Gales on Anderson Island

I had been too many days stuck in my office, and although I didn’t have a lot of time, I was looking to get outdoors and do a quick overnighter. The south Puget Sound is often overlooked for multi-day trips in favor of its better know cousin the San Juan Islands. No question the San Juan’s are special, but with all the development in recent years, it’s getting harder and harder to find those out of the way places. If you know where to look, there are some jewel campsites in the southern half that provide exceptional paddling, scenery and seclusion. Andy’s Marine Park on the west side of Anderson Island is just such a place.

My plan was to leave from the Steilacoom Ferry launch round the south end of Anderson Island over to the park. I was anxious to see if the California Sea Lions which move into the south sound every winter had arrived yet, and my route would take me by the old Steilacoom Marine; a favorite haul out for the seals. I heard them long before I saw them as they were hotly contesting the best dock space. My attention was divided between getting the best angle for filming, and observing the regulations of the Marine Mammal Protection Act so it took a moment before I realized that the largest seal was sporty a large battle scare on his rump. I assume it was won during a battle for dominance, but it quickly reminded me that these are wild animals capable of doing real damage with their canines. I could easily have placed my arm in his wound if I had been so deranged as to try; needless to say it didn’t take me long to get my footage and vacate the area! Later in the paddle, just past buoy #2 on the south end of Anderson, I had another sea lion spy-hop next to my cockpit just a paddle length away. Unfortunately, the video camera was locked in the forward position and he was off to my port side; by the time I fished my camera out of the PFD pocket he had slid back into the water so I missed the opportunity to capture it on film, but it didn’t diminish the excitement of staring eye to eye with such a large creature.

The rest of the day was uneventful with me doing a bit of exploring through some of the old homesteads. However, around 1 AM all that changed as the forecasted weather moved in. The one disadvantage of the camp site at the park is that it’s exposed to SW winds and the bluffs located to the north and south funnel what wind there is even more. It wasn’t long before I was out of the tent reinforcing the stakes with logs scrounged from the beach. Back in the tent, I could hardly hear the latest weather update. The wind and rain beat the tent like a drum and the wind was screaming in the nearby trees. Gale Warning had been posted and the local weather observation station was reporting gusts of 46 mph. I thought I was watching lightning flash in the distance, until I released that it was actually transformers blowing on the mainland and island. It was a restless night.

At daybreak, when I could see the sea-state, it didn’t take a lengthy risk assessment to see that making the open water crossing solo back to Steilacoom would be foolhardy. However, I was still faced with the prospect of getting my boat and gear to a take-out accessible by road. Although I’d be paddling into a quartering sea I elected to head back south to Thompson Cove where I could stash my boat and gear with friends if need be. It was only 2 nm but what a ride. At one point a wind gust caught my weather blade and I came as close to capsizing me as I’ve ever been without actually going in. Just as I stashed the last of the gear and boat, Theresa having caught the ferry over, showed up with a much welcomed cup of coffee. Quite the adventure for just a backyard paddle.