Sound Water Stewards of Island County, WA
Working for a healthy, sustainable Salish Sea marine environment
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Low-Tide Celebration
June 15, 2022 @ 9:00 am – 2:00 pm
Save The Date!
Sound Water Stewards are planning to celebrate the lowest-tide-of-the-summer with beach and bluff exploration! It will be held at the farthest west point on Whidbey Island – Point Partridge, which divides the incoming flood tide into north and south littoral drift cells (for that portion of the Whidbey shoreline).
We are headed to Fort Ebey State Park (Directions to Site #21 in Getting to the Water’s Edge) near the end of the road (there is also a wedding going on there so we’ll try not to photo bomb them). See map at bottom of this webpage.
During a minus tide, the beach to the north, Libbey Beach, offers a wealth of intertidal life. Also at Fort Ebey, you’ll find unique and fascinating eroded bluffs. Local SWS will be on hand to help you see the bluff with fresh perspective and find some rarely-seen intertidal life!
Log your hours (including travel time) as “continuing education/monthly meeting” in Volunteer Matters.
This is NOT an organized potluck. Instead, make your own lunch plans. Please consider calling an SWS friend to meet you there.
Low tide is near 11 am (-3.6 ft @ 10:56 am). Allow ample time to drive, find parking, walk to beach and out to water’s edge. A hiking pole would be helpful.
FAMILIES AND SPOUSES ARE WELCOME!
Bring:
- EZ ID cards
- binoculars
- folding chair or blanket
- warm clothes, layers
- water bottle (there are water spigots nearby)
- food for yourself and/or to share; lunch is on your own time and schedule
This beach and bluff exploration and celebration substitutes for SWS June monthly meeting.
The site is about a 25-minute drive from the bridge at Deception Pass.
Review in advance or if you haven’t recently
Point Partridge is the farthest west portion of Whidbey Island AND it is where the incoming water from the Pacific Ocean, through the Strait of Juan de Fuca, splits to go north into the San Juan Islands and then Canada, or south toward Seattle and Puget Sound. These are nutrient-rich waters with diversity of low-tide species.
The Gun Battery Picnic Shelter and parking area will be our home base. To get to the beach, you’ll need to walk north along the bluff trail to the beach access. We cannot use the other picnic shelter because it is reserved by a wedding party. Allow ample time to drive, find parking, walk to beach and out to water’s edge. A hiking pole would be helpful.
