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A Divine Experience
by John Lund
Two Puget Sound ports: Port Ludlow and Port Hadlock
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In the Puget Sound region, thousands of people consider boating to be closer to religion than mere recreation. The reason for this is the diversity of destinations to be found within the 90-mile long, 2,000 square mile body of water they call home.
From the densely populated metropolis of Seattle/Tacoma to the quiet, sheltered bays tucked into its many geographic corners, Puget Sound offers an amazing range of ports to explore. This is a story about two of them: Port Ludlow and Port Hadlock.
Despite the fact that ports Hadlock and Ludlow lie within a few miles of each other on the north Puget Sound shores of the Olympic Peninsula, they are very different in character and historical beginnings.
Port Ludlow Marina
The planned community and resort of Port Ludlow is located on Ludlow Bay, off Admiralty Inlet at the mouth of the Hood Canal. The 300-slip Port Ludlow Marina is easily accessible to boats journeying north or south in Puget Sound and is a popular meeting place for yacht clubs and groups who love the first-class marina and recreational possibilities found there.
For boaters with dual passions for yachting and the ancient game of golf, this is the place to be. The Port Ludlow Golf Course, designed by Robert Muir Graves, has 27 holes of championship golf that wind through towering evergreens. Vistas open onto stunningly beautiful backdrops of Ludlow Bay and the Hood Canal. Esquire magazine rated Port Ludlow Golf Course one of the most scenic in the world. It consistently rates as one of the best resort courses in the country by Golf Digest and Golf magazine.
Getting to Port Ludlow
Port Ludlow is about 24 miles from Seattle’s Ballard Locks, or about 12 miles south of Port Townsend. To navigate this region, use NOAA charts #18441, #18464, #18473 and #18477.
Ludlow Bay indents about two miles into the Olympic Peninsula shoreline. Enter the bay by staying 200 yards north of Ala Point before turning south. A 5 mph speed restriction is posted inside.
It is possible to anchor in several spots in the bay, but the favorite is inside the two islets at the extreme southwest corner. Enter between the Twin Islands into this well-protected anchorage, surrounded by upscale homes on the shore.
Port Ludlow Marina
Marina staff monitors VHF Channel 16 and will ask you to switch to Channel 68 to discuss slip assignments. There are 100 guest berths using about 460 feet of moorage, plus vacated slips when available. Longer craft can be side-tied to the outside dock.
Docks are equipped with water and 30 and 50 amp power. Near the marina store are restrooms, showers, laundry facilities, a pumpout and a portable head dump. The fuel dock has gasoline, diesel and compressed natural gas (CNG). The marina store sells fishing tackle and licenses, sundries, gifts, clothing, ice, ice cream, espresso, beer, wine and groceries.
When in Port Ludlow
Port Ludlow Marina is set in a gorgeous natural setting. We spent an entire evening simply sitting in the cockpit watching the sun disappear behind the evergreens while kingfishers chattered overhead and a Great Blue Heron stalked the nearby shore, its sharp beak ready to spear dinner.
More active crews may choose to rent a kayak, hike on wooded trails and paths, dig for clams and oysters along the beach, play tennis, bicycle, or, perish the thought, jog, in the great outdoors. To me, nothing could be better than a round of golf at the premier Port Ludlow Golf Course. You can choose 18 holes from three nines called Tide, Timber and Trail. All are challenging; all are among the most scenic you will find anywhere. Call ahead to book tee times.
Boaters can picnic at the shelter by the marina store, or at Burner Point marked by the totem pole. Follow the trail by the inn. Check the schedule at the marina for Friday and Saturday night bonfires, weather permitting, and other marina activities.
If you’d rather have someone else do the cooking, there are several excellent restaurants nearby, including the HarborMaster Restaurant and The Wreckroom Lounge. In the newer Heron Beach Inn, there’s lounge fare and gourmet dining that Travel & Leisure once called, “by far, the best dining in the Northwest.”
History
In 1842, explorer Charles Wilkes named Port Ludlow in honor of Augustus C. Ludlow, a naval officer of the War of 1812, who surveyed the area. Port Ludlow became the site of a sawmill built in 1852. It was bought and renovated in 1877 by Andrew J. Pope and Capt. William C. Talbot, who made it a hugely successful logging and milling venture. Port Ludlow also earned a reputation as a thriving shipbuilding town.
The success of the mill faded and it was closed in 1935. Most of the homes were loaded onto barges and transported to Port Gamble on the other side of Hood Canal. By 1950, activity in Port Ludlow had ceased, though farmers and small logging businesses still operated in the area.
In the early 1960s, Hood Canal Bridge was built, providing easy access to the eastern part of the Olympic Peninsula. In 1968, Pope and Talbot started the first phase of a planned residential community at the site of the Port Ludlow mill.
By the early 1990s, the 750-acre planned residential community was well established and its privately owned neighbor, the Port Ludlow Resort and Conference Center, was a popular site for business meetings, conventions and group retreats, as well as family vacations.
Port Ludlow has the best of both worlds, natural and man-made. It is your choice to decide how busy you want to be during your visit.
Port Hadlock
Traveling eight miles north from Port Ludlow along the Quimper Peninsula shore through the Port Townsend Canal takes you to the small port of Port Hadlock and a very different cruising experience. Port Hadlock has a very quiet, laid-back atmosphere and a very interesting history.
Port Hadlock is a commercial area serving eastern Jefferson County. The town is located at the entrance to Port Townsend Canal, beside Indian Island, where the Navy operates a major supply depot. Marrowstone Island beyond Indian Island is home to Fort Flagler State Park.
Port Hadlock, on the south end of Port Townsend Bay, is part of a community known as the Tri-Cities or Tri-Area. The other two unincorporated areas are Chimacum and Irondale. These three towns are the commercial and residential hub of the central Quimper Peninsula.
Getting to Port Hadlock Marina
Traveling the Port Townsend Canal is an interesting exercise in itself. The canal connects Port Townsend with Oak Bay to the south, a journey of about six miles. NOAA Charts #18441 and #18473 cover this region. The canal separates Quimper Peninsula from Indian Island which is connected by bridge to Marrowstone Island.
Port Townsend Canal is dredged to an average depth of 13 feet and is 75 feet wide, with a 3-knot current. The south entrance is marked with a light and a day beacon, and the north entrance has a light. A bridge crosses the canal with 58 feet of clearance.
If it is summer when you enter Port Hadlock Bay, you will see a small community float at lower Port Hadlock. There is also a boat launch across from the well-known Ajax Café.
Across the bay, you will see the breakwater-protected Port Hadlock Marina under the large buildings of the Old Alcohol Plant Lodge on the hillside. Check in at the guest dock, Dock G.
Although the marina has mostly permanent moorage, there is usually space available. It’s best to call ahead and make sure, though.
Marina docks have water and 30 and 50 amp power. A pumpout station is located on the end of Dock C. Showers and restrooms are available at the lodge.
The Old Alcohol Plant Lodge
The Old Alcohol Plant Lodge really was an alcohol plant owned by Classen Chemical Co. from 1911 to 1913. The plant was a franchise of the French Bergius Process, which made alcohol out of sawdust. The system was based on the work of Louis Pasteur.
The plant closed in 1917 and sat vacant until Ray Hansen, a retired Bellevue Buick dealer, bought it in 1978. He set about the nine-year, $4 million task of turning it into a hotel and resort.
The reception area of Old Alcohol Plant Lodge is a striking blend of old and new. Interior restoration preserved the original architecture, pillars and beams. Overhead skylights brighten multicolored brick walls and a tall fireplace and natural wood give the room a rustic feel.
The lodge has 25 rooms, two of which are penthouses with full kitchens, fireplaces, private spa tubs and unobstructed views of Port Townsend Bay. The grounds are landscaped and the building exteriors have been modified with stucco and tile roofs, giving the resort a Mediterranean flavor.
Delmonico’s on South Bay serves breakfast, lunch and dinner and has a lovely patio deck that overlooks the grounds and the bay.
When in Port Hadlock
We asked Capt. Randall Pratt, assistant harbormaster at Port Hadlock Marina, what people do when at the marina. With a sly smile, he said, “People mostly come here to get away from doing anything.” Certainly the pursuits at Port Hadlock are of the natural type. Birdwatching, beachcombing, seafood gathering, walking, hiking and simply taking in the magnificent mountain and marine views should revitalize city-worn visitors.
Port Hadlock is only minutes away from Port Ludlow’s 27-hole golf course, Chevy Chase’s 18-hole course and Port Townsend’s 9-hole course. During the summer, music lovers are invited to enjoy the Olympic Music Festival or the music concerts at Marrowstone Island’s Fort Flagler and Turtle Bluff. Worth a visit is Fort Flagler State Park on Marrowstone Island, where visitors will find enormous gun emplacements from a bygone era.
In your exploration of Puget Sound, make sure you add Ports Ludlow and Hadlock to your list of places to visit -- and discover two good reasons why Puget Sound cruising surpasses mere recreation.
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This article first appeared in the June 1, 2000 issue of Sea Magazine. All or parts of the information contained in this article might be outdated. |
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