Hoodsport dock could be fixed by summer

The Port of Hoodsport dock adjacent to Ingvald J. Gronvold Park on U.S. 101 in Hoodsport could be open by May if approved repairs are promptly completed, Commissioner Lori Kincannon told the Journal in an email.

Port commissioners signed off on the work at the Jan. 17 meeting after receiving a favorable bid from Marine Floats in Tacoma.

"We are hoping that permits can be received and that repairs can be made quickly so that the dock can be re-opened before the upcoming shrimping season in May," Kincannon said.

The dock and pier have been closed to the public since the end of October due to "significant safety concerns," according to Kincannon.

The port has hired a lobbyist with law firm Gordon Thomas Honeywell to help with grant applications and government funding sources, Kincannon said.

Commissioners recently asked the Legislature for $40,000 to cover the emergency repairs.

The dock and pier closure has had a big effect on the town of Hoodsport.

Scuba store and dive center YSS Dive has lost business due to the closure and owners John and Katherine Yackel told the Journal they can see a "snowball" effect.

"As business owners, it's affecting our business but it's also affecting our community," Katherine Yackel said.

The couple operates diving charters from Hoodsport and now must pick up clients in Union because of the closed dock. John Yackel said many of their customers would previously stop in Hoodsport before or after diving to have dinner and shop.

"Now they eat in Union or Alderbrook," he said.

Katherine Yackel said community events, including the Fjordin Crossin are in limbo. Fjordin Crossin celebrates a Nordic tradition of "sending a barrel of aquavit in a ship from Norway across the equator and back again," according to the event's website.

Jan and Chuck Morris, owners of Hoodsport's Hardware Distillery, started the event six years ago to celebrate the release of their brand of aquavit according to the website. The events have centered around the dock and pier in the past.

The Hardware Distillery and other local merchants, including Hood Canal Market Fresh, Stottle Winery, Fjord Oyster Bank, Lake Cushman Maintenance Company and Potlatch Brewing Co. signed a letter of support given to the Legislature during the funding request.

"The public pier and dock are the heart of this small, rural community, and we need your help to complete the emergency repairs needed to reopen it. Please support the Port of Hoodsport's funding request for $40,000 so the public pier and dock can reopen and continue to serve as an economic and outdoor recreational asset to our community," the letter says.

The businesses also mention safety concerns.

"The public pier and dock in Hoodsport serve as the only access point for emergency medical services if U.S. Highway 101 encounters road closures and Hoodsport, and the surrounding communities of Lilliwaup, Skokomish, Potlatch and Mason County residents, rely on this," according to the letter.

John Yackel said he hopes the emergency repairs can be done during a "work window" in the spring, when adverse weather subsides. He and Katherine said they helped spread the word about the port's needed funding through the social media hashtag #SupportHoodsportPort.

The couple said Hoodsport is a world-class destination for divers and they've had clients from New York, Germany, Switzerland and Japan. "Just to come dive with us in Hoodsport," John Yackel said.

The Hood Canal is rare because so much of it has been protected for so long, according to the Yackels.

"Giant octopus, rock fish thought to be extinct, sixgill shark ..." John Yackel enthusiastically listed species he's seen on dives.

"It's a candy land underwater," he said.

The Yackels said divers can get into water 500 to 600 feet deep right off shore.

There's no coral in the Hood Canal, instead divers get "big underwater mountains," John Yackel said.

The couple is eager for the Hoodsport dock to be repaired so they can focus on their main passion – diving.