Sea Kayak - Rich Passage

Great day on the water.  We where visited by bald eagles, pelagic cormorants, pigeon guillemots, a harbor porpoise and plenty of harbor seals. 

The launch area at Illahee State Park was nice with plenty of parking and clean bathrooms.  There is an outdoor shower to rinse off  gear next to the bathrooms.  The road going down to the beach area is steep and narrow but easy enough for any vehicle if you take it slow around the corners.  

We caught the current well both ways which made for a leisurely paddle.  The ferry traffic was the usual but was easy to work around.  Paddling down towards Waterman point gave a great view of the passage and south to Bremerton to avoid the big ferry boats at the start of our trip.  The Navy passed through with a large decommissioned ship being towed by another Navy ship and being maneuvered by two tug boats when we were on the east end of the passage.  Staying outside the red channel markers kept us well away from all the big traffic.  

Landing at Manchester State Park  with a negative tide was a challenge.  It was a choice between a long walk through shallow water and mud or  a climbing the steep bank (to the left) for access to the bathroom.  We chose the steep bank and it wasn't too bad.

Passing White point on the return was fast with a 3 kt current but there was no strong eddy line and no tide rips.