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Flattery Will Get You Everywhere
by John Lund
Neah Bay, Washington is a Cape Flattery respite
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Cape Flattery is the most northwestern point in the lower United States, and it is the point of land where the Strait of Juan de Fuca meets the Pacific Ocean. It is probably one of the most important navigational turning points in the entire Northwest, and for that reason, a lighthouse has been situated on nearby Tatoosh Island since 1857.
When wind and tide meet off the Cape, the waters can turn wild, matching the landscape along the shore. Evergreen forests line the cliff tops along the rugged rocky coast. Some beaches are sandy, while others feature craggy rock towers. This combination of natural elements makes the Cape one of the most naturally beautiful territories on earth -- one well worth visiting.
Neah Bay, located minutes from Cape Flattery on the north shore of the Olympic Peninsula, has been an anchorage and rest stop for captains of northbound vessels traveling the West Coast since the 1800s. However, it wasn’t until 1997 -- after 30 years of hard work, patience and determined lobbying by the Makah Tribe -- that Neah Bay became the home of a modern, breakwater-protected marina.
With the addition of Makah Marina, Neah Bay became an ideal destination for Northwest boaters, as anglers from Puget Sound, the San Juan Islands and Canada all come to visit this unique corner of the world.
Getting to Neah Bay
Neah Bay is located 5 miles east of Cape Flattery and 65 miles west of Port Angeles, behind breakwater-connected Waadah Island. Enter between the island and Baadah Point -- and stay to the south side.
The marina is located behind another breakwater in front of the village. For this area, use NOAA Chart 18485 or the large-scale Chart 18484.
Upon arrival, visitors will be impressed by the modern marina and the boating services offered at Neah Bay. If you have any interest in maritime and American Indian culture and history, you’ll find this location quite impressive.
Neah Bay is a U.S. Customs port of entry (see the port director) and is the home of Coast Guard Station Neah Bay, located on the Makah Indian Reservation, east of town.
Makah Marina
Makah Marina, operated today by the Port of Neah Bay, officially opened on May 16, 1997. It took many years to raise the $12 million to build the breakwater and marina, but the effort was worth it.
The marina is open year round. It consists of 200 slips (which range from 30 to 70 feet), and it is capable of mooring vessels up to 200 feet in length. The nearby anchorage area is limited in size, but has good holding bottom.
At the wide cement docks, each slip has running water and 30 and 50 amp power. Some slips have telephone and computer hookups. A dump station, waste pumpout and launch ramp are on site. Restrooms and showers are nearby.
The fuel dock has gasoline, diesel and oil. The marina staff monitors VHF channels 16 and 88. Call (360) 645-3012 or fax (360) 645-3016 for information and rates.
During our visit, we had a chance to meet with harbormaster Jeff Hottowe, who graciously welcomed us and extended an invitation to the Northwest boating public to come and visit Makah Marina. He was rightfully proud of the facility and the efforts of the Makah Tribe to make it happen.
Neah Bay History
The history of Neah Bay is really the history of the Makah people, who have inhabited this region for at least 3,000 years -- a fact well documented in the remarkable Makah Cultural and Research Center located at the edge of the village.
The Makahs call themselves “Kwih-dich-chuh-ahtx” or “people who live by the rocks and seagulls.” The name “Makah” means “generous with food” and was given to them by other local tribes.
The Makah are the Northwest’s first true seamen. For thousands of years, they have hunted whales and seals, and fished the surrounding waters for their existence.
The bay has been the center of a thriving fish and fur trade for centuries. The feared seagoing Makahs traded whale and dogfish oil, and seal, otter and bear pelts with other tribes.
The Makahs are the only American Indian tribe with the right to hunt whales, guaranteed by treaty. Commercial fishing continues to be one of the mainstays of their economy.
The great western red cedar tree provided the material from which the Makah made houses, clothing and the canoes they used for fishing and hunting. Their people flourished in a community of five permanent villages: Bahaada, Deah (present-day Neah Bay), Waatch, Sooes and Ozette.
In 1790, the Spanish captains Eliza and Quimper arrived and called this area Bahia de Nunuz Gaona. Two years later, Spanish Lt. Salvador Fidalgo was sent to fortify the holdings for Spain, but was sent packing by the Makah.
Capt. George Vancouver also arrived that year and charted the bay he called Poverty Bay. American traders called it Poverty Cove, but the Wilkes Expedition in 1841 renamed it Scarborough Harbor. The word Neah first appears on Wilkes’ chart at what is today called Waadah Island. Henry Kellett gave the bay its present name in 1847, but he spelled it Neeah Bay for Makah chief Dee-ah.
Samuel Hancock built a blockhouse at the bay in 1850; and in 1857, a trading post was established across from the tip of Waadah Island.
In 1852, a government survey selected Tatoosh Island, off the tip of Cape Flattery, to be the location of a 65 foot lighthouse, which has been in operation since the first ordered Fresnel lens was lit in 1857. Tatoosh Island is accessible only by boat and can be seen from the end of the Cape Flattery Trail and the viewing platform there.
The 27,000 acre Makah Reservation was established by treaty in 1855, by Territorial Governor Issac Stevens. By 1865, there was a trader’s store, an agent’s house, a carpenter shop and a Makah Reservation school.
The first road reached the Cape in 1931. Until then, Neah Bay was accessible only by water, and the community depended upon steamers to bring in freight and passengers to a dock built by the Washburn family in 1912.
When in Neah Bay
Boaters will find everything they need within walking distance of the marina. The biggest all-in-one-store is Washburn’s, located in the Makah Village Center, down the road. Curiosity seekers will enjoy checking out the shops along the waterfront and can find a good meal at the café near the head of the dock.
The Makah Cultural and Research Center is not to be missed. It is recognized as one of the finest tribal museums in the country. The permanent exhibits include artifacts from the Ozette collection, uncovered from a Makah village buried by a mudslide some 500 years ago.
The museum has a full-size replica long house and four cedar dugout canoes. Displays show first hand the remarkable life of the Makah through exhibits depicting whaling and sealing and displays of ancient tools and fishing gear. Fine examples of art, clothing, and basketry have also been preserved by the mudslide.
The excellent museum shop contains carvings, basketry and jewelry made by Makah artists, and there is a wide selection of prints, books and cards. The Makah Museum is open to the public seven days a week from Memorial Day through September 15, and is closed Monday and Tuesday from September 16 through Memorial Day.
If you can arrange shoreside transportation, you’ll want to travel 6 miles to the head of the Cape Flattery Trail. The trail is a 3/4 mile walk through woods and over wetlands via cedar boardwalks built by the Makah Tribe. Along the way, four observation decks offer commanding views of sea caves, rocky bays, crashing waves and Tatoosh Island. The area boasts all kinds of wildlife, including whales, seals, sea otters, puffins and many other sea birds -- so, take your binoculars and camera.
This region is part of the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, a 3,310-square-mile stretch of water off the Olympic Peninsula coastline. The sanctuary protects a productive upwelling zone and is home to rich marine mammal and seabird feeding areas, diverse kelp growth, intertidal algae and invertebrate communities.
Makah Marina at Neah Bay gives Northwest boaters a perfect place to explore the wild beauty of Cape Flattery, the northwesternmost corner of the country.
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This article first appeared in the May 1, 2002 issue of Sea Magazine. All or parts of the information contained in this article might be outdated. |
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