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Sea Eagle at a very peaceful anchorage.

Sea Eagle at a very peaceful anchorage.

The Spring Tides were upon us with afternoon lows predicted below minus two feet (after a 14′ high) and 80° sunshine in the forecast. I decided Sea Eagle was up for a challenge named Hammersley Inlet, which was originally named Big Skookum (meaning troubled waters).

The shallow, twisting waterway is full of drying shoals and boiling currents that eventually lead to Shelton, Washington. Sea Eagle’s six foot draft and slow, trawler speeds make it a very interesting bit of water to transit, but I grew up on the inlet and was well aware of the location of the shifting sand bars and shoals.

The house that I grew up in on Hammersley Inlet.

The house that I grew up in on Hammersley Inlet.

We had a very pleasant cruise up past my boyhood home, spotting deer and fox feeding along the shoreline and marveled at how much it had changed in the decades since I’d lived there.

On the way out, we spotted a large number of boaters that were learning important life lessons about the Spring Tides. Several were beached, high and dry, as the falling tides caught the owner’s unaware.

Falling Tides caught this boater by surprise.

Falling Tides caught this boater by surprise.

We also spotted a sailboat that was aground in some very shallow water. They had a long wait, sitting alone in the middle of the bay, until the tides came back in and re-floated their boat. We could see that they weren’t too happy with their situation.

We also spotted quite a few beached and abandoned boats along Squaxin Passage. It’s sad to see those derelict vessels.

Same high and dry boat a few hours later.

Same high and dry boat a few hours later.

Sailboat aground.

Sailboat aground.

Hammersley Inlet Entrance

Hammersley Inlet Entrance