Maritime: In Migael’s Wake | Quartermaster Harbor (Three Sheets Northwest)

By Migael Scherer on October 21st, 2009

Photos by Migael Scherer The dock and pilings at Dockton Park, shown from shore.

This convoluted harbor is an ideal destination for sailors circumnavigating Vashon Island. Four miles long, Quartermaster Harbor curves northeast and then west around the Burton peninsula, creating two exceptional anchorages. The main attraction for boaters is on the southeast side of the harbor, at Dockton County Park. Here you’ll feel far removed from the commercial activity of nearby Des Moines and Gig Harbor, and even farther away from the industry of Tacoma.

The sleepy community of Dockton was once a busy shipyard, with the first dry dock in Puget Sound large enough for sailing schooners. Today, nothing remains of these industries except a few floats and piers used mostly by fishing vessels, and several rows of pilings. On top of the steep bluff, the wood-framed supervisors’ homes—known locally as Piano Row—still oversee the long gone shipyard.

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