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An ‘Excellent’ Adventure
by John Lund
Discover Grays Harbor, Washington’s Westport and Ocean Shores
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On May 7, 1792, Capt. Robert Gray and his crew aboard Columbia Rediviva became the first Europeans to sail into the Pacific Northwest coast bay he called Bullfinch Harbor, after one of his ship’s owners. Capt. George Vancouver arrived four days later and renamed the bay “Grays Harbor.”
Vancouver called it “an excellent harbor” -- and 212 years later, that’s still true.
Boaters passing by, heading north or south; cruisers looking for a hardy destination they can cruise to from Puget Sound; and trailerboaters wishing to explore a culturally and historically interesting body of water would do well to put into Grays Harbor and discover why Capt. Vancouver got it right.
The two closest marinas to the mouth of Grays Harbor are Westport Marina, to the south, operated by the Port of Grays Harbor; and Ocean Shores Marina, to the north, owned and operated by the Quinault Indian Nation. Both marinas offer a diversity of things to do and places to explore -- but, first, let’s get you into Grays Harbor.
Entering Grays Harbor
The entrance to Grays Harbor lies 40 miles north of the Columbia River and 93 miles south of Cape Flattery -- between Point Brown, to the north; and Point Chehalis, to the south. The distance between the jetties extending out from both points is about 2 miles.
Grays Harbor is a major shipping and fishing port, and it is well equipped with range markers and buoys. Even so, before entering this harbor, it’s important to read and understand NOAA Chart #18502 (NOAA Chart #18500 covers the Washington coast from the Columbia River almost to Neah Bay) and your tide tables.
You’ll want to cross the bar toward the end of flood tide, particularly if the prevailing northwesterly is strong. Stay well west of both the north and south jetties, as they are submerged at their extremities.
There is a shoal extending southward from Point Brown that causes rough water. Therefore, it’s important to establish the entrance channel early, as it is closer to the southern side of the entrance.
At the outer green buoy #5 (four-second flashing), pick up the entrance range markers on Point Chehalis near the viewing tower beside Westhaven Cove. The range will lead you between red marker #8 at the end of the south jetty and green markers #9 and #11.
From #11, you can steer north again while rounding the point, to find the entrance to Westport Marina.
Westport Marina
Westport Marina’s entrance is defined by a long wooden breakwater. You can’t miss its “Please Tip Your Deckhand” sign, in big white hand-painted letters -- and red marker #10 is positioned at its end.
Inside, you will find almost every manner of vessel, including a large number of fishing, sightseeing and whale watching charter boats that inspired the painted message.
The Port of Grays Harbor operates the marina. The main guest floats are #6 and #21, and guest boats are also accommodated at the ends of all floats. The water depth here is 16 feet, and the marina can handle vessels up to 200 feet in length.
The marina office is located at the corner of Lamb and Nyhus streets, across from float #5. The public boat ramp is located at the end of Wilson Street, between float #21 and the U.S. Coast Guard station.
At the Docks
With 650 slips, Westport Marina is the largest marina on Washington’s Pacific Coast. Its cement floats have water and 20-, 30- and 50-amp power. The fuel dock is between float #4 (the main dock) and float #3. A shower, located at the marina office, is available for use during office hours.
Short of a vessel haulout service (you will need to go to a shipyard in Hoquiam or Aberdeen for that), you’ll find most types of marine services available at Westport Marina. An Englund Marine Supply store is located at the corner of Nyhus and Wilson.
Westport is the home of Westport Shipyard, which has earned a reputation for building some of the world’s best-known luxury yachts.
When in Westport
When we arrived in Westport, it was mid-August and the tourist season was in full bloom.
Many people walking the Westhaven boardwalk were there to view the numerous arts and crafts booths at the Westport Art Festival. This juried show attracts many Northwest artists, and they have quite a following.
Simply put, the town was hopping -- and we loved it.
If seafood is your passion, Westport is a paradise. Here, you can buy fresh albacore tuna, cod, halibut, prawns, crabs and other seafood -- right off the boats that caught them.
We tasted smoked tuna for the first time on the fishboat Ethel May. Afterwards, my first mate exclaimed, “It was to die for!”
Westport used to bill itself as the “salmon capital of the world” -- and it probably was, with 250 charter boats working out of Westport during its prime salmon days in the late 1970s. Salmon fishing is still big here in season, from July to September.
Where salmon fishing was once “king” (pardon the pun), Westport has been highly successful in re-inventing itself to other tourist pursuits.
In recent years, whale watching has become especially popular here -- and the attraction is the 23,000 California gray whales that migrate along the Washington coast in March, April and May. Thousands of sightseers come to see the northern migration that begins in Baja California, Mexico and ends in the Arctic feeding grounds of the Bering Sea.
In Westport, the whales are revered and celebrated all over town.
Westhaven Drive
The area around the marina is called the Westport Marina District.
The main street is Westhaven Drive, which is lined with tourist-related shops as far as you can see. There are many art galleries, take-out food stands, ice cream parlors, restaurants, charter boat offices, coffee shops, and emporiums offering everything from T-shirts to kites.
We enjoyed a snack of fresh fish and chips, followed by monster-size ice cream cones. Given the numerous delicious options in Westport, we gleefully abandoned the Atkins diet during our stay.
Westport Maritime Museum
Midway along Westhaven Drive is the Westport Maritime Museum. You can easily spot it by looking for an enormous Stars and Stripes, flying above a series of buildings constructed in Nantucket-style architecture. In front of the museum are two whale houses -- one with a huge whale skeleton.
The museum’s Lens Building houses the first-order Fresnel lens from the Destruction Island Lighthouse. This large rotating lens is 18 feet high, contains 1,176 glass prisms and is over 100 years old.
The museum is the starting point for a 7-mile trail that combines streets, sidewalks, boardwalks, piers and paths and takes you by many scenic and historic viewpoints on the way south to the Grays Harbor Lighthouse. Whether you like to walk or ride a bike, you will love this trail.
Grays Harbor Lighthouse
The Grays Harbor Lighthouse was built in 1897 on Point Chehalis, as a result of the Westport area becoming a major lumber port in the late 1800s. Before the lighthouse was built, 50 ships had foundered while searching for the entrance to Grays Harbor.
Lighthouse tours are offered by the Westport Maritime Museum between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. daily during summer, and on weekends during the rest of the year.
Ocean Shores
Ocean Shores, with its 6-mile-long wide-open beach, attracts 3 million visitors a year, making it one of Washington’s most visited tourist destinations. The Quinault Indian Nation, which owns and operates Ocean Shores Marina, plans to make Ocean Shores a top destination resort for boaters, as well.
The tribe’s plans include dredging the marina and channel, enhancing ferry service to and from Westport, constructing a 200-boat marina and, ultimately, developing the 45 acres surrounding the marina into a maritime village -- including a hotel, condos, shops and retail businesses. The development will be called the Quinault Maritime Resort at Ocean Shores.
Keep your eye on Ocean Shores. It is a beautiful spot, and it could become an excellent boating destination.
However, it would not be wise of us to send newcomers to Ocean Shores Marina by boat at this time. According to Max Stocks, development director of the Quinault Maritime Resort at Ocean Shores, siltation coming from the east has greatly reduced the amount of navigable water in the channel over the past few years.
You can make it safely if it is high water, if your power boat (no sailboats) is less than 30 feet in length, and if you follow a local boat to the docks.
Once you get there, Ocean Shores Marina’s docks offer power and water hookups. It is a self-run operation: You find a slip, then you put your $10 overnight fee in an envelope and drop it into a box by the marina office door.
Or, you can leave the boat tied to the dock in Westport Marina and do what we did: Ride the Westport-Ocean Shores Ferry across the harbor to the marina.
MV El Matador can carry 95 passengers, and it is very comfortable. Capt. Bill Walsh had us tied to the dock at Ocean Shores Marina in 45 minutes, and it cost us only $10 each for the round-trip.
The ferry leaves the Westport Marina dock every 90 minutes, starting at 10:15 a.m. The last boat leaves Ocean Shores at 6:30 p.m. The ferry runs daily from June 16 to Labor Day.
When in Ocean Shores
If you would like to visit the city of Ocean Shores (population 3,000), let El Matador’s skipper know, and he will arrange for a bus to meet the ferry.
If you prefer to gamble rather than shop, you can call Quinault Beach Resort & Casino, and there will be a free shuttle bus waiting when you arrive at the marina. The $56-million hotel/casino complex enjoys a spectacular location on the beach.
Those who enjoy more natural pursuits will want to take a leisurely walk on the beach and explore the mile-long point protecting the marina, at Damon Point State Park. You can fly a kite, have a picnic in the dunes, watch the surf roll in off the Pacific or watch the pelicans overhead.
Ocean Shores’ rich habitat provides a haven for 300 species of birds, so bring your binoculars and a camera.
Colorful Grays Harbor
Grays Harbor is actually much larger than our explorations of Westport and Ocean Shores might lead you to believe. In addition to these two destinations, if time permits, you can visit the port cities of Hoquiam and Aberdeen -- the home of Lady Washington, a replica of one of Capt. Gray’s ships.
Having come this far, we can already testify that Capt. Vancouver was right: Grays Harbor is an “excellent” harbor.
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This article first appeared in the August 1, 2004 issue of Sea Magazine. All or parts of the information contained in this article might be outdated. |
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