A picnic and swim in the waters of Hat Island

Have you ever been to Hat Island? It’s an island south of Whidbey Island in the Salish Sea, and occupies less than a square mile. Nowadays the island–with a permanent population of 26 residents–is home to a golf course and private marina. A small ferry running from Everett connects residents and visitors once a week.

Indigenous Snohomish people once lived on the tiny hat-shaped islet for centuries and spoke Lushootseed, naming the island č̓əč̓əsəliʔ, pronounced chuh-CHUH-suh-leek, with a hard glottal sound at the end. Research tells me the word means sparrow. The early people lived in longhouses on the north side of the island where natural springs flow. An 1820 landslide on the south side of Camano Head caused a tidal wave, wiping out the village, leaving only a few survivors. From then on, until the US government sent the Snohomish people to live on the Tulalip reservation after 1865, Hat Island was used as a temporary campground, good for seasonal clamming.

Some two hundred years later we mermaids were treated to a ride aboard the 19-foot working skiff named Spike. Pat Troy was our captain, and he skippered us on a near perfect day with calm waters, blue skies and high tides around the island.

Anchoring near a shuttered mansion at the water’s edge whose dock served as a lounging area for harbor seals, we six mermaids–Lindsey-Pat’s wife, Sophie, Shair, Linda, Betsy and I, jumped overboard and swam in the jade-green water. We wore wetsuits as the water temperature was 53°. Afterwards we slipped out of our wetsuits into dry clothes and enjoyed bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches, hummos, veggies, watermelon, tea and chocolate. Lindsey baked brownies.

We had ourselves quite an adventure, chatting away, saying hello to passing harbor seals and throwing bread to the gulls.

Pat hightailed us back in seemingly no time back to the Langley marina. Bill was waiting for me. Our four-hour tour did not end up like the guests on Gilligan’s Island. We returned refreshed.

Thank you, Pat and Lindsey for a fun day on the water visiting a place I’d never been before. What a great treat to spend time together two days before we leave for our 3 month road trip.