SAVE THE DATE for our ANNUAL
Memorial Day Mystery Bay Raft-Up.
May 24-26, 2025
Please join us for this jam-packed 3-day weekend cruise to Mystery Bay. Raft up with fellow STYC sailors for some interesting on-shore activities, and perhaps polish up your Bocce Ball skills. On the cruise docket: an outdoor BBQ potluck dinner; a goat farm tour, a picnic winery tasting, a charming local Tractor Parade... and a visit to a fascinating local sail loft on Monday. Tiny Nordland General Store is now back open for business. That said, Please provision your boat accordingly for the entire holiday weekend.
Navigation: The entry to Mystery Bay can be very Tricky. Please source out & refer to all your own tide, current, & chart information you will need in order to navigate the winding narrow Kilisut Passage entrance safely. This year the high tide on Sat 5/24 looks good for late afternoon entrance, but Monday 5/26 will require a mid afternoon departure depending on your draft. If you are unsure of your ability to enter & navigate Kilisut confidently perhaps consider spending the previous evening at anchor in nearby Glen Cove Kala Point, or in Port Townsend. Option: refer to your land charts & drive in.
New for 2025!!! This will be a strictly anchoring/rafting cruise event. Although the float is still accessible for a fee, there is NO dock access to land. The dock has been newly condemned. Vessels will NEED a dingy to skiff into our staging ground at the small Mystery Bay State Park. Likewise, there are only 2 State Park mooring balls that are still usable. This was very well managed last Memorial Day by all our boats
Cruise Reservation Sign-up: Please sign-up on our STYC website for the cruise so that we can manage head counts for each activity. This is IMPORTANT.
Registration: https://www.styc.org/event-6125409
Please fly your STYC club burgee's for this cruise.
We are looking for Volunteers to drive-in for the day on Sunday May 25 & help shuttle sailors up to the Vineyard. Volunteers will be gifted free entrance to the goat farm tour/activities. Please reach out to cruise chair Kristina Southard at cruise@styc.org or Sara Schroderer at Volunteer@styc.org to arrange. This is a Great way to become involved with our cruising program, especially if you don't have access to a vessel of your own. We are a volunteer organization and we Thank you in advance for your he[p on this particular cruise.
About Mystery Bay: All but hidden on the inside of Marrowstone Island, Mystery Bay State Park offers a great escape for visitors arriving by water. This is one of our most popular STYC cruises. Boaters can raft up or lay anchor and stroll along the grassy and gravelly shoreline or enjoy the inlet’s pristine waters. Bring along a kayak or paddle board for daytime recreation on the water. Reserve a campsite at Fort Flagler. There is an organic goat farm that offers tours on making goat cheese, a renowned island vineyard for an organized wine tasting. Take in the Olympic mountain views from the shoreline picnic area about 80-100 yards from the raft-up. Cook up your own burgers, oysters or clams in one of three fire rings on shore and enjoy an island sunset before heading back to your boat. Fort Flagler is approximately 2 miles from Mystery Bay (about a 15 minute dinghy ride). Tour and explore a significant coastal defense fort established more than a century ago to guard the entrance to Puget Sound. This year we are adding on a unique visit to the Force 10 Sail & Rigging's Marrowstone Sail Loft where they intricately craft Tall Ship sails by hand.
STYC will be standing by on ch #72.
Cruise line-up:
Saturday May 24 - Evening Happy Hour, details TBA
Sunday May 25 - 10 - 11am - Goat Farm option - Pay $10/pp at Farm
12 noon'ish - Tractor Parade
2- 5pm - Wine Tasting & games @ Marrowstone Vineyard
* The purchase a bottle of wine is required in order to partake in the Tasting Event.
7 pm - Potluck BBQ Dinner on the beach
Monday May 26 - 10 am - A visit to Force 10 tall ships sail loft
Departure home - high tide @ 6:01 pm, 8 ft
This 3-day distance cruise has become a hallmark event for STYC. All activities planned are optional. Each boat & Drive-in member will be required to sign-up for each event separately within the registration screen so we may have a proper head-count.
Looking forward to yet another stellar Memorial Day cruise. Cheers!
Kristina, STYC Cruise Chair
