Dalco Passage Charters

11/02/2026

Sunsets & Pearl Jam

10/31/2026

A used rowboat bought for five dollars grew into a maritime company, and today a Tacoma waterway carries its founder's name.

The Thea Foss Waterway runs about 1.5 miles off Commencement Bay along downtown Tacoma. Thea Foss, a Norwegian immigrant who arrived in Tacoma in 1889, started with a single rowboat she cleaned, painted and resold; her small fleet grew into the Foss Launch Company, which later became Foss Maritime.

The waterway itself spent much of the 20th century as an industrial hub, with shipyards and fuel facilities along its shores. In 1983 the area was added to the federal Superfund list, and cleanup and redevelopment eventually reshaped the inlet into today's waterfront: the Thea Foss Esplanade walkway, parks and public art.

What's along it now: the Museum of Glass with its cone-shaped hot shop and the 500-foot Chihuly Bridge of Glass connecting to downtown's cultural district; the Foss Waterway Seaport in the historic Balfour Dock building, exploring the region's maritime heritage; and a beach where kayakers and paddleboarders launch.

Marinas line the waterway: Foss Harbor Marina, Dock Street Marina, within walking distance of downtown, and Foss Landing Marina. A practical note for larger boats: public dock space in Tacoma is limited for vessels around 39 feet and up, and the waterway is one of the few areas that can accommodate yachts.

Eating on the water: The Fish Peddler pairs a seafood market with waterfront dining; Rock The Dock Pub & Grill is a Dock Street fixture; Indita Mia opened in 2024 with Mexican cuisine; and Dock Street Deli closed in 2025, its space later becoming a taproom. Johnny's Dock, a longtime east-shore restaurant, closed again in May 2026 after a lease termination. It has closed and reopened repeatedly over the years and is not currently open.

Just up the shore, the Ruston Way waterfront extends the outing with a two-mile trail, piers and beach access.

One boater note: the waterway is protected water inside Commencement Bay, but it sits near Port of Tacoma shipping lanes. Commercial traffic and security zones are real things to be aware of.

From a five-dollar rowboat to a restored urban inlet: the story is still written on the water.

10/29/2026

🌧️ THE BIG DARK IS BACK!

Welcome to Washington, where the sun has a part-time job! ⚓🍹

By Dalco Passage Charters | Naughty Yachty PNW

Washington’s Big Dark is coming! The sun’s going part-time, the rain’s going full-time, and happy hour just got a whole lot earlier! 😂🍹

Ahoy, you salty little rain clouds!

It’s that magical time of year in the Pacific Northwest when the sun clocks out before we do, our vitamin D goes missing, and drinking coffee becomes a competitive sport.

Welcome to THE BIG DARK! 🌚

On November 1, daylight saving time ends, and here in Tacoma, sunset jumps from around 6 p.m. to around 5 p.m. By mid-November, we’re watching the sun disappear before 4:30!

That’s right, folks. DARK BEFORE DINNER!

But don’t pack away your boating gear just yet, you landlubbers!

🌅 Sunsets at Happy Hour

Who needs to stay up late for golden hour? Mother Nature is serving up spectacular sunsets over the Olympic Mountains before your second cocktail!

🦑 Squid Jigging After Dark

Nothing says PNW romance like standing on a boat in three layers of clothing, trying to convince a squid to become calamari. Around here, that’s practically date night!

🦭 Wildlife Gone Wild

Seals, sea lions, porpoises, and the occasional whale don’t care what time the sun sets. They’re still out there living their best lives while we’re wondering if 6 p.m. is too early for pajamas.

🌧️ Rain, Fog & Questionable Decisions

Around here, we don’t cancel adventures because of a little rain. We add another layer, grab something warm, and pretend we’re tougher than we actually are. Of course, Captain Sean always has the final say when Mother Nature gets feisty!

⚓ The Naughty Yachty Big Dark Survival Guide

Waterproof boots, a warm drink, a sense of humor, and friends who don’t complain about the weather!

Because here in the Pacific Northwest, we don’t just survive the Big Dark. We find new ways to make waves!

At Dalco Passage Charters, boating season doesn’t have to end when summer does. From cozy winter cruises to squid jigging adventures, Puget Sound has a whole different kind of magic after dark.

So embrace the darkness, chase those early sunsets, and remember:

THE SUN MAY GO DOWN AT 4:30, BUT THIS CREW ISN’T CALLING IT A NIGHT! 🍹⚓

Stay salty, stay cozy, and keep making waves!

Dalco Passage Charters
📍 Tacoma, Washington | Puget Sound
⚓ Captain Sean & Chief Stew Alicia

Because life’s too short to stay on shore!

⸻

10/28/2026

We did our first fall charter with this amazing family from Texas! They were absolutely one of my favorite charters.. they are boaters too which made it even better.
I don’t think they are clients anymore because now they are friends! We will have to go visit them and see their 53 foot SeaRay… We loved having you guys… can’t wait to see you guys again! Troy Bontrager Cheree Bontrager ❤️

10/27/2026

This should be easy!
I’ll go first…
The blue lagoon!

10/24/2026

Poulsbo, Wa.
just do it….
Go be a Viking..

A Seattle company will run a direct route for tourists and shoppers to Poulsbo for the holidays, starting Thanksgiving weekend.

10/23/2026

Ever notice how Puget Sound beaches come in tiny crescents, then suddenly the shore is a bluff or a flat with no beach at all? That's a pocket beach, and the Sound is full of them.

A pocket beach forms where sand and gravel collect between rocky headlands or other resistant points. The headlands trap the sediment in a small compartment, so instead of drifting down a long open coast, it stays put in the nook. Their curved shape often lines up with the direction the waves arrive from.

The raw material is glacial heritage. Ice ages scoured the Puget Lowland, and the most recent major advance, roughly 15,000 to 20,000 years ago, left thick layers of till, outwash, sand, gravel and boulders behind. When the sea returned to the deep channels, waves and tides started sorting that inherited mix.

Why do neighboring beaches look so different? Local geology decides the recipe. An eroding bluff full of sand and gravel can feed a pebbly shore, while a rocky stretch with little loose material may have only a thin beach or none. Puget Sound is sheltered from Pacific swell, so most waves are made by local winds, and a small change in shoreline direction changes the waves a beach receives.

Storms rearrange the story, sometimes overnight. Cobbles shift, driftwood rides higher, and a beach you remember may look different by spring. It's an ongoing process, just at very different speeds.

So next time you round a point and find a little crescent of gravel tucked between rock, you're looking at thousands of years of ice, waves and sediment, compressed into a few dozen yards of shoreline.

10/23/2026

Benny is thinking about ?__________

10/13/2026

Two California sea lions turned a red navigation buoy into a floating lounge, while cormorants claimed the upper deck. As the boat drifted closer, the surprise was genuine, and so was the on-water bird-ID debate. The birds perched above are cormorants, not ospreys. Sea lions often haul out on buoys and other structures to rest between trips in the water. Nature has excellent taste in seating; the bird names may take a moment.