Port of Everett · Admiralty Inlet · 16–Sep 19, 2026 · two nights in Port Townsend
OTIUM Fall Shakedown
Out to the one town on this water where the bar is full of people who work on boats, two nights there, then a quiet last night in Port Ludlow and an easy Saturday home — built on your own conditions page, which now scores 16–20 September as five straight days in the green band.
Underway
Wed 16 → Sat 19
Total distance
72 nm
Fuel at 10 gph
≈90 gal
Window
Dry, 5–10 kt
The window, per your own scoring
Scraped from tanglefoot.dev v26, built Mon 14 Sep 13:18 PDT — by marine area, because this route crosses three of them.
Day
8-2 · home water
9 · the gate & Port Townsend
8-1 · Saratoga
Best window, area 9
Tue 15
Workable · 10.0 kt NW
Workable · 10.0 kt NW
Workable · 10.0 kt NW
10:00–19:00
Wed 16
Good · 10.0 kt NW
Good · 10.0 kt NNW
Good · 10.0 kt WNW
06:00–13:00
Thu 17
Good · 10.0 kt NNW
Good · 10.0 kt NNW
Good · 10.0 kt NNW
11:00–17:00
Fri 18
Good · 6.8 kt S
Good · 7.4 kt SE
Good
11:00–17:00
Sat 19
Good · 5.2 kt WNW
Best day · 5.1 kt NNW
Good
all day
Sun 20
Best day · 4.7 kt NW
Good · 8.4 kt NNW
Good
11:00–17:00
Your page and this plan now agree. Every area shows the same five-day green band, 16–20 September, and names Wednesday the next good day. Area 9 — the gate, and where Port Townsend sits — calls Saturday the 19th its best day of the fortnight at 5.1 kt; home water calls Sunday the 20th its best at 4.7 kt. Tuesday is Workable everywhere rather than Good, which is the same conclusion I reached from the zone text by a different route, and is why the trip starts Wednesday.
The departures were already inside your windows, with one exception. Wednesday's area-9 window is 06:00–13:00 and the run lands 07:30–11:35, comfortably inside. Saturday's is all day. Friday's window opens at 11:00 and I have you weighing at 09:30 to carry the last of the flood — a 90-minute disagreement between your comfort curve and the current table. Either works; leaving at 11:00 costs about forty minutes of weak foul ebb at the end, leaving at 09:30 costs nothing but an earlier alarm.
Windcalm, under 3 ktlight, 3–6.5fresh, 6.5–8.58.5+, closing on your 10 kt linegrey seas = zone ceiling, not a measurement
One thing still to fix in the generator. On the area-9 pages every tile from the 14th through the 18th — including the days chipped Good — still ends with "Wind stays legal but the water does not — seas are what rule this one out," and still reports Limiter: Seas over limit. The chip logic has clearly moved on; the summary sentence and the Limiter field are still being written by the old seas-from-zone-ceiling rule, so the tile contradicts its own badge. Area 8-2 reads the way it should — "Close to wind limit · Fetch down Saratoga Passage" — which is the phrasing worth porting across. The peak-wind figure is still the top of the zone range, hence 10.0 kt on four consecutive days in three different areas.
Route, day by day
Three nights, three legs, 72 nm — and a whole day with the engines cold.
Out and back · 72 nmTracks routed over water · GSHHS shoreline · planning use only
⌂
Port of Everett Depart Wed 07:30 · home Sat ≈11:30
1
Port Townsend Wed & Thu nights · 32.5 nm · the town you came for
2
Port Ludlow Fri night · 15.1 nm · all-weather mud basin, anchor only
Wed 16Everett → Port TownsendGood · area 9
32.5 nm · 4h05 @ 8 kt · dep 07:30 · arr ≈11:35
05:00
54°
NNW 7.2
Clear
11:00
62°
NNW 8.0
Clear
17:00
64°
NW 8.6
Mostly clear
23:00
55°
NNW 6.2
Fog
Seas 2 ft — zone ceilingPeak 10.0 kt NNWTide range 8.0 ftRain 0.00 inSun 06:48–19:22Your window 06:00–13:00
Underway
Slip
07:30 — the long leg of the trip, front-loaded
Possession Pt
≈08:45
Admiralty
09:15–11:00, Bush Point slack 09:51 then a fair ebb north
Marrowstone Pt
≈11:10, then WSW into the bay
Alongside
≈11:35
Ferry lanes at Mukilteo–Clinton and Edmonds–Kingston, shipping lanes off Point No Point, then the Port Townsend–Coupeville ferry crossing your track at the top.
Fog at dawn. Home water shows 50°F and fog at 05:00 Wednesday, and area 9 fogs in again by 23:00. Radar and AIS on from the breakwater; if it is thick at 07:00, wait an hour — you are still inside your 06:00–13:00 window and still alongside before 13:00. Block 07:00–11:30 on the calendar.
Night one — on the hook
Where
North of Point Hudson, 25–35 ft, sand over mud
Protection
Good from W/SW; open N through E — fine in this forecast
Why anchor
It's the overnight-drain measurement, and it's free
Ashore
Point Hudson float or the Union Wharf dinghy float
Save the slip for Thursday, when you'll want to walk home from town rather than row.
If it's wrong
Any north in the wind and the roadstead gets tiresome — take a slip at Point Hudson a night early, or duck into Mystery Bay, 4.5 nm back through the canal.
Thu 17Port Townsend — no move at allGood · area 9
0 nm · engines cold · the pick of the fortnight
05:00
54°
NW 6.6
Partly cloudy
11:00
62°
NNW 8.0
Clear
17:00
66°
NNW 4.9
Clear
23:00
56°
SSW 2.1
Clear
Seas 2 ft — zone ceilingPeak 10.0 kt NNWTide range 7.8 ftRain 0.00 inSun 06:49–19:20Your window 11:00–17:00
The day
Zero cloud, 73°F, wind peaking around 4 kt. Work the morning on battery alone — that's the number the whole trip exists to produce — then take the afternoon ashore.
Water Street starts a few minutes from the Point Hudson float. Sirens is up at 823 Water St with a deck over the water; the Pourhouse, further along toward the Boat Haven end, is the one locals name first; Port Townsend Brewing is out at Boat Haven if you want the walk. Check hours before you go — it's two weeks past Labor Day.
Fort Worden is a 1.5 mi walk north if you want to earn the beer first. The Wooden Boat Festival ran 11–13 Sep, so the town is coming off its biggest weekend of the year — awake, but no longer full.
Night two — in a slip
Where
Point Hudson Marina, 360-385-2828
Cost
Budget $65–85 for 32 ft with power
Worth it for
Walking home in the dark, showers, coin laundry, and a full recharge on shore power
Shore power also resets the bank before Friday's generator test, which is the right order to run the experiments in.
If it's wrong
Point Hudson full or the entrance unfriendly? Boat Haven is a mile round the corner — wider entrance, easier basin, fuel on site, about a mile from downtown.
Fri 18Port Townsend → Port LudlowGood · area 9
15.1 nm · 1h55 @ 8 kt · dep 09:30 · arr ≈11:25
05:00
52°
SSE 4.9
Partly cloudy
11:00
60°
SE 7.4
Overcast
17:00
66°
NE 3.7
Mostly clear
23:00
55°
NNW 4.3
Partly cloudy
Seas 2 ft — zone ceilingPeak 7.4 kt SETide range 7.8 ftRain 0.00 inSun 06:51–19:18Your window 11:00–17:00
Underway
Let go
09:30, on the last of the flood running south
Marrowstone Pt
≈10:00 — current runs hard here, this is the good side of slack
Anchor down
≈11:25
Two hours, downhill with the tide. Work the afternoon from the quietest anchorage on the route.
Want one more morning in town? Leave at 12:15 on the slack instead and anchor about 14:10, against a mild ebb.
Night three — Port Ludlow, at anchor
Depth
20–35 ft, sticky mud, inner basin past the Twin Islands
Protection
All-round; the best-sleeping anchorage on this route
Docks
Guest docks closed from 14 Sep for ~4 weeks — anchoring only; call 360-437-0513 about dinghy landing
Fuel
Fuel dock still open, 08:00–16:00 daily (closes 15:30)
The quiet night by design — and the right place to run the generator and heater tests with nobody close by.
If it's wrong
Nothing much goes wrong in Port Ludlow. If the dinghy question comes back unfriendly, it's still the best anchorage of the three — you just stay aboard, which on a Friday night after two days in town is no hardship.
Sat 19Port Ludlow → Port of EverettBest day · area 9
24.0 nm · 3h00 @ 8 kt · dep 08:30 · arr ≈11:30
05:00
54°
ESE 0.8
Overcast
11:00
58°
ESE 2.5
Overcast
17:00
62°
N 3.9
Mostly clear
23:00
53°
NNW 5.1
Mostly clear
Seas Ripples, under 6 inPeak 5.1 kt NNWTide range 7.8 ftRain 0.00 inSun 06:52–19:16Window All day
Underway
Weigh
08:30, under 2 kt of wind
Admiralty
≈09:30 on the flood, max 1.7 kt at 09:15 — fair the whole way across
Alongside
≈11:30, ahead of the onshore flow
Worth the detour
Saturday the 19th is the last Saturday of the Tulalip Terminal Area season — Sat/Sun only, 12–20 Sep, then closed until 21 May. Trolling it on the way in adds about two hours. Area-wide salmon runs through 25 Sep: two fish, release Chinook and chum.
Crab is out — the summer season closed 7 Sep. Leave the pots home.
Or stay out for Sunday
Your page calls Sunday the 20th the best day of the fortnight in home water — 4.7 kt NW, and area 9 reads light chop, about a foot, 8.4 kt NNW at 11:00, 59–63°F and mostly clear. A fourth night at Port Ludlow and a Sunday run home works: slack at Bush Point 07:19, flood building to 1.6 kt by 10:42, so weigh about 09:00 and you are alongside by noon.
On arrival, either day: log engine hours both sides, top the water tank, pump out, and write the shakedown notes before you unload.
Where the hook goes
Tracks as routed; the pin is roughly where to drop. Confirm depths and restrictions on the chart.
1 · Port TownsendWed & Thu · 48°07.0'N 122°44.9'W
Anchor north of Point Hudson in 25–35 ft, sand over mud, for Wednesday night; into a Point Hudson slip Thursday so the walk back from Water Street doesn't involve a dinghy. Boat Haven, a mile southwest, is the easier entrance and the fuel dock.
2 · Port LudlowFri · 47°55.4'N 122°41.3'W
Round the Twin Islands into the inner basin, 20–35 ft over sticky mud, clear of the mooring field. With the guest docks out for repairs this is anchor-only — which is fine, because it's the anchorage that sleeps well in any wind.
Fuel, moorage and what the week costs
200 gal total (two ~100 gal tanks) at your measured ≈10 gph / 8 kt.
Leg
nm
Hours
Gal
Cumulative
Everett → Port Townsend
32.5
4.1
41
41
Thursday — no move
0
0
0
41
→ Port Ludlow
15.1
1.9
19
60
→ Everett
24.0
3.0
30
90
Trip cost
Estimate
Diesel, ≈90 gal at $5.00–5.50/gal
$450–495
Point Hudson, Thursday night
$65–85
Generator gasoline, ~1 gal
$5–8
Two evenings ashore
$80–160
Total
≈$600–750
90 of 200 gallons. Under half the tanks for the week, because Thursday costs nothing — a lay day is the cheapest day a boat can have. Leave Everett full anyway; the diesel is four-fifths of the trip cost either way and the only thing that would change that is going further.
Fuel on route: Port Townsend Boat Haven (the easy stop, Thursday if you want it) or Port Ludlow's own fuel dock, 08:00–16:00 daily from 15 Sep, closing 15:30. Off-season hours are short — call the morning you want it rather than showing up at 17:00.
Point Hudson rates are an estimate: their 2022 card read $1.43/ft/night plus $6 for power, and the 2026 card wouldn't load. Rates have gone up several times since, so budget high and call 360-385-2828 to confirm and hold the slip.
Tides and currents
NOAA predictions, local time. Everett heights (MLLW) for scope; Admiralty Inlet off Bush Point for the crossings.
Everett tides (ft, MLLW)
Wed 16
02:51 L 0.6
09:58 H 9.4
15:02 L 6.4 · 20:17 H 9.6
Thu 17
03:36 L 0.8
11:13 H 9.1
15:54 L 7.2 · 20:46 H 9.2
Fri 18
04:29 L 1.1
12:47 H 9.0
17:02 L 7.7 · 21:23 H 8.7
Sat 19
05:30 L 1.3
14:06 H 9.3
18:33 L 7.8 · 22:23 H 8.3
Day
Bush Point slacks
Max
Wed 16
09:51 · 16:30 · 20:32
ebb 1.4 kt @ 13:00
Thu 17
10:55 · 18:28 · 20:27
flood 2.2 kt @ 07:13
Fri 18
05:08 · 12:20
flood 2.0 kt @ 08:06
Sat 19
06:09 · 14:02
flood 1.7 kt @ 09:15
Northbound Wednesday you pick up the ebb after the 09:51 slack; southbound Friday and eastbound Saturday both run with the flood. Plan rode on the day's high: 5:1 in 30 ft at low water means paying out for 39.
Power: APEX 300 as the ship's grid
Battery as the bus, generator as the top-up. The real reason for the trip.
Component
Rating
Role in the system
BLUETTI APEX 300
2,764.8 Wh · 3,840 W · 0 ms UPS
The bus. Everything AC on the boat runs from it; nothing plugs into the generator directly
+ B300K expansion
2,764.8 Wh
Brings the bank to 5,530 Wh. (B500K instead would make it 7,885 Wh)
Honda EU2200i class
1,800 W rated · 2,200 W surge · 0.95 gal
Charge source only, run in daylight blocks. 48–57 dBA, 47 lb, CO-MINDER standard
Engine alternators
underway only
Backup charge path on travel days — worth measuring even now that the generator exists
The architecture is the right one. Because the APEX sits between the generator and the loads, the generator never sees a load step — it holds one steady output while the battery absorbs every spike, which is exactly the duty cycle a small inverter generator is happiest with. It also means the noisy thing runs on your schedule, not the microwave's. Set the APEX's AC input limit to about 1,400–1,500 W, not the maximum: that leaves the Honda at roughly 80% of its 1,800 W continuous rating, where it stays quiet, cool and efficient, and it leaves headroom if the heater is also running off the pass-through.
Daily load
Draw
Hrs
Wh
Starlink
50–75 W
12
600–900
MacBook Pro 16"
65–95 W
9
600–850
Boat refrigeration
~45 W avg
24
~1,000
APEX idle overhead
~20 W
24
~480
Anchor light, VHF, instruments
5–10 W
24
~175
Lights, pumps, charging, misc
—
—
~200
Working day, no heat
—
—
3,050–3,600
Oil heater, low
600 W
4
2,400
Oil heater, high
1,500 W
4
6,000
Two numbers worth internalizing before you buy:
The APEX's own idle draw is ~20 W — about 480 Wh a day, nearly 9% of the bank, spent on being switched on. Shut the AC output down overnight if the fridge lives on the boat's DC side, and you've bought back most of a heater-hour.
An oil-filled radiator on high is 1,500 W — it would drain the full 5,530 Wh bank in about 3½ hours. On a 32-footer in September you almost certainly don't need high; 600 W holds a small cabin well. Treat the heater as a generator-hours load: run it while the Honda is running and it costs you nothing from the battery.
Generator plan
Input setting
Time
Fuel
Note
Replace one working day (~3.3 kWh)
1,400 W
≈2.5 h
≈0.6 gal
One mid-morning block covers the day
Empty bank to full (5.5 kWh)
1,400 W
≈4.2 h
≈1.0 gal
More than one tankful — plan a refuel mid-session
Heat + charge together
600 W heat + 1,100 W charge
as needed
≈0.28 gal/h
Comfortably inside 1,800 W rated
Whole trip, 3 nights
—
4–6 h
≈1–1.5 gal
Carry 5 gal ethanol-free with stabilizer; it will sit between trips
Honda published figures: 3.2 h at rated 1,800 W and 8.1 h at ¼ load on 0.95 gal — roughly 0.30 and 0.12 gal/h. Charge figures include ~7% conversion loss.
Before the generator comes aboard
Four things that are cheap now and expensive later.
Gasoline on a diesel boat
The genuine risk
Carbon monoxide
CO-MINDER is not enough on its own
Feeding the boat's AC panel
Do this part deliberately
Neighbors and hours
These anchorages are silent at 22:00
Day
Test
What to record
Mon–Tue
At the slip. Baseline every load while shore power is still one plug away: Starlink idle vs. streaming, APEX idle overhead, fridge duty cycle, and the shore-inlet feed with its neutral-ground check.
Watts per load, inlet tester result, anything that needs a part before Wednesday
Wed
First night at anchor off Point Hudson. Starlink obstruction check from the flybridge vs. the cockpit, then an overnight drain with everything in its normal state.
Obstruction %, whether swinging at anchor drops the link, Wh used 22:00–06:00
Thu
The number that matters. A full workday on the bank alone — no generator, no engines — on the calmest day of the fortnight, then into the Point Hudson slip and back to full on shore power overnight.
SOC at 06:00 / 12:00 / 18:00 / 22:00, total Wh for the day, call quality and dropouts
Fri
Generator session at Port Ludlow with nobody close by, then the heat test: 1,200 / 1,400 / 1,800 W input settings, then hold the cabin at 65°F with and without the Honda running.
Wh in per hour at each setting, gal consumed, dBA at the helm and at 50 ft, CO alarm behavior, whether the 0 ms pass-through holds the panel without a blip, Wh/hr per heater setting
Sat
Write it up before unloading.
Net Wh/day, generator hours per day of autonomy, gal/day, the one load worth cutting
What the week should prove. At 3.0–3.6 kWh a day the bank alone is about 1½ working days, which is exactly why three nights is an honest test rather than a soft one. If Thursday's battery-only number lands under 3 kWh you have the margin to add the heater without changing anything; over 4 and the fridge is the first thing to look at, not the generator. Friday then tells you what an hour of Honda time is worth in kWh — and from there autonomy stops being a battery question and becomes a fuel one, at roughly a gallon a day.
Connectivity fallbacks, in order: Starlink → phone hotspot (Port Townsend is strong, Port Ludlow adequate) → audio-only dial-in → reschedule. Download anything meeting-critical the night before, and keep charts offline on the tablet so a link failure never becomes a navigation problem.
What late September actually looks like
Two weeks past Labor Day: the water empties out before the towns do.
You're right that it's quiet, and mostly that's the point — it is the reason a plan built entirely on anchoring works this week and wouldn't in July. But "quiet" cuts differently for the anchorages than it does for the services.
What
Late September
Anchorages
Thin out sharply after Labor Day. Point Hudson and Liberty Bay go from crowded to roomy; Langley's roadstead will likely be yours alone. Room to set a proper 5:1 instead of a polite 3:1
Guest moorage
Wide open — no reservation anxiety if the weather turns and you want a slip
Fuel, pumpout, water
The real catch. Off-season hours are shorter and some facilities go weekend-only. Call the morning you need it rather than arriving late in the day
Harbor offices
Shorter hours, more self-registration. Have the payment method the dock box wants
Ashore
Port Townsend and Langley keep a normal restaurant week year-round; small-town kitchens trim midweek days after the season. Worth a phone check the morning of, not the evening you're hungry
Other boats
Fewer eyes if something goes wrong. Monitor 16, and leave a float plan that names the anchorages and the return time
Marine Area 8-2, this week
as of the last rules pull
Rules move. Pull the current emergency rules the morning you leave rather than trusting this table. The fisheries rows above came off your own conditions page, which is fine — WDFW rules do not go stale in two days — but its weather rows are a Friday 11 Sep model run and its 06:00 build has not fired since, so the numbers in this plan come from the NWS zone forecasts instead.
Before you slip the lines
Monday afternoon and Tuesday pre-dawn. Checks persist in this browser.