In 1851 a small group of settlers picked the northeast corner of the Olympic Peninsula as the future principal port of the Pacific Northwest. The geography seemed obvious: a sheltered natural harbour at the entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, deep water at the dock, the Strait connecting directly to the open Pacific. The town was incorporated, the streets were laid out for a population of fifty thousand, and Port Townsend’s Victorian-era brick buildings were built on the assumption that the Northern Pacific Railroad would terminate here.
The railroad chose Tacoma. The principal-port future never materialised. What Port Townsend received instead was a peculiar gift: an entire late-Victorian commercial district preserved largely intact, because the boom never came and the boom-time architecture was never replaced. Today the National Historic District has 70 protected buildings, the marine trades community is one of the most concentrated in North America, and the Wooden Boat Festival every September is the largest of its kind anywhere. The town that Tacoma’s success consigned to backwater status accidentally became the place every PNW cruiser stops at on the way to somewhere else.
This is the working guide.
Getting here
Port Townsend is accessible from two directions:
From Seattle via Admiralty Inlet (50 nm). A straightforward passage north through the main Sound, around Point No Point, and across Admiralty Inlet. Admiralty Inlet has significant tidal currents — 3–4 knots at peak — so the crossing is timed for the flood if heading north (free push), or the early ebb if returning south. Point Wilson at the entrance to the Strait is the navigational pinch point: wind-against-current here produces 4–6 ft short-period chop in conditions that would be flat in the Sound proper.
From Anacortes / the San Juans. South through Rosario Strait, west through Admiralty Inlet. Or via Deception Pass (slack-water timing essential, 8-knot peak current) and then south through Saratoga Passage and Penn Cove. Both routes converge at Point Wilson; both require attention to the same wind/current physics.
Port Townsend Bay
The bay is one of the better natural harbours on the Pacific Coast. Sheltered from the southwest by the Olympic foothills, from the north by Marrowstone Island, and from the open Strait by Point Wilson and the surrounding bluffs. Anchorage in Port Townsend Bay south of the marinas, in 25–40 ft on sand and mud. Well-protected from most directions.
Fort Worden State Park at the northern end of the bay is the visual feature — the restored military post, built 1902, with a marina, camping, trails through the bluffs, artillery bunkers from the Spanish-American War era, and the Point Wilson Lighthouse — the most powerful lighthouse on Puget Sound, occasionally open for tours.
Northwest Maritime Center in downtown Port Townsend is the cultural feature — a working facility dedicated to maritime culture, wooden boat building, and seamanship. They run sailing programs, lectures, and exhibitions year-round. The Center is staffed by people who actually use boats and want others to do the same.
Wooden Boat Festival. Every September, the largest wooden boat festival in North America takes over Port Townsend. Hundreds of wooden vessels — from working schooners to one-off classic yachts — race, display, and demonstrate. Workshops on rigging, caulking, varnish, lofting. A genuinely electric atmosphere for three days. Book accommodations and slips many months in advance; the festival fills the town’s hotels and the marina simultaneously.
Marinas and anchorage
Port Townsend Boat Haven. The main commercial marina, operated by the Port of Port Townsend. 600+ slips. Fuel, pump-out, chandlery, haul-out. A full marine trades district surrounds the marina — sailmakers, riggers, diesel mechanics, fibreglass shops, propeller specialists. If you have a boat problem, the experts are within a five-minute walk.
Point Hudson Marina. The historic waterfront marina right downtown. Smaller, more atmospheric, conveniently located for exploring the historic district. Limited transient space in peak season — reserve ahead, particularly during the Wooden Boat Festival when the marina is part of the event.
Anchorage in Port Townsend Bay south of the marinas, in 25–40 ft on sand and mud. Well-protected from most directions; afternoon westerlies through Point Wilson reach the bay attenuated. Holding is generally good in mud.
The Strait of Juan de Fuca
The Strait of Juan de Fuca is the 12-mile-wide, 100-mile-long passage connecting the Pacific Ocean to the Salish Sea. It is not Puget Sound and is not behaved like Puget Sound. It is fundamentally different in character.
Conditions. The Strait is exposed to ocean swell that funnels in from the Pacific. In summer, northwest winds of 15–25 knots are typical in the afternoon. In winter, easterly storms produce gale conditions. Fog is common in summer mornings, particularly in July and August. The Strait makes its own sea state when wind opposes current — a 15-knot westerly over a 3-knot flood produces 4–5 ft short-period chop that makes for wet, uncomfortable sailing in any cruising boat under 40 ft.
Who should venture here. Sailors with Puget Sound experience who want to extend their range to the open Pacific or to the BC coast via the western Strait. The Strait rewards preparation and punishes complacency. On a settled summer afternoon with a fair current and a 12-knot southwesterly, the Strait is among the best sailing on the Pacific Coast. On the wrong day, it is genuinely dangerous water.
Port Angeles sits 45 nm west of Port Townsend on the US side. A port of entry for vessels arriving from Victoria, BC. Good marina, fuel, full services. The gateway to Olympic National Park.
Victoria, BC is 22 nm across the Strait from Port Angeles. A Canadian port of entry — CBSA clearance required. The Inner Harbour approach at Victoria is one of the more dramatic in the world: the Empress Hotel and the Parliament Buildings backdrop the harbour entrance. Excellent provisioning, restaurants, and culture. Worth making the crossing if conditions allow.
Discovery Bay
A quieter alternative to Port Townsend Bay, just south on the Olympic Peninsula. Discovery Bay is a large, well-protected inlet with good anchorage in the northern section, no marinas, no services. Wildlife (seals, eagles, herons), occasional loggers working the forested hills above, and the kind of quiet that Port Townsend Bay does not provide on a festival weekend. Worth the half-day diversion.
Currents at Point Wilson
The pinch point at the eastern entrance to the Strait — Point Wilson — concentrates current and produces the worst sea state in the area. Admiralty Inlet flood meets Strait of Juan de Fuca current here, and the combination on a building afternoon westerly produces a stretch of water that has reliably broken windows and crossed bows on cruising boats whose skippers underestimated it.
The rule: time the Point Wilson transit. Slack water is calmest. Flood is acceptable for west-bound traffic; ebb for east-bound. Wind-against-current is the condition to avoid. Check both the NOAA current prediction for Point Wilson and the wind forecast for the Strait of Juan de Fuca — the same 15 knots is two completely different sea states depending on the relationship to the current.
The marine trades district
Port Townsend has the most concentrated marine trades community on the US West Coast. The reason is historical accident — the late-19th-century shipbuilding industry retained a craft tradition that the rest of the coast lost during the World War II era of mass-produced steel hulls. Today the workforce includes:
- Wooden boat builders and restorers (Port Townsend Boat Company, Edensaw, others)
- Riggers — both modern and traditional
- Sailmakers
- Diesel and outboard mechanics
- Fibreglass and gelcoat specialists
- Marine electronics installers
- Propeller specialists (Hi-Tech Propeller is in Port Townsend)
- Diesel injection specialists
- Refrigeration
If a boat needs work that is hard to schedule elsewhere, the answer is often Port Townsend. The marine trades calendar fills up but the quality is high.
Practical notes
Currents. Admiralty Inlet 3–4 knots peak. Point Wilson is the pinch point.
Wind. The Strait makes its own sea state. A 15-knot westerly over a 3-knot flood current is short steep chop that wears down a small boat. Plan around it.
Repairs. Probably the easiest place on the West Coast to find skilled marine labour. Rigging, diesel, fibreglass, sails — all available. Schedule weeks ahead in summer.
Provisioning. Henery Hardware downtown for marine and general supplies. The QFC and the food co-op are within a 10-minute walk of either marina.
Closing notes
Port Townsend is the stop the careful PNW cruiser makes between Seattle and the islands. The marine trades fix what broke on the way up. The Northwest Maritime Center reminds the visiting sailor what proper seamanship looks like. The Wooden Boat Festival, if the timing is right, is one of the better weekends a cruising boat can spend on a North American dock.
The town that the Northern Pacific Railroad’s choice consigned to backwater status accidentally became the place experienced sailors come back to. The Victorian buildings are still standing. The boat shops are still working. The Strait is still doing what it has done since the glacial retreat carved it. Anacortes makes the islands work; Port Townsend makes the boats work that go to them.
Related: Anacortes & Fidalgo Island Cruising Guide · Seattle Sailing Guide · San Juan Islands Cruising Guide · Tides and Currents in the PNW · Reading Marine Weather