Ports of Call BY DEANE HISLOP
Blake Island Marine State Park Nestled between Bainbridge and Vashon Islands, and approximately seven miles from Seattle’s waterfront, Blake Island’s small harbor is within easy cruising distance from the Puget Sound metropolitan areas. During the boating season, the park is popular with boaters, with boats rafting up on the 1,500 feet of dock or at one of the 24 mooring buoys surrounding the island. In the off-season, the island reclaims its anonymity. Puget Sound boaters seem to get amnesia, forgetting that the 1,127-acre island is within easy reach for weekend or day cruises throughout the year in most conditions. A sense of remoteness, usually reserved for more distant destinations, returns to the island and allows one to escape from the hassles and humdrum of everyday life on the mainland. A small-craft basin with floats and pumpout are tucked in behind a rock breakwater on the northeast point of the island. The entrance is at the north end of the breakwater between green and red day markers on the pilings that mark the channel. Stray outside the markers and it’s far too easy to run aground. The floats inside the breakwater are available on a first-come, first-served basis and offer 30-amp power. A self-service pay station is on shore at the head of the ramps, where fees of $.70/ft. and $6/night power are collected. South of the dock ramp, there are restroom facilities with showers open year-round and two covered picnic shelters that include fire pits and picnic tables. All garbage must be packed out. The mooring buoys encompassing the island are available for boats less than 45 feet in length. A buoy moorage fee of $15/night is collected year-round at self-registration pay stations ashore. Now a Washington State Marine Park, Blake Island was originally an ancestral campground of the Suquamish and Duwamish Indian Tribes who took advantage of the local resources. It is also believed to be the birthplace of Chief Seattle (See-ahth), for whom the City of Seattle was named. In 1958, Washington State Land Commissioner 70
Bret Cole discovered development plans to turn the island into an exclusive housing project with a luxury resort, hotel, and marina. Cole believed strongly that the island should be preserved for the general public and arranged for its sale to the State of Washington in 1959. The property became a state park in October 1974, and the rock jetty and boat basin were constructed in 1975. The boat basin and Tillicum Village longhouse serve as the hub to the otherwise undeveloped island. From May through September, Argosy Cruises offers a tour to Blake Island that includes a Northwest Coastal Native salmon bake and stage show. In 2009, Argosy Cruises bought the Tillicum Village, built for the 1962 World’s Fair, from the Hewitt family. The village occupies about 5 acres within the park that are leased from the state. Blake Island provides magnificent views of the snow-capped Mount Rainier and Olympic Mountains. On a clear night, the view of the Seattle skyline is absolutely spectacular! Deer graze on the grounds at the top of the ramp, and with so few visitors to the island during the off-season, it’s not uncommon to encounter many of the resident wildlife while walking the five miles of beach or hiking the 15.5 miles of trails.
Deane Hislop calls Anacortes home. He and his wife cruise year-round between Olympia, Washington, and northern Vancouver Island, spending more than 100 nights a year aboard M/V Easy Goin’. The Hislops enjoy meeting other boaters, exploring new locations, sampling local cuisine, and collecting information, experiences and images. Deane is a freelancer whose work has appeared in regional, national, and international publications.
