For some time I have advised cruisers to use Inati Bay on Lummi Island as a storm refuge and lunch stop, or a very convenient anchorage when they don't have time to make it back to Bellingham or Sucia.
If you have the time you should consider going ashore, but not at Inati Bay where all the land is private and only has a logging road at that.
Follow these simple instructions for getting to shore on Lummi Island at the public access beach.
About three miles north of Inati Bay is the Whatcom Chief Ferry terminal. The tiny but speedy 25 car ferry makes several Hale Passage crossings every hour, so you will see it for sure.
Head for the ferry terminal and about one football field length north, anchor your boat in front of a long stairway leading up the bank. At the top of the stairs where the old car deck and ramp once was is a rustic wood deck, turned into a public park complete with picnic tables. All the pilings are gone, there is nothing left, your only landmark will be the stairway with the Beach Cafe in the background. Beach the dinghy, not forgetting the current and tides, offload the bikes and clamber up the stairs.
The local anchor buoys are quite a ways from shore suggesting thin water, you are well advised to follow their lead and anchor far off as well, unless your stay is short.
Across the street (Nugent Road) is the Beach Cafe, turn left, south on Nugent and it is 1300 feet (1/4 mi) to the Islander Grocery Store. (just past the current ferry terminal.)
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| Look for public stairs and Beach Cafe. Land your dinghy on slab rock or gravel at low tide. Driftwood suggests high tide reaches to stairs. |
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| Mt Baker across Hale Passage is a great backdrop. |
That's it -- for bicyclists head left or right on Nugent Rd and circle the north end of Lummi. It is an easy (not too hilly) 7 mile loop that takes you around Migley Point, Legoe Bay, and West Shore Drive with sweeping vistas of Rosario Strait.
Some first mates may find the rule of twelfths handy when anchoring in the shallows off the stairway. Below is the link to refresh your memory of how it works. Don't forget that the current changes 180 degrees and may unhook you. I set two longish rode anchors (boat in the middle) before I take off for an extended time if I anticipate current shifts.
Note: expect wakes from ferry to rock you mercilessly every thirty minutes.
