Rather bohemian anchorage in Eagle Harbor
The open water marina established by the city of Bainbridge Island in 2010 in response to legal pressure from the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to clear out the large number of vessels anchored out over state land is accepting moorage applications for a number of openings at both the linear mooring system and fore-and-aft mooring buoys set out in the harbor.
The traditional and rather bohemian anchorage in Eagle Harbor was the subject of an eight-year, multisided debate between the state, the city of Bainbridge Island, waterfront landowners and various residents of the harbor when DNR’s new rules were issued in 2002 regarding residential uses of waters over DNR-managed land.
The open water marina there now represents the ultimate compromise reached in the matter, the only one of its kind in Washington state. The episode was marked by lawsuits, evictions, and a lot of bad blood all the way around.
You might imagine, after all the fuss, that a life lived on the hook in picturesque Eagle Harbor was in high demand, but despite the hue and cry raised at the time, the marina has had openings for new residents for the past two years. Of the 16 total spaces, only 12 are currently occupied.