The entrance into Kilisut Harbor isn’t the easiest to navigate. It winds and snakes between sandbars and shoals before opening up into a large waterway between two islands that are connected by a dirt causeway at the end. Your efforts don’t go unrewarded, however, or at least ours didn’t. We chose Scow Bay at the southern end of the inlet as our anchorage and had the place to ourselves. It was pure magic – quiet, well-protected, and beautiful.
Indian Island is owned by the navy and landing is prohibited, so all of our exploring was limited to Marrowstone Island which is primary family homes and small farms. A couple of days into our stay, we took the dinghy two miles to Mystery Bay and walked to the township of Nordland which consists of a fantastic general store but little else. On the northern end of Marrowstone Island, lies Fort Flagler, a former army post built in 1899 as part of the “Triangle of Fire” – three such forts strategically placed around Puget Sound to protect the area from foreign invasion. It’s now a state park where you can tour the old batteries, the army hospital, and grounds.
We left Scow Bay around 6:30 yesterday morning to time our exit through the channel with the tide and currents and went back to Port Townsend to pick up the new filter canisters and mounting brackets. David spent the day taking out the old and installing the new. A few tweaks here and there and, the next thing you know, he’s making water. What a relief!
