your dinghy. Get to know fellow sailors in some collaborative on-shore activities, all of which are optional.
On the docket: a socially distanced outdoor BBQ potluck; goat farm tour; the annual tractor parade; winery tasting/picnic; a human-powered dinghy race, exploring on your own. The Nordland General Store has been recently renovated after experiencing a devastating fire in Nov 2020. It is currently for sale so it's not clear if it will be up and running again by May. Please don't count on being able to shop for provisions during the weekend.
COVID safety: Masking-up and socially distancing at this stage of the pandemic is state encouraged but now a personal choice. If COVID numbers should increase significantly prior to this cruise please watch for further email communications from us. Always remember to please be considerate of others. Up-to-date vaccinations highly recommended.
Navigation: The entry to Mystery Bay can be tricky. Please source out & refer to all your own tide & chart information you will need to navigate the winding narrow entrance safely and when tides are favorable. The tides are not looking too bad this year, because there are some very high lows!
This will be an anchoring/raft-up event. That said, there will also be activities that we will need individual sign-ups for actual head-counts. Please indicate when you register, which activities you are interested in. There is a lone dock, however space cannot be counted on this weekend.
SCHEDULE (Weather-williing):
Arrival:
The lowest low tides are in the early evenings, so morning or mid-day arrivals are recommended. You may want to sail up to Port Townsend or anchor in Kilisut Harbor on Friday night.
Tides @ Marrowstone Point (Fort Flagler)
Fri May 27 High Tide: 9:25 am 5.176, Low Tide: 4:25 pm 1.311
Sat May 28 High Tide: 11:05 am 4.793, Low Tide: 5:19 pm 2.18
Saturday 6 – 8 pm Raft-Up Happy Hour: One or two boats will host a casual happy hour get-together, a chance to socialize with other CYC, PSSC and STYC members.
Sunday 10 – 11 am Mystery Bay Goat Farm Tour: Learn about the operations of a small-scale, artisan goat dairy and sample goat cheese, goat yogurt and cajeta. Meet at Mystery Bay State Park at 9:30 for the 20 minute walk to town or dinghy in to the dock at Nordland. The dock often gets grounded at low tide, but with the high low tides this year, you should be able to safely dinghy in and out all day.
Sunday 12 pm(-ish) Nordland Tractor Parade: Traditionally, every Memorial Day weekend the island residents bring their tractors to parade them in front of the old Nordland General Store.
Sunday 2 pm – 5 pm Marrowstone Winery Tasting and Picnic: We’ll visit Marrowstone Vineyards where the wine is as beautiful and unique as the view. Family owned and locally loved, Marrowstone Vineyards is a treasured boutique winery overlooking the cascades and Puget Sound. Explore their selection with a tasting, sip on a glass, or pop open a bottle on their deck or lounge in their lovely meadow with views of their grapevines and Salish Sea behind. We’ll have some sort of games, bocce ball, badminton, croquet, etc. Bring your own picnic lunch. We are looking for someone on the island who can shuttle folks to the farm.
Sunday 5 pm – 7 pm High-tide human-powered dinghy race and happy hour on the dock. Bring your kayak, paddle board, inflatable or other vessel. Compete for prizes in two categories – paddle or oar power.
Sunday 7 pm to whenever BBQ Potluck: Join us by the campfire at Mystery Bay State Park, just 80-100 yards from our raft-up. The park is designated as a marine recreation area with its facilities primarily for boaters. A pier leads out to a long float that is available for overnight mooring facilities. Mooring buoys are also available. A single lane launch ramp drops down gently to the sloping beach north of the floats.
Departure:
There is not much difference between high and low tides on Monday, so we can probably depart at any time.
Tides @ Marrowstone Point (Fort Flagler):
Mon May 29 Low Tide 7:58 am 3.09, High Tide 1:03 pm 4.85, Low Tide 6:12 pm 3.109
About Mystery Bay
All but hidden on the west side of Marrowstone Island, Mystery Bay State Park offers a great escape for visitors arriving by water. Boaters can raft up or lay anchor and stroll along the grassy and gravelly shoreline or enjoy the inlet’s pristine waters. Bring along a kayak or paddle board for daytime recreation on the water. There is an organic goat farm that offers tours on making goat cheese, a renowned island vineyard for picnicking & wine tasting. Several activities will be jointly planned. Take in the Olympic mountain views from the shoreline picnic area about 80-100 yards from the raft-up. Cook up your own oysters and clams in one of three fire rings and enjoy an island sunset before heading back to your boat. Fort Flagler is approximately 2 miles from Mystery Bay (about a 15 minute dinghy ride). There is a dinghy dock to park your boat while you go exploring. Tour and explore a significant coastal defense fort established more than a century ago to guard the entrance to Puget Sound.
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Fort Flagler State Park
Located on the Northern tip of Marrowstone Island, this spectacular park has more than 5 miles of hiking trails on its 1,450+ acres. Facilities include picnic tables, 117 campsites, boat launch, mooring facilities, and a group camp.
Hiking, boating, fishing, clamming, and hang-gliding are popular activities. Accommodations are also available in three former WWII barracks buildings with kitchen and dining facilities and five furnished vacation houses for rent are available (Reservations (888) 226-7688). A museum interprets the history of this one-time coastal defense fort. The Beachcomber Café concession offers food and espresso drinks near the lower campground.
Park Contact: (360) 385-1259 fort.flagler@parks.wa.gov
Beachcomber Cafe
Summer’s not complete without an ice cream treat, an espresso drink, or iced mocha! Come to the Beachcomber Cafe at Fort Flagler State Park and enjoy the view from the deck. Grill, kites, snacks and more.
Contact: Jim and Maj-Britt Peacock
(360) 385-7637 majbrittpeacock@gmail.com
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Mystery Bay State Park
During Prohibition, smuggling alcohol from Canada was a profitable and somewhat honored occupation in the remote waters of northwest Washington. Sequestered between Marrowstone and Indian Islands, Kilisut Harbor was one refuge used by smugglers to evade Coast Guard vessels. The smugglers’ shallow draft boats were readily hidden in the overhanging trees at a small bay near the end of the harbor, and their regular disappearance here was categorized by the Coast Guard as “mysterious” hence the name for the bay.
The park is designated as a marine recreation area with its facilities primarily for boaters. A pier leads out to a long float that is available for overnight mooring facilities. Mooring buoys are also available. A single lane launch ramp drops down gently to the sloping beach north of the floats. Clams and oysters can be found on the beach at low tide and offshore crabbing is usually fruitful during the designated season.
Contact: (360) 385-1259 https://www.parks.wa.gov/550/Mystery-Bay
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Mystery Bay Farm
Small-scale, artisan goat dairy. Tours available by reservation.
Contact: Scott Brinton or Rachael Van Laanen (360) 774-0675
info@mysterybayfarm.com or http://www.mysterybayfarm.com
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Marrowstone Vineyard
Visit Marrowstone Vineyards where wine is as beautiful and unique as the view. Family owned and locally loved, Marrowstone Vineyards is a treasured boutique winery overlooking the cascades and Puget Sound. Explore their selection with a tasting, sip on a glass, or pop open a bottle on their deck or lounge in their lovely meadow with views of their grapevines and Salish Sea behind.
Contact: 360-385-9608 https://www.marrowstonevineyards.com/
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Nordland General Store & Tractor Days Parade
Traditionally, every Memorial Day weekend the island residents bring their tractors to parade them in front of the old Nordland General Store. However the store is being re-fit after a nasty fire a couple of years ago and not open. Word on the grapevine is that the parade will commence this year...
Cruise Leader: Jenny Heins
