Tramp Harbor is an unusual anchorage on the east side of Vashon Island. The harbor is mentioned in the cruising guides, but not with a glowing recommendation. The anchorage is open to the north and southeast, but makes a good stop when winds are calm or from the west. Southwest winds can blow over the isthmus between Maury and Vashon Islands, but the anchorage is so close to shore that the fetch is minimal and the boat simply moves a bit at anchor. We’ve overnighted there comfortably during gale-force southwest gusts.

Our first few visits were in the winter, when winds are generally from the south, so we originally anchored close to southwest shore. Low tide there brings the residents out to beach-comb and horse-back ride. Recently we've been visiting in the summer, and anchor off the northwest shore, with better protection from the prevailing summer northerly winds. The nearby fish haven attracts scuba divers, who arrive in groups on charter boats to explore underwater.

The area around the narrow strip of land between Vashon and Maury islands is called Portage. Before the land-to-land connection was built, the neck carried water-to-water traffic between Tramp Harbor and Quartermaster Harbor on the other side. The distinctive two-story building visible ashore is the now-closed Portage Store. The store was established in 1903 and operated for a century.

The charted pilings in front of the store are the remains of the old dock where the Mosquito Fleet landed. These ships supplied regular passenger and freight service to Puget Sound communities from 1850 to the 1930s. Reminiscent of those historic vessels, the Royal Argosy on occasion makes a long slow pass through the harbor and around our anchored boat.

Nearby is what we have dubbed the “Portage Fitness Club.” When we last visited the area, old broken-down exercise equipment was strung along the road facing Tramp Harbor. You won’t get much exercise, but you couldn’t ask for a workout with a finer view.

Just south of the fishing pier, a walled abutment makes a good dinghy landing point. We've taken the bikes ashore there for an island tour.

The anchorage is a light show in the evening: against a backdrop of light from Vashon Island and the mainland, six different radio towers on Vashon Island flash within sight and a constant stream of planes land and take off at Sea-Tac airport across East Passage.

Anchoring notes: For good southwest protection, anchor in 3-5 fathoms directly north of the three King radio towers shown on Chart 18448. Better northerly protection is in 6-8 fathoms south of Point Heyer and west of the fish haven.

At the turn of the 19th century, the US government built six forts to protect the Puget Sound and the naval shipyard at Bremerton from water-based attack. All have since been decommissioned and sold to the State of Washington, and five are now state parks. The three heavy batteries at the entrance to Admiralty Inlet are perhaps the most well-known: Fort Worden near Port Townsend, Fort Flagler on Marrowstone Island and Fort Casey, midway along the west shore of Whidbey Island. Middle Point (now Manchester State Park) and Fort Ward, also popular destinations on opposite sides of Rich Passage, provided extra protection for the naval shipyard. (Map of area).

The sixth fortification, Fort Whitman on Goat Island in Skagit Bay, guarded the entrance to Puget Sound through Deception Pass and along the east shore of Whidbey Island. Goat Island is part of the Skagit Wildlife Area rather than a state park, and further differs from the others in being accessible only by water. The fort also is relatively unknown, despite the thousands of boaters that pass close by each year en route through Swinomish Channel. Fort Whitman, like many batteries of the period, is completely invisible from the water. Even though we've been ashore there, when we passed Goat Island on our way to and from TrawlerFest in Anacortes last weekend, we could see no evidence of the fort. The only clue to its existence is the decaying dock along the north side of the island.

The Battery Harrison gun emplacement, with mounts for four six-inch disappearing guns and supporting buildings, form the majority of the fort. When we last visited in 2007, the battery was in good condition, with relatively little graffiti compared to some others we've seen. Even though we were expecting the battery, it's a bit of a shock to find such huge infrastructure tucked away in the woods out of sight.

The remains of a mine field control and observation post are down the road beyond the battery, on the western tip of the island. They were more overgrown than the battery.

If you go: It's an easy dinghy ride or paddle from the Deception Pass area to visit Fort Whitman. The trail to the fort starts along the north shore, behind and about halfway along the dock. The trail head is difficult to spot from the water, but was reasonably obvious once we were ashore. When we were last there, a log was strapped straight up onto another one at the trail head. The going is steep for a short distance, then becomes wide and easy when the trail joins the road to the fort.

Cann Inlet, according to one government report, is a well protected and popular anchorage on the west side of Swindle Island, with impressive waterfalls to the north, and opportunities for scenic viewing and shoreline exploration. Part of the inlet is also a registered boat haven. We were definitely interested. The only problem was that Cann Inlet is uncharted. Well, not completely. Chart 3726 does show the shoreline, but no depths or hazards. And the entrance to the anchorage basin is narrow and shallow. But once inside, the anchorage is spectacular.

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Nisqually Flats is an Unusual Puget Sound Anchorage along the south shore of Nisqually Reach, halfway between Tolmie Marine State Park and Nisqually Head (map of area). We first stopped there on a clear, calm spring day because we couldn’t decide which mountain view we preferred, Mount Rainier or the Olympics, and this anchorage gave us both. At night, water slapped gently against the hull and reflected the lights from the nearby hillside community of Beachcrest. Our log for that stop reads “This is what it’s all about.”

We’ve returned several times, and have found plenty to do. The deteriorating wreck of the Tsar, a WWII-era wooden tug, lies off tiny Beachcrest marina, accessible only on higher tides.

Boats frequently are underway to and from an active oyster farm southwest of the anchorage.

The Nisqually Reach Nature Center at Nisqually Head is effectively a small museum that described the history, ecology and biology of the Nisqually Delta.

McAllister Creek and Nisqually River form the Nisqually Delta, which is protected as the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge. The waterways are excellent dinghy territory, and popular with kayakers and canoeists. The channels are peaceful and protected, with quite a different feel from the more open outside saltwater. Waterfowl abound, and bits of the old dike and old buildings are along shore.  We’ve travelled south through both waterways well beyond I-5.

The anchorage also is a short dinghy ride away from Andrew Anderson Marine Park and Tolmie Marine State Park. Perhaps the most delightful aspect of this anchorage, however, is the piper. She has walked the beach every morning we’ve visited, sending the mournful notes of her bagpipe far across the sea.

Anchoring and other notes: Anchor in the 3-fathom finger southeast of buoy G “3” on Chart 18448. Chart 18448 has good detail of the delta area. A marked channel (not charted) leads to the Luhr Beach boat ramp at Nisqually Head and the mouth of McAllister Creek. The entrance to the Nisqually River is almost directly south of /font> buoy G1 on chart 18448 or 18445 and can be reached by following the shoreline from the McAllister Creek mouth. CCaution: Southerly or westerly winds can generate significant chop at the mouths of the Nisqually River in particular. Motorized boats are permitted in the Nisqually Wildlife Refuge, but cannot exceed 5mph. Boat are not allowed inside the Brown Farm Dike (map of refuge). No landing or shore access is permitted anywhere in the refuge. The refuge is undergoing extensive renovations; which might impact where boats can enter in the future.

We’ve anchored overnight about a thousand times over the past decade. We love the privacy and independence of anchoring out, and enjoy the ever-changing view as the boat drifts around the anchor and the tide rises and falls. Key ingredients for a restful night are not worrying about our anchor dragging, or another boat swinging or dragging onto us. So we seek anchorages with good holding that are less-frequented. Typically, this means the anchorages are not mentioned in the cruising guides, so we have to discover them for ourselves.

We set the anchor aggressively—equivalent to a sustained 30-knot wind—and are pretty much willing to overnight anywhere if the anchor holds well and the water is reasonably calm. While we are prepared to move the boat should conditions deteriorate, this has happened surprisingly infrequently. Some of the anchorages we’ve tried would be popular, but are overshadowed by a more appealing stop nearby. Others are exposed to wind or swell and are acceptable only during certain conditions. And some are just plain unusual.

Although we do take a few longer trips each year, a large part of our time at anchor is spent a few miles from our slip in Seattle. While we do have favorite stops, we’re always on the lookout for new ones and have found a remarkable number of little-visited anchorages close to home. In Cruising the Secret Coast, we describe our anchoring techniques and less-known anchorages on British Columbia’s Inside Passage. In this series of blogs, we’ll share some of our discoveries closer to home, starting with Priest Point in the South Sound.

We initially anchored at Priest Point in Budd Inlet during what has become our annual Thanksgiving South Sound cruise. We wanted to visit Priest Point Park, where extensive mudflats make landing difficult in most tides. High daytime tides always seem to occur around Thanksgiving, and on that day’s 15-foot high tide we could easily reach the head of wooded Ellis Cove and land the dinghy to walk the well-maintained trails through old-growth forests.

While exposed to winds in Budd Inlet, Priest Point is a fine stop in settled weather, with nighttime views to the lights of Olympia. And it feels more private than the more popular Butler Cove nearby, where the marked channel increases traffic and crowds the anchorage against the houses ashore.

Anchoring notes: The anchorage is north of Priest Point, roughly opposite Butler Cove. Anchor in 2-3 fathoms north of the charged submerged dolphins on Chart 18456 or the 1:20,000 inset on Chart 18445.

Laredo Inlet extends deep into Princess Royal Island through two and three thousand-foot mountain ranges. The scenery, particularly on a clear day, is spectacular. After anchoring overnight in Weld Cove one summer, we cruised to the head the next morning to see what we could find. The morning started foggy, but lifted to a deep blue sky. The head was especially dramatic, with snow-dabbled mountains all around.

We wanted to anchor for breakfast at least, and perhaps a dinghy tour. But this was a typical inlet head, where the depths fell from 100 to 10 feet almost in a boat’s length. We eventually found temporary anchorage with reasonable holding. We couldn’t get very far up Buie Creek in the dinghy, but far enough to see a waterfall in the distance, so we landed to check it out. Princess Royal Island is famous for its bear population, particularly the rare white Kermode bear, and this felt like prime bear territory. While we would have loved to see a Kermode, we didn’t want to see one while walking ashore, so we put our bear avoidance techniques into full gear.

It turned out that there wasn’t just one waterfall—there were three. The one we could see from the boat was just the lower falls. As we neared, we could see another falls higher up behind, and a third one beside it. The higher two spilled perhaps 40 feet into a deep pool that emptied through the lower falls. What a find. While we never did see a bear while we were in Laredo Inlet, the falls almost made up for it.

Anchoring notes: We anchored northeast of Brew Island at 52°58.128’N/ 128°39.763’W in 100 feet, moderate holding.

The Pacific Northwest Trawler Fest will be held at Anacortes this year on May 7^th through 9^th. We’ll be presenting on Saturday the 9^th at 10:30am on Queen Charlotte Sound. This is our favorite cruising destination—if we could only visit one place year after year, this would be the place. The terrain is complex, the scenery is varied and impressive, and the anchorage choices are many. Most of the region is protected, with little signs of civilization, past or present. And the area is huge—600 square miles. This is 13 times the size of Broughton Archipelago Marine Park, and almost 20 times larger than Desolation Sound Marine Park. Even if every boater on the coast visited in one day, there’d still be plenty of empty anchorages.

One of the areas we’ll highlight is Kildidt Inlet. Kildidt Inlet runs northward from Kildidt Sound deep into Hunter Island. After about 3 miles, the inlet branches into two secluded lagoons connected by a narrow, islet-studded channel. The waterways are fun to explore, with good anchoring, but entry is blocked by the perilous Kildidt Narrows. A 12-knot tidal stream and several hazards require careful planning. An astonishing variety of colorful sea life grows among the reefs at the rapids. Visiting at low-water slack is like scuba diving, but without the tanks.

Anyone who’s written about Seymour and Belize Inlets says that Alison Sound, off Belize Inlet, is the most beautiful spot here. We agree. Several waterfalls gush from the north shore en route, and the entrance to the sound itself is striking. A massive slide has scoured a huge section of shoreline. Kilometer-high mountains soar above a waterway that narrows to a channel less than 100 meters wide.  Just before the narrows, a 150-meter sheer, black cliff rears along the north shore; scattered trees cling impossibly to fissures in the surface.  Beyond the narrows, a 500-meter cone juts skyward.

Two impressive pictographs are painted on north shore bluffs here, one just outside the entrance, and the other in a crevice directly west of Summers Bay. Provincial archaeologists believe that both may commemorate an 1868 Native attack on the trading vessel Thornton and a retaliatory British gunboat shelling of the settlement at Village Cove in Mereworth Sound.

We anchored at Alison Sound’s head, where the scenery rivaled Princess Louisa Inlet. Waterfalls spilled down 1000-meter slopes. The Waump Creek and another unnamed one empty into lush lowlands below towering black cliffs, with snow-capped peaks visible through the delta. The creeks were wonderful kayak territory. The flora and fauna were thick and healthy, and those big cliffs stood above us at every turn.

For more detail on Alison Sound, directions and anchoring advice, see Chapter Ten, Seymour Inlet, in Cruising the Secret Coast.