QUILCENE — The town turned out in a festive mood last week to welcome the installation of a new swim float that is expected to expand this summer’s recreational options.
“When I was a kid, I spent hundreds of hours swimming here,” said Herb Beck, former Port of Port Townsend commissioner, whose name is on the marina adjacent to the swimming area at the end of Linger Longer Road.
“It’s really great to get the float back,” he said.
The Port of Port Townsend built the 10-foot-by-12-foot swimming platform in Quilcene Bay as a replacement for an old one that no longer existed.
A new platform was the highest priority expressed by Quilcene High School students during a Quilcene Conversation at the school, said Linda Herzog, who led the series of community meetings.
Races to float
About 130 people turned out for Friday’s celebration, which included races to and from the float in 60-degree water.
After the ceremonial blowing of a conch shell, children raced out to the platform and retrieved plastic eggs that earned prizes, including T-shirts and hot dogs.
It wasn’t only children who enjoyed a swim.
Herzog swam out to the float while Jefferson County Parks and Recreation Director Matt Tyler dived into the water, as well.
“This contributes to the health and safety of the community because it gets kids outside, away from their TV and video games,” Tyler said.
Beck said he remembered swimming in the bay using the old float.
The Port of Port Townsend built the float with surplus materials while port personnel assembled it.
The installation of the float was accomplished using equipment borrowed from Coast Seafood and Penn Cove Shellfish.
The port has invested about $1 million over a period of seven years to dredge the bay, among other services, according to Port Commissioner Leif Erickson.
But the actual cost of the float was “under the radar,” said Port Commissioner John Collins.
Herzog and her husband, Stan Nealey, paid the $600 cost of Friday’s event out of their own pocket.
‘Community effort’
“It’s a community effort,” she said.
“We are all volunteering our time and money so kids can be safe.”
The distance of the float from shore differs greatly with regard to the tides, as does the cordoned-off swimming area.
At high tide, the depth of the water around the float is about 8 feet, but people can walk out to the float at low tide, Herzog said.
All three port commissioners — Erickson, Collins and Dave Thomas — attended the celebration, as did Jefferson County Commissioner David Sullivan.
“This is great,” Beck said.
“It’s a step toward putting Quilcene back on the map.”
________
Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
