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<\/a><\/p>\nSlow that vessel speed down to a snail\u2019s pace, monitor the depth sounder as if navigating in fog, and stick close to the east side of Blind Island, the side nearest the Shaw Island ferry dock. And avoid the drying rocks at low tide, submerged at high tide. Especially when piloting a sailboat or deep draft powerboat.<\/p>\n
Three-acre Blind Island is a Washington State marine park situated at the mouth of Blind Bay and is a part of the Cascadia Marine Trail<\/a> system. The latter designation means that boaters arriving by human- or wind-powered watercraft may stay overnight at a group campsite or one of four individual campsites, but those arriving by dinghies with outboard motors\u00a0are permitted to step ashore and picnic on a day use basis. Either way, bring the crab traps. You won’t be disappointed at the harvest in Blind Bay!\u00a0Click here<\/a> to see photos of this inviting island.<\/p>\n<\/a>Several years ago, we watched a novice boater enter Blind Bay on the west side of Blind Island. Big mistake! Skippers throughout the anchorage tried to warn him on VHF marine radio\u2014others shouted and waved\u2014but he continued inching forward and found himself aground on underwater reefs. Everyone had a front deck seat, listening to the radio as the Coast Guard orchestrated his rescue with some of the same boaters who\u2019d tried to prevent the mishap. Fortunately, the wind was calm so there weren\u2019t waves, dinnertime boat wakes were few, and the embarrassed skipper motored off the reef at high tide in the middle of the night with minimal damage. A happy ending!<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n