The 39th Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival 2015

The new Water Taxis from downtown Seattle to West Seattle. Need to take a ride and get a Taco in West Seattle. 

The Cruise ship season is almost over, all three are here which could be loading the last passengers for the year to Alaska. Two on the far left and the closer one on the right. 

Wow, they had a wedding on the Ferry to Bainbridge Island. 

Its fun spontaneously sitting in on a wedding.

Port Townsend is on the Northeast corner of the Olympic Peninsula  at the intersection of the Straight of Juan De Fuca and Admiralty Inlet We stayed at a Inn just to the left of that 101 marker and Sequim Bay.

The Admiral dropped me off at the Wooden Boat festival and then drove over to our hotel in Sequim near Sequim Bay.

After walking through the line to buy tickets you walk out into a group of small wooden day sailors for sale.

Each one custom hand built and full of craftsmanship.

Mount Baker across the Straight to the Northeast

There were lots of tall ships and schooners out sailing when we got there around 2pm. Later I found out it was a Schooner Race!

Full Sun Day, not a cloud in the sky.

Lots of visitors arrived by their own vessel, there were three huge anchorages full of boats.

Entrance to Port Hudson Marina 

Walking on over to to Port Hudson Marina I spot a familiar vessel there, it looks like one I see often on Lake Union

I was right, The Classic Motor Yacht Olympus
http://www.yachtolympus.com/yacht-olympus-history.html

Dining Room 

The Galley

The Saloon

The Sun Deck

A sailor friend of mine in Corpus, Tom Arnold, told my about Kettenburgs. This is the first I have ever seen one. She must have been one incredible sailboat in 1964! The current owners are selling her and it appears they have kept her in Bristol condition.

Just asking $84,000!

"Thane" built on a Spray Hull like Joshua Slocum's. There were at least three Spray's at this Festival.

I talked with the owner of this vessel and he is just back from a 5 year voyage around the Pacific. This is a heavy built Scandinavian design and built boat.

Every direction you look there is a different solution.

Allegra

Plenty of space for 20,000 people to wonder around.

Check out that Hydrolic drive unit on the rudder. A lot of these old vessels have been upgraded with modern electronics, engines (many were built without engines) and even roller furling.

The First Race to Alaska R2AK was wildly popular up here and contestants are already signing up for next years event.
http://r2ak.com/

All of these vessels participated in this years event, The top one is a modified production hull to accept long rowing paddles. The Cat on the bottom left is a modified production model and the one on the bottom right was built just for the race. 

Sailing fun ocmes in all sizes and colors.

classic hardware for classic boats.

All this bronze hardware made in Port Townsend.

They were moored three deep so it was not easy to see them all.

An example of a tug work boat converted to a pleasure cruiser.

The Crew in the pilot house explained that the diesel engine only turned 135 RPM but it has a 5' diameter 6 bladed prop.
It appeared to have Hydraulic Steering but it was Pneumatic Driven and so it had a huge air compressor on board.

The Chain locker is in the bow which is open to the stateroom in the bottom left pic. The upper right is just below the wheel house and the engine room I did not go down because I did not want to get oily.

The small pirate ship on the upper left had a pirate who recruited kids walking by and gave them all swords and taught them all Pirate language. I think if the parents were not there they would all soon be drinking rum.

The almost real thing, named after Joshua Himself, this Spray Owner told me that this is the one Spray that is an exact replica of the original Joshua Slocum's Spray (except for the onboard diesal engine)

He said he spends 4 months sailing to all the Summer boat festivals up and down the West Coast and then hangs out around Olympia for the Winter.

I made a mistake. I should have asked the guy in the upper left to crank up his 1 cylinder diesel engine (upper right), if you have ever heard one run they sound really cool Phooh---Phooh---Pooh---Poooh. I I ever buy a trawler I want a fiberglass version of the one in the lower left.

Pirate, the Flagship of the Center for wooden Boats made it. I asked them about there sail up from Seattle. They said they made it in seven hours! It is only about 32 Nm. but you have to tack a lot and then there are the currents. If I am up here next time this year I am going to make myself available as crew for sure. This is one sail that I would love to do especially aboard Pirate!

Puffin also made it up from the Center For Wooden Boats.

Bolero an old Chris Craft Woody. 

Vixon, Just back from an 11 year around the world voyage. If you look close you can see the route on the chart. Not sure why all those around the world voyagers come home in hats like that?

Wow! just had to stop and rest at Bar Harbour with a Mighty Fine Port Townsend Brewery IPA and Music to match.
See https://youtu.be/uBm74MFNjoY

The 39th Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival 2015

I have been trying my best to get to the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival for the last three Septembers. September 2013 Big D was born so we were all tied up in anticipation of his birthday. Then last year my Daughter all of a sudden decided to go to Texas the first weeks of September so no go then. But this year I announced early, I do not care what else is happening in the world I am going to the Port Townsend Festival.
I have no idea if it is fact but I read it is the largest of all the Wooden Boat Festivals in the World. After attending this one I have no reason to doubt that it has to be the best but you know how they say everything is bigger in Texas, well they have a lot of really tall people in the PNW, sad to say a lot more than live in Texas.
We attended Big D's second birthday and cut out and made the 12:30 pm ferry to Bainbridge Island, just a short 45 minute drive North and the Admiral dropped me off in Port Townsend. She preferred to go check in at our hotel in Sequim (pronounced like Squid but with a m) the only hotel with a room left. It was about 72 degrees and not a cloud in the sky.Not many clear blue sky days in this part of the world. The natives thought it was very HOT! As soon as I walked in I knew I had arrived, It was exactly what I had expected. I spent the next three hours climbing around on all sorts of wooden vessels and talking to the owners, crew, and anyone else that looked like they could enjoy a question or two. I had the Admirals camera so after culling several hundred pics down to around 150 or so I thought I could start my blog post and somehow convey some part of this incredibly salty culture that are the PNW wooden boaters. The only way to understand the boats is to know the people who build and or sail them. This of course can not be done in in just a short few days at a festival but spending a lot of volunteer time at The Center for Wooden Boats and a couple of years sailing in the PNW had me primed for this experience.
I had to stop and rest so I got a real beer and sat down and talked to two couples who sailed up to Port Townsend for the weekend so we had a great time talking boats sailing and festival events.
A little later the Admiral texted and let me know she was at the entrance so I met her and I escorted her around to the best of the Festival.We found our way back to Bar Harbour and got some food and drink to go with the music.