Anticipating the Port Townsend Boat Show

[NormMessinger]

I am starting to think about hauling Prairie Islander out to Puget Sound in late August to visit friends at Friday Harbor and to attend the Port Townsend wooden boat show. If we pull it off it will be one heck of an adventure, more, I fear than the first time we flew the Long-EZ from St. Louis to Oregon, via Los Angeles, and back. Anyway, any advise I can get from yaall will be helpful.

We'll get out on the local lakes as much as possible between now and then but we will still be quite inexperienced. No salt water or tides here abouts.

The plan (yeah right) would be to launch on the east side, around Hwy 20 south of Coupeville and sail across to Port Townsend to save the long haul around by road or a pricy ferry ride. Make sense?

What might we encounter with mourings, anchoring or what ever in the boat show area? Is it more hastle than it's worth?

Does a Nebraska farmer have any business trying to sail in those waters?

Lay it on me folks.

--Norm

[Donn]

Once they taste salt, they never go back!

[RGM]

Sounds like a good reason to schedule another meeting of the PSEBS. How much time do you think you can spend out here? If you time things right you might be able to take in the wooden boat festivals in Victoria B.C. and the one on Lake Union at the Center For Wooden Boats. You'll have a great time Norm. It would be great for you to catch them all if you come all the way out here. I've got to get back to work, I'm sure that the other local guys will respond with good info and suggestions for you.

[Tom Dugan]

Better be careful, Norm. By the time this thread's exhausted you'll have about a dozen "volunteers" to help you learn your way around the great salt sea. :D And that can't be a bad thing.

-T

[gary porter]

Norm, You can't go wrong with a trip like that. Port Townsend and the Wooden Boat Show is like a slice of heaven on earth. The folks in that area seem quite friendly and willing to help, I'm sure you'll have not trouble there. Just curious, do you by chance know John Murray at Friday Harbor? Gary

[Art Read]

You know, if you read the cruising guides too much, you might start thinking crossing the Strait of Juan de Fuca from the San Juans to Port Townsend is akin to "Rounding the Horn"... And it CAN get ugly out there. But if you pick your weather and time the tide, it really ain't no biggie. And the weather doesn't stay the same for too long around here that time of year anyway. So... Go for it! If it helps put things in perspective, I fully intend to take my open bilged Dark Harbor from Seattle to the San Juans on her own bottom at LEAST once after she's done. Couple of hops with stops overnight and an open schedule and it should be a piece of cake. Meet up with SWMBO in Friday Harbor for a long weekend sailing her thru the Islands from B&B to B&B each night... It's an image that helps keep me going. (And there's always the "backdoor" thru the Swinomish Slew if you lose your nerve... ;) )

[ 04-12-2002, 05:36 PM: Message edited by: Art Read ]

[Stephen]

Two festivals ago we took our 21' open boat to PT. We launched on Whidbey Island at the Keystone ferry ramp - thus avoiding the ferry fees, but paying dearly for parking fees at the launch ramp for the weekend!
It took us about 30 to 40 minutes to get into the inner basin at the festival, where we had previously payed to attend for the weekend. There is lots of room outside the harbour to anchor though.
The trip back to the ramp at Whidbey took about 5 to 6 hours and we ended up being swept about 4 miles off course by a strong flood tide. Rowed the whole way too.
Totally worth going! I'd do it again!

[Tom Lathrop]

Norm,

No matter which path you take, the mountains are there to be gotten over. The destination is worth it though. Plan to stay a while. The Port Townsend Boatshow is the best. The harbor is crowded with boats on display but there will be room on the docks for Prarie Islander.

My problem is that it's so far from NC that I only get to go occasionally and since we were there last year, it will be a while again.

Hey Custom Mike,

Has anyone given any thought to getting together at the Beaufort Woodenboat Show this year? It's coming up real soon you know. Are you off the crutches yet?

[ 04-12-2002, 08:14 PM: Message edited by: Tom Lathrop ]

[Nicholas Carey]

Originally posted by NormMessinger:
The plan (yeah right) would be to launch on the east side, around Hwy 20 south of Coupeville and sail across to Port Townsend to save the long haul around by road or a pricy ferry ride. Make sense?Sure. Depending on the weather and tides. Although the usual problem at the end of August/beginning September is the 'No Wind' problem smile.gif

If you launch from Coupeville, you've got to go through Deception Pass to get to Port Townsend. You need to hit Deception Pass a slack water as Deception Pass has high currents -- see http://co-ops.nos.noaa.gov/tides/DECEPTIN.html -- running through it, strong tidal rips, standing waves and the occasional whirlpool. All good fun. So to speak.

In addition, both Marrowstone Point and Point Wilson have strong tidal rips near them that can be somewhat tricky to deal with if you're not used to them or not expecting them. Here's a tale of Woe and Intrigue for you:

http://www.tgw.net/sailing/csa/ch6.htm

Get this book: A Cruising Guide to Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands. It's a great book with lots of really useful information in it. More on it in the usual place:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0070552851/getoutgear/104-3503225-4071929

Needless to say, the tidal current can be a help or a hindrance in getting to where you want to go. It can sometimes take rather longer than you'd wish to get where you're going.

What might we encounter with mourings, anchoring or what ever in the boat show area? Is it more hastle than it's worth? Does a Nebraska farmer have any business trying to sail in those waters? Lay it on me folks.If you're registered at the show, moorings aren't a problem -- you'll be tied up at the dock at Por t Hudson. Which is not a bad place to be.

If you're not registered at the show, there is plenty of transient moorage available at the city marina at the south end of town -- a lot of the boats there are either out on a cruise or are up at Port Hudson for the show. And the harbor at Port Townsend is an open anchorage.

So moorage shouldn't be a problem.

[Jamie Hascall]

Norm, If you're going to come all this way, you really need to put Prarie Islander in the show. There's nothing like being in the midst of it all. As for the tides and currents, there's nothing that you can't figure out. To launch at Coupeville, you'll have to either go through Deception Pass and back South along Whidby and cross most of the Straight of Juan De Fuca in the process. If you're going to do that much driving, you might as well put in at Anacortes, sail across to the San Juans, cross the Straight to Port Townsend, and then head back to Anacortes via the Straight if the weather cooperates, or around the bottom of Whidby and up through LaConner and the Swinomish Channel for a more sheltered route.

I'll have Victoria in the show this year and I look forward to having P.I. there too.

Jamie

[ken mcclure]

Heh. Port Townsend would never be the same after Norm. :D

[Wild Dingo]

Norm mate... I say with all my worldly knowledge of whatever the heck area your talking about... :D ... GO!!... You and the missus aka "smiley" and P.I. will have an absolute ball... well thats what they all reckon and well we gotta takes their word for it!! :cool:

Ignore the whirlpools and tidal shifts and all that other stuff... it will be cool on the day mate... and by all thats in you mate put PI in the show!!! ;)

Take it easy
Shane

[Art Read]

From Coupeville, Deception Pass and or the Swinomish Slew would both leave you with the Strait to cross if you're going to Port Townsend. Another, "lengthy" route is South about Whitby Island and then back up to PT from the South. Much more protected and a nice trip in and of itself. Then again, it might make more sense to just put in at Everett if you're going to do that... Any particular reason for putting in at Coupeville? That puts one very big island between you and P.T.... I guess a lot of this depends on on your schedule. If you're going to the show first, one very long day's sail, (more likely, "motor-sail"...) at LEAST, will be required to go South about Whitby from Coupeville. (I'd figure on two...) Might save yourself a few hours by going thru Deception and across the Strait, but the tides and weather would have to co-operate. I wouldn't want Whitby Island as a lee shore for twenty miles if it decides to really "blow" out of the Southwest at all on my first "experience" with the Strait... and it CAN, even at that time of year. Or, as mentioned, you could just put in on the West side of Whitby by the ferry landing. That only leaves you what? A ten mile hop across Admiralty Inlet? But I bet any money you save on ferry fares will just go towards storing your rig in Ft. Casey's lot. If you're going to the San Juans first, by all means, put in at Anacortes or Bellingham. Saves you both the pass and the Swinomish Slew. (Not that those aren't neat places to see anyway...) How long are you planning on being here? Two weeks would be barely enough to do the islands justice AND go to the festival. And even three will probably seem too short... I first came here for a "week's" visit... seven years ago!

[ 04-13-2002, 02:07 PM: Message edited by: Art Read ]

[NormMessinger]

Digesting....

The recommended book and Chart 18441 is on order. That should help refine planning a bit. The Rand McNally might be good enough for an Englishman but this 3rd generation mixed breed should have a chart.

Yes It looked like putting in on the west side of Whitby Island would be the thing to do. But maybe not.

We have not decided how long we can spend. It won't be long enough and six days will be driving IF I can get the old girl (yeah, right, blame it on her) to sit still that long on any given day, otherwise, eight.

The boat show people wont have this year's info on their web site 'til May (it says there).

Ferry fee vs. parking will be considered. Thanks for the reminder.

Would you cruise the San Jauns before or after Sep 6-8?

Where can we anchor to be sure a big bull Orca takes a nap along side? (dream on...)

Thanks everyone.

--Norm

[Tom Galyen]

Norm,

I don't know if you looked up the exact fares for the ferries yet, I was out in 1999 to pick up my boat at the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding, and took a ferry to downtown Seattle. This gave me easy access to the Interstate to come home. I did the ferry bit early on Sunday in May of that year. One way the fare was $37.00, this included my 16' boat. I'm a bit of a ferry nut and have been known to drive out of my way to use one, but I did not think that was too much, as it cut about 1 to 1.5 hours off of driving around to the sound. They are real comfortable and you get a great view of the sound. The one I was on had a McDonalds on board and I had breakfast in it.

Two words of warning about the mountain passes. First winter comes early up high, and stays late. I don't think you'd have anything to worry about in August but be careful. Second If you go by the Snowqualimie pass route, from Spokane, remember you must lose all that hieght from the top of the pass to Seattle in 60 short miles. For a confirmed "flatlander" like me it was quite an experience. I made it and had never driven alone that far in my 55 years, and had never pulled a boat beforee. I had a blast even with a May blizzard in Homestead pass.

Have Fun.

Tom G.
There is nothing, absolutly nothing, half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats. tongue.gif

[Jamie Hascall]

I wondered if the Rand McNally might be the problem as I looked at mine and couldn't really tell that Coupeville is on the East side of Whidby Island. To go from Seattle up to Port Townsend is usually a 5-8 hour ride, depending on winds, tides, and how much one wants to motor. Going from Anacortes or Bellingham into the San Juans is a couple of hours and from the San Juans to PT. Townsend is probably about 4-6.

As far as the show info, I'm positive you'll get to be in the show with that sweet boat. It's just the sort of thing they need to inspire folks that you can do this sort of thing and to dilute the group of resident boats that are there every year. If you cruise in the Islands after Labor Day there will probably be fewer people and boats up there. The place to check out the swimming Orcas is Haro Straight, to the west of San Juan Is. I've also been told that Turn Point at the west end of Stewart Is. north of San Juan is also an amazing place for Orca spotting. A stop at the Whale Museum in Friday Harbor will give the best information available. http://www.whale-museum.org/ Also check out their Sightings Hotline site. http://www.whale-museum.org/hotline/update.htm

See you in September.

[Art Read]

Norm... The chances of having an Orca pop up anywhere you'll want to be anchored are pretty slim, (though I did once have a Grey eat his breakfast next to us at our anchorage in Chuckannut Bay off Bellingham once..) But spend a little time sailing off the Southwest edge of San Jaun Island in Haro Strait on an incoming tide and I wouldn't be surprised to hear you had a couple dozen of 'em pass you by within a stone's throw distance...

[ 04-19-2002, 12:30 AM: Message edited by: Art Read ]

[Dave Williams]

Norm,

Of course the most beautiful drive in Wa. state is over the N. Cascades Highway! State Rt. 20. Takes you right through the heart of the Cascades, is an excellent road, little traffic at that time and only one stop light between here and Anacortes. There are some rather long moderate grades.

Also our place and my shop and a few boats is on the east slope just as you start up over the mountains. We'd be honored to have you stop over on your way, plenty of extra space. We'll be heading to Port Townsend also. It will be my 7th or 8th festival. Wouldn't miss it!

Dave

[Ed Nye]

Norm,
It would be a great and wondrous thing if you can get to Port Townsend for the show. I would truly enjoy meeting you. Hopefully Opal will be there this year, it all depends on the scheduling gods. Now for a little practical information. The Port Townsend Wooden Boat Show is not a drop in affair. If you want your boat in the show you will need to apply well in advance. Otherwise you will have to anchor out or find guest moorage. There is a fee for moorage and insurance and Port Hudson is so jam-packed they will want to know if you plan on day sailing or whatever during the event. I suggest you e-mail them requesting an application and all the other stuff you will need from them. Their web site is: http://www.woodenboat.org/. And their e-mail is festival@woodenboat.org (got that wrong the first time).

It would/will be great to see you there,
Ed

[ 04-16-2002, 11:52 AM: Message edited by: Ed Nye ]

[redsail]

Hiya Norm
If you have the time, there is a bit of a circut of wooden boat events in our area. The
show in Port Townsend is by far the largest and sure can be a great time. In Victoria, B.C. there is a fine gathering of wooden boats over the Labor Day weekend (Aug 30-Sept 1 2002) and the week before that there is a small show in Vancouver, B.C.
JP

[gert]

The Cascade #20 drive is sweet, The ferry to PT is cheap,
Cruising the San Juans/Gulf Isl can't be beat. If my little boat is worthy we're gonna bring her down, maybe we'll see ya there; it's definatly worth it.

[NormMessinger]

Thanks for the tip, Ed. I'll call them tomorrow.

The plan (at the moment) might be to pull to Antacortes, launch and sail to Friday Harbor to visit friends there, crusise around the islands a bit, back to Antacortes, pull down Hwy 20 and take the ferry to PT, do the show, and head home. Can't keep the old girl away from work to long 'cause her support of my hobbies is still nice.

Oh, "pull" is the term we used for moving dad's thrashing machine from one place to another. The '36 Alice Chalmers would only to 6 mph tops but still pull has a nice ring to my ear.

Best wishes all.

--Norm

[Jamie Hascall]

Now if you could just get someone to bring the tow vehicle and trailer from Anacortes to P.T. you could bring the boat right on into the festival from the San Juans. It just won't feel the same if you've got her on the trailer.

Jamie

[NormMessinger]

The Cruising Guide...came today. I called for a show application which, they say, have not been printed yet. The chart should be here is a couple of days. Some serious planning can begin. Thanks all.

--Norm

[Art Read]

Beware, Norm... There be sea serpants there... ;)

[Meerkat]

Norm, unless you're planning to be here far longer then your posts suggest, you're not going to make the Center For Woodenboats annual festival - it's either on the 4th of July weekend or right before or after it.

If you want to avoid mountian climbing, you could take 80 to SLC (80 is very mild through the Rockies), then go north and west on 86 to catch 84 into Portland and then up 5 to Seattle and points north. (I'm not sure about 84 through the cascades though.) (Don't think about trying to go N from Boise to get to Spokane - really wild mtn. driving I found. Besides, from all i've heard, Spokane isn't very interesting - or nice.)

If any part of I-70 is on your route, go north out of Denver (take the shortcut from Longmont to Green River - saves a LOT of time and it's an easy drive, although only 2-lane). 70 through the Rockies isn't much fun (of course, you would get to do the Eisenhour (sp?) Tunnel if you went that route). I drove that before when 70 went over the pass rather then through it (tunnel) as it does now.

You can always cheat and go across the Tacoma narrows brigde, north to Kingston or some point on the Hood Canal and put in there. Then (from Kingston) all you have to do is sail around to PT.

[capt jake]

Meerkat has a point about several things. North out of Boise is pretty, but not if towing! Take the 84 into Portland and head North. It is a boring drive, but? Or you could catch the freeway that connects from tri-cities to I-90 and follow that into Seattle? There is a bridge accross the Columbia from I-84 to the tri-cities. If you intend upon Anacortes, this would be shorter. Let me know, and I can dig out the maps and give you more direct details.
regards,
Jake

[NormMessinger]

Oh, gosh. I figured I could handle the Interstate system. Are you telling me I-90 has grades that exceed the Gangplank west of Cheyanne or the grade east of Laramie? Now, I admit the Ford shifted into 2nd a time or two but there were a lot of tonnage we passed, too.

Sometime, I'll tell you what my fellow rangers, trying to keep up in their patrol car, in Yosemite said about the run I made with the fire truck from Wawona to Glacier Point the time the Glacier Point Hotel burned down. It's them sea serpents that's got me worried now.

--Norm

[Meerkat]

Norm;

I've driven 80 west of Cheyanne, but only once before I found out about the Longmont - Green River short cut. I've also driven 80 through the Sierras. To the best of my recollection, 90 through the Cascades does tend to be steeper. The Cascades aren't that tall, but they're marrow, so the increase and decrease in elevation is more abrupt.

There's quite a grade going west-bound from Ellensburg, which is on the eastern edge of the mountians, and I dimly recall hearing that the descent from the pass to Issaquah on the western edge is the steepest in the interstate system. Only about 1.5 hours from Ellensburg to Issaquah though, and it's very pretty.

BTW, unless you have an urgent desire to see downtown Seattle and experience nasty traffic and narrow, confusing interchanges and etc, it's better to take 405 N on the eastern edge of Lake Washington to hit 5 N of Seattle (this is no picnic either if you hit it in the afternoon rush hour (mornings, all the 'trout' are going 'downstream'), which starts about 3-3:30 on weekdays and 2-2:30 on Fridays and can last until 7ish).

If you really want steep, try Wolf's Creek pass in SW Colorado :D

[Art Read]

...and let us know when you're passing this way! If you go the I-90/I405 route, (good plan, BTW...) you'll be within a stone's throw of my "boatshop". Be fun to look out and see PI pass by at 50 knots!

[NormMessinger]

50 knots? 50? What's the speed limit anyway? Or is the traffic holding me back?

Thanks for the tip about avoiding the Seattle Traffic.

Glen Canyon would be an interesting trip but have not psyched out the route, Wolf Creek and the Four Corners or the longway.

-Norm

[Kermit]

Okay. How many of you guys are Salish Sea natives? Born and dragged up here, meself. Here's some alternative reality for you.

Drag yourself over the Rockies any which way you choose. I'd be inclined to I-90 through Montana, but whatever. Don't let 'em freak you out about I-90/Snoqualmie (note the correct spelling?) Pass. It's the lowest pass through the Cascades at about 3300 feet. There is that one long pull westbound up from the Vantage bridge across the Columbia, but I used to pull it in a HEAVILY loaded VW campervan with a canoe on top in 4th gear and cruisecontrol set. Don't sweat it. And the downside from the summit to North Bend is a piece of cake too. You got brakes? Can you downshift? How heavy IS your boat?

If that still gives you hives, take I-80 through the Columbia Gorge. The REALLY low pass--low enough that it's the preferred route for the Columbia River ever since Lewis and Clark routed it that way. Oregon side of the river, freeway all the way to P-town, turn north on I-205 (to miss the urban traffic) to rejoin I-5 and on to Seattle--maybe. Advantage to THIS route is you can get to PT without one single damn ferry, should you choose. You dump yourself off I-5 just south of Tacoma (home of the Aroma Dome) at highway 18 and cross the Tacoma Narrows bridge, blow up through Port Orchard, Bremerton, and over the Hood Canal floating bridge and slide into PT on your trailer from the west side off of US-101. Launch there. Then you are within reasonable distance of the SJ's and Victoria. And you didn't pay for a single ferry.

As an alaternte to this one, you can unload from I-5 just south of Olympia and take one-oh-one up through Shelton, along the west side of Hood Canal, through beautiful downtown Brinnon, and avoid the floating bridge. It's a bit twistier road, but beautiful.

If you do the I-90 route through Snoqualmie Pass, turn north on I-405 (to Kirkland & Redmond), then on up I-5 to the Mukilteo exit, across the infamous "Boeing Freeway," and over to beautiful Whidbey's Isle on the Mukilteo/Clinton ferry run. 15 minute run, goes every half-hour. Give me a head's up and I'll meet you, get you to the launch ramp right at the Keystone-PT ferry landing. I'll offer to keep your rig without parking fees/tickets or risk of vandalism (small though it is), then meet you when you come back to Keystone. From Keystone (on the WEST side of Whidbey--DON"T try to put in at Coupeville, it's a lousy ramp and on the wrong side for where you want to be) it's a short shot straight across to PT. Just watch the tides. On one 'Round Whidbey race we were reading 6knots through the water and GPS said 12knots over the ground, but we didn't hve the luxury of picking our passage to coincide with slack tide.

Questions? E-mail me. Be glad to help.

[NormMessinger]

Thank you very much Kermit. One of these days I'm gonna have to let our friends at Friday Harbor know we are planning on coming out but I don't want to give them to much time to make other plans. If the San Juan Islands part of the plan holds up we will come out on I-90 and return on I-80. The thing I have to worry about on those legs of the trip is letting the rig get up to the speed limit. Phyllis does not like to go that fast wiht heavy things following so close behind. Know what I mean.

Getting in and out of the water and not becomming a hazard to navagation are my main concerns. The 1:80,000 chart does not show a ramp at Keystone so that is welcome information. As is your kind offer to chaperone the rig. We may cross on the ferry and head south for home after the show however.

Questions about launching at PT, attending the show, etc. can wait until I hear from the show people.

Thanks a lot.

--Norm

[Meerkat]

Hmmm... I-80 goes to San Francisco last I looked. I think it's I-84 or I-86 that goes east from Portland.

[Kermit]

Ahhhh...yup...I think it's I-84. CRS.

[Meerkat]

Phyllis does not like to go that fast wiht heavy things following so close behind. Know what I mean.
--NormDoes this mean that Phyllis walks behind you Norm? smile.gif ;)

[NormMessinger]

smile.gif Well, not any more but she did in the early days. Didn't matter, always one step back. If I'd slow down to let her catch up she'd slow down. 'Course that had nothing to do with who was boss.

I-84 doesn't come anywhere Omaha. Does that mean I cant get here from there?

No response to my request for an application to participate yet. Sure would be nice if boat shows could be managed like fly-in's.

--Norm

[Meerkat]

I-80 to Salt Lake. I-84 out of Salt Lake to Salem or switch off to I-86 N to I-90 and thus to Seattle and then I-5 N. If on to San Juans, take I-405 at south end of Seattle (or where I-90 crosses I-405 on east side) to bypass city center. Otherwise W from Olympia to catch 101 N. to Pt. Townsend or W from Tacoma to ditto (via the Tacoma route misses some of the narrower, twistier and far more scenic parts though).