At the end of July, we took a quick over night trip to Port Orchard with Kurt, his brother Cal and girlfriend Tracey. This has been a very busy boating month for us, as we were just in Kingston the weekend before.
Port Orchard is about 14 nautical miles due west from Seattle.
We estimated it would take us about an hour and a half going 10 knots, and we were right on the mark. The weather was a bit cloudy, but dry and warm when we left. There were a lot of logs along the way that we had to watch out for. Plus we either had a ferry coming up on us or at us. Other than that, it was a non eventful trip (a good thing!).
Going through Rich Passage into Sinclair Inlet, cruisers suggest you enter at slack tide as the current can be almost 2 knots. We entered just before slack tide, and didn’t have any troubles. But you could see how a smaller vessel would struggle a bit.
The Naval Ship Yard is on your starboard side has you enter the channel adjacent to the Bremerton Marina.
Entering the Port Orchard Marina
Reserving dock space at Port Orchard was similar to La Conner. They simply put you on the (east) breakwater dock, with the name of your boat in the spot you are reserved for. I knew by looking at the aerial shot, that the fairways would be wide. That was great, because we would need to turn around to dock starboard. What I didn’t realize, is how narrow the entering fairway is.
Once we got in, we weren’t sure where to go. All of the reserved signs were for other boats and it turns out, we were the closest to land. It’s hard to tell by this photo, but our anchor was inches apart from the guy in front of us. The only negative or “con” I would say about our spot, was we had a tall water spigot right where you get on and off the boat. Definitely not the obstacle you want after a few cocktails!
You also would not want to be in the first slip next to land – it seemed to attract algae and make it look like a rug! LOL
We checked in at the marina office right away (which is located up the hill to your right). They gave us all kinds of cool stuff, including a huge bag for the Farmer’s Market! The market was on the main street and was from 10am – 3pm, so we had plenty of time to check things out!
Since Scott and I have never been to Port Orchard, we didn’t know what to expect. Friends of ours kept teasing us and saying we’ll be bored senseless and that there’s nothing to do in Port Orchard. (That happened to us in Oak Harbor, so I was a little worried before we left.) Turns out they were wrong…..
The Farmer’s Market
We’ve been to the Kingston and Poulsbo Farmer’s Markets. They are small with just a few vendors, so we were not expecting much in Port Orchard. Boy were we surprised! First of all, when we got our goodie bag, we also found out that there is a night time market with music!
The daytime market had lots of vendors, including food, crafts, gifts, olive oil, spirits, homemade ice cream AND wine tasting! Imagine that! Seabeck Cellars opened in 2016 and produce about 300 cases a year. I loved their Rose’ and Cab, so I bought one of each.
Downtown Port Orchard
After we toured the market, we headed to the main drag to check things out. Port Orchard has lots of quaint shops and pubs to check out. Josephine’s Mercantile is a great shop with all kinds of souvenirs, seasonal gifts and nautical items.
Eventually, we made our way to The Brick House Bar and Grill, where we sat outside, enjoyed live music and met a new furry friend!
Just down the street was the Nauti Mermaid bar and we couldn’t resist. It’s pretty much a dive bar and it was a bit empty when we went in. But our group can have fun anywhere we go!
There was also a band playing on the main street! These guys were awesome! Who knew so much was happening in this small town!
Off to Check Out the Night Market
After exploring downtown Port Orchard, we headed to the Night Market to check things out.
This wasn’t as big as the day event, but they did have a wine and beer garden. Hmmm, I see a theme here. Since we were hungry, we all headed back to The Brick House, which was now packed full for dinner. The food and music were great and you must make a stop here next time you are in Port Orchard!
What a fun day we had exploring this fun little town. Everyone had a great time and Our Happy Day got us there without a hitch!
But Wait! There’s More!
What more could be happening in the town on Port Orchard? Well, the next day they had the largest Ford Mustang Car Show in the region. There were over 300 cars and everywhere you turned, there was a Mustang! We couldn’t leave without checking it out.
It was also one of the lowest tides of the season. The ramp was steep and the mussels were out!
The Mustang car show took up all of the parking along the waterfront! If you like car shows, you could spend all day here! This is an annual event, so mark your calendars for next year!
What a Fun & Quick Trip!
All of us were surprised as to how much we did in just 24 hours in this sleepy little town. If anyone tells you (Ben – LOL), that you will be bored, don’t listen to them. The boat trip to Port Orchard is beautiful and we had perfect weather for the way home!
Aside from watching out for logs and ferries, you also need to be on the look out for kayakers!
When we got back to Elliott Bay, we got a great surprise when Sea Wolf an expedition yacht passed right by us! The yacht is currently for sale for $9,900,000 but not for US residents in US waters.
As always, thank you so much for following our blog and journey! We’d love to grow our audience and any shares are really appreciated. Be sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook & Twitter @BoatingJourney. We now have 40 episodes on YouTube, so please subscribe to our channel, share and like our upcoming episodes.
In our next blog, we’re back to boat projects, so stay tuned! Cheers, Scott & Ally
