The Hood Canal is a 65 mile long glacier-carved fjord with narrow tree lined hills and gorgeous views of the Olympic Mountains. At 10:02a.m on October 14th we made our way into the canal to our first anchorage Quilcene Bay. The trip was not without excitement as we received a call from the coast guard advising us that we were in the military torpedo zone and to move our course to Starboard out of the way. We quickly responded and altered course as advised. Other then the slight scare the cruise was calm, sun filled and picturesque. Around 1:40 we dropped the hook in the open bay and soaked up the scenery. Unfortunately Quilcene doesn't have a place to land the dink we so we enjoyed a quiet afternoon and evening.
Quilcene Bay Anchorage
Cruising to the Hood Canal
Quilcene Bay Anchorage
Entering the Hood Canal
Cruising the Hood Canal
Sunset Quilcene Bay Anchorage
Quilcene Bay Anchorage
This was our first time anchoring in over 10 days and we weren't sure exactly how it would be now that it's full on fall and the temperatures have dropped into the 40's overnight. When you are anchored that means you don't have a power source other then your generator which can only be run (courteously) from about 8a.m. till 10p.m.That means when the generator isn't running there is no heat. I try and crank the heat until we turn the generator off at night and then close our bedroom doors to try and capture as much as possible. By morning it is very cold. We did alright though. Due to the heat restrictions and not being able to go to shore we decided one night at Quilcene Bay was enough for us.
By 10a.m. we were ready to move along. Today's cruise was a short one only an hour and forty minutes to Pleasant Harbor Marina. I was looking forward to being plugged in and having heat at our disposal. The cruise did not disappoint. An evergreen lined path for us to feast upon and loose ourselves to pulled us to the marina and by 11:45 we were secured in our slip. The marina itself was small with mostly permeant boats but tucked in an amazing tree lined enclosure. We soaked it in and later took a nice stroll around the harbor to the boat launch. The trees all loosing their orange, brown and yellow leaves to the ground guided us around.
Cruising to Pleasant Harbor Marina
Pleasant Harbor Marina
Boat Launch Pleasant Harbor
Pleasant Harbor Marina
Tiding of Joy at Pleasant Harbor Marina
Fall Foliage
Walk Around Pleasant Harbor
Cruising into Pleasant Harbor Marina
Cruise to Pleasant Harbor Marina
Pleasant Harbor Marina
The next day blew a gale (35 mile an hour winds) and rained so we secured the lines and settled in for a p.j. day of boat projects and reading. By Saturday the gale was done and the rain had stopped and it was time to move on. Our next stop was The Alderbrook Resort and Marina which was double recommended by both our guide books and by other Seattle cruisers so I was excited. We started out in fog which inhibited our views of the Hood but after a while opened up. The cruise south took us three and a half hours to our southern most stop on the canal. Because it's considered late in the cruising season we were the only boat on the dock. We quickly tied up and walked up to the front desk of the resort to check in. We were astounded by the amount of people on the grounds and the fact that the indoor pool was packed full of people all not wearing masks as if we entered a Covid free zone. We were perplexed and I was happy to get back to the boat.
Alderbrook Resort and Marina
The Lone Boat
Sunset at Alderbrook
Cruising to Alderbrook
Alderbrook Resort and Marina
After a heat filled evening and slow morning we decided we should get out and explore a bit. We were given a nice hiking map by the front desk and set out to get some exercise. Across the street lies several clearly marked hiking trails. We decided on the 3 mile hike and made our way to the top of the hill which afforded us picturesque views of the Hood Canal. We made it back just in time for Sunday night football and another stunning sunset.
Hike at Alderbrook
Alderbrook Resort Grounds
Morning Alderbrook
Top of Hike
Hiking Trail
Sunset Alderbrook
Hiking Trail
Alderbrook Lodge
Our next anchorage was supposed to take us south of Alderbrook but due to wind direction and no protection we decided to scratch it and start making our way back north up the canal. The sun was out and we were afforded the views we missed on the way down due to fog. Along with the view we also passed some gill net fisherman setting nets. We gave them a wide birth and watched in amazement as they went to work. Again we were the lone boat in the anchorage with no way to get to shore so we settled in and watched a double header of Monday night football.
Cruising the Hood Canal
Cruising the Hood
Houses Lining the Hood Canal
Fisherman
Net Strewn in the Water
Seabeck Bay Anchorage
After a quiet one nighter it was time to move on. Today would be our final destination on the Hood Canal. Just six days later and we have covered it all. The northern most point of the canal lies Port Gamble a large anchorage nicely tucked in off of the canal. Once again our cruise did not disappoint a whole fleet of Purse Sein Fisherman lined the bay setting their nets across the width of the canal for miles one after the next so we had to constantly look ahead in the binoculars to make sure we weren't going to run through any of them. We dodged left and right making sure to slow down each time we approached to not wake the man in the tender at the end of the line. It was such a scene and kept us on our toes for awhile as the fisherman chatted on channel 16.
Purse Sein Fisherman
Fishing on Hood Canal
Surrounded by Fishing Fleet
Fisherman Everywhere
Heading North up Hood Canal
Cruising Hood Canal
Port Gamble anchorage is lovely and we are at the very southern end, alone and once again surrounded by gorgeous scenery. We have enjoyed our time on the Hood Canal very much and I will be a little sad leaving tomorrow but also excited as we only have 10 more days until we get to our home port in Seattle for the winter.
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