forty days: eagle island
Date: July 24, 2022
Time Start: 8 a.m.
Time Finish: 1:50 p.m.
Cruise From: Kingston
Cruise To: Eagle Island Marine State Park
Engine Hours Start: 1446
Engine Hours Finish: 1452
Weather/sea conditions: Sunny, clear, calm, 80 degree day
The sun greets us in the morning, but fog surrounds us as soon as we leave the marina at Kingston and head out past the ferry docks. We keep a lookout for the many small fishing boats that are out today as well as crab pots to avoid. Sometimes we are in a thick fog. Our radar is in use!
Time Start: 8 a.m.
Time Finish: 1:50 p.m.
Cruise From: Kingston
Cruise To: Eagle Island Marine State Park
Engine Hours Start: 1446
Engine Hours Finish: 1452
Weather/sea conditions: Sunny, clear, calm, 80 degree day
The sun greets us in the morning, but fog surrounds us as soon as we leave the marina at Kingston and head out past the ferry docks. We keep a lookout for the many small fishing boats that are out today as well as crab pots to avoid. Sometimes we are in a thick fog. Our radar is in use!
Near Blake Island we have a hard time deciphering what we are seeing. Is there a boat sitting on top of the fog? No, it is part of a ship, and the ship through the fog looks like it is made of Legos. O.K, it's a container ship at anchor.
We're surprised to see the San Juan Clipper in Colvos Passage, and it is following an irregular route, crossing from one side of the passage to the other and turning around. It turns out it is on a wildlife tour with passengers, and humpback whales have been spotted in the passage. Another excursion vessel is also tracking the whales. We don't see them, we continue on our way.
Signs that we are close to South Sound appear - a hazy Mt. Rainier rising over Tacoma, Point Defiance, and then the Narrows bridges. And there is the San Juan Clipper again, passing through the Narrows and tracking whales into South Sound!
We drop anchor on the west side of Eagle Island as the only buoy is occupied. Seals watch from the water as the anchor goes down. It's lunch time for us, and what a setting. An eagle perches in the treetops, too. Then one eagle becomes two!
The water is so clear here, making it fun to row.
There is a downside to being here on a late Sunday afternoon - lots of boat traffic as people head home after a day or weekend of cruising, and that means lots of wakes to keep the boat rocking. Fortunately, the traffic subsides by sunset, and we have this tranquil place to enjoy by ourselves. The lone buoy is now empty.
And the final sunset of our cruise is spectacular. The reds linger for a good hour before fading away.
And the final sunset of our cruise is spectacular. The reds linger for a good hour before fading away.