With a welcome change in the weather, the crew of Indiscretion made immediate plans to cast off our dock lines. We unloaded a dock cart full of too much food, topped off the water tank, and set out for a much-needed winter cruise through central Puget Sound.
We decided on Dyes Inlet and the Port of Silverdale as our first destination, though we also considered favorites like Blake Island and Poulsbo. Dyes Inlet provides an ample secure anchorage, and the dock at the Silverdale Waterfront Park is rarely crowded. The nearby park is great for the dogs, and the town of Silverdale is walkable. We’ve visited here a couple of times before on Indiscretion and many times on our previous sailboats.
Docking in a squall
While we enjoyed calm seas on our trip north, a brisk south wind materialized as we made our way up Dyes Inlet. The marina is near the end of the inlet and lacks protection from southern winds and waves. As we neared, I could see quite a fetch had worked up and wind waves were cresting over the empty dock. I steered from the flybridge while Lisa waited in the cockpit to handle dock lines. With our Eartec headphones, we could talk over our options and discuss any last-minute change in plans.
“The wind’s holding steady at 25 knots, so I’m going to turn up into the wind and dock to starboard,” I said using my confident Captain voice.
“OK, I’ll tie the stern first and then the forward spring.” She sounded pretty confident too.
Docking in windy conditions is my least favorite thing about boating. From my perch on the flybridge, I felt the full force of the wind as we made our turn upwind. There’s a feeling of detachment up this high, like I’m a fascinated spectator and not the person driving the ship. Part of this stems from the distance. On the flybridge, I’m too far away to help with dock lines or position fenders. But I sure can see everything unfold before me. If you’ve ever watched those “Bonehead Boater” videos on YouTube, you’ll agree that this would be a marvelous spot to capture a boat docking debacle.
I approached the wave-splashed dock at a 45-degree angle, feathered the boat slowly through the wind and nosed the bow forward to keep the steerage needed to make one last turn. Despite the wind and heavy chop, control over the boat was steady and controlled. I wouldn’t have dreamed of attempting this in any of our sailboats.
Lisa’s running commentary through the headset provided comfort as we approached the dock: “twelve feet, ten feet, eight feet, FIVE feet.” This last came across with urgency. I took one long breath, then swung the wheel hard to port and gave the engine a heavy burst of reverse power. As I hoped, the prop walk from the propeller against Indiscretion’s massive rudder pushed the stern sideways, right up to the dock. Lisa scrambled to tie dock lines while I kept the boat in position with thrusters and the prop. Stronger gusts heeled us against the pier, and I had to really work the thrusters to keep the boat off long enough to drop extra fenders to cushion the hull.
Once we were safe and secure, I had a chance to philosophize as we served up our traditional celebration beers in the pilothouse. We could have taken the safe route and dropped anchor in Dyes Inlet to wait out the squall, but surely we needed practice in carrying out these kinds of docking maneuvers in all types of weather. Besides anticipating the worst (i.e., featured video on Bonehead Boaters), we carried out a drama-free, textbook docking aboard a very capable and forgiving trawler. Each experience brings us more competence and confidence. And, as always, that beer tasted delicious.
And yet, when I shared my recollection for this blog post with Lisa, I got a slightly different perspective on this particular docking experience.
“You weren’t the one on the dock with the waves splashing over it, and the fenders nearly popping as the boat pushed against the dock,” she told me.
“Well, what about the way I used prop walk to bring the stern over?” I asked, a little defensively.
“Yeah, well, we basically slammed against the dock. If that was what you were aiming for, it worked great.” She then reminded me how stressed I was in those minutes after arriving as I attempted to squeeze every fender we had between the undulating dock and my precious Indiscretion before the hull caved in.
“Well,” I laughed. “Maybe stress during docking is something you forget, like the pain of childbirth.”
“No, that’s a myth. You don’t forget that. That’s why we only have two children.”
Like I said, every challenging docking situation is a learning experience.
Port of Silverdale
We anchored out in Dyes Inlet during our previous visits to Silverdale, but chose the convenience of the dock this trip for taking the dogs ashore. The marina has a good number of slips, and each time we visited, we noted available space along the outside dock and fingers. An area for dinghies lines the northern end of the dock near the ramp for easy access to shore for anchored boats.
Moorage rates are reasonable — $10 per night for boats under 28 feet, $20 for larger vessels. Shore power costs just $5 per night, though it is turned off for the winter season. The maximum stay is three consecutive nights. During our two-night stay, we were the only boat on the dock. Moreover, pedestrians are prohibited from walking the docks while the county completes a construction project near the landing. We truly had the place all to ourselves.
The park at the head of the dock is perfect for boaters with dogs. Plenty of grass to sniff and trash cans to dispose of dog waste along a nice waterfront walkway. We made our way through what seemed like dozens of hair salons (why so many in Silverdale??) and busy construction sites to find a nice trail system along the northern edge of Dyes Inlet. After about four miles of walking, we ran out of steam and still didn’t find an end to the trails. Our two dogs slept pretty well the rest of the day after that trek.
Illahee State Park
We departed Silverdale for Illahee State Park just north of Bremerton off Rich Passage. We visited here many years ago on our sailboat but chose not to stay because of the wake from the ferries and the dilapidated condition of the main dock. Big improvements have been made since then. The old dock now serves as a floating breakwater for protection from the exposed northern waters. A new dock offers some 300 feet of side-tie moorage. We experienced some ferry wake, but the motion hardly moved our 60,000 pound trawler. We spent a relaxing day and night enjoying hikes through the park and marveling at the view astern from our sunny and sheltered cockpit, though we probably would only stay the night here in settled weather.
Homeward Bound
This streak of fine March weather has us poring over charts and reviewing marine forecasts for crossing the Strait of Juan de Fuca. A cruise through the beautiful San Juan Islands sounds awfully nice right now. However, family responsibilities require we point the bow south after too-short a cruise. Call it a pit stop before we head north again.
