We are loaning our 2 kayaks (Wilderness Tsunami 120 & 140) to our daughter and her fiance who are working in Port Townsend this summer. They have a vehicle with kayak racks but the place they are renting doesn’t have room to store the kayaks. We welcome any ideas for a safe secure place for them to store them when not in use. Thanks!

I would probably go over to Pygmy and ask them about it. By the way, the kayaks you mentioned are not what you want to venture very far from shore around Port Townsend–especially into the Straits.

I lived in PT for a few years.

The relatives will have two storage options:

The not-secure one is free, or used to be. It consists of a large rack in the open at Point Hudson. Some people run a cable lock to prevent theft or “borrowing.”

The more secure one is to pay $$$ to store kayaks on built-in racks inside the NW Maritime Center, also at Point Hudson. I looked into doing this when I was renting a place (before our house was built). Rental terms are for one year, nothing shorter than that. It is expensive. But there is an outdoor wash station with fresh water, and the location is very handy for launching.

There is actually a third option, the one I chose until our house was finished. I ended up storing the kayaks in a storage unit a couple miles out of town—MUCH cheaper, and room to store other stuff.

As for safety, Magooch is right. However, IF the kids know about tidal currents + check the chart + bring a watch (and maybe a compass) + of course common sense, they should be OK for paddling close to town in the bay, in good weather. Oh, and they need to know how to behave around the ferries, especially during the high season when the ferries run twice as frequently.

Until they are experienced in tidal water, they should stay away from Point Wilson. I’ve seen large powerboats bog there, and even a whale watching boat I was on suddenly felt like it was stuck in mud when it hit the rip.

I paddled a sea kayak in the area many, many times. I sometimes paddled a short WW kayak there, too (including around Point Wilson), but not till I had gotten plenty of seat time there. The need to be patient and observe/study/learn cannot be overemphasized. Paddlers get in trouble there every year.