Port Townsend- 2009 Wooden Boat Festival

[planetluvver]

Hi,

I am not sure if this is the right place for this thread. I will be there for the festival, and I would like to meet anyone else who may be going. Perhaps we can grab a meal, or a session together?

PL

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha and thanks for the invitation. I try to get to one every couple of years. I should be at the 2010 Festival if you decide to come back next year. The Festival is tons of fun and a great place to celebrate sailing and wooden boats!
This year I'll be at the boat show at Green Turtle Bay, KY and checking out the marinas in that area.
regards,

[planetluvver]

This will be my second year at the show. I learned recently that I can take city buses all the way there from my home, which is 200 miles away! And all the buses are scheduled so the connections are possible. (But I haven't verified the return trip yet.)

It takes about 10.5 hours. But if getting somewhere quickly were important to me, then I would not be a sailor, now would I? LOL

PL

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha PL,
A ferry goes right into Port Townsend. Unfortunately I don't have access to all the ferry schedules but maybe the internet?
You've probably tried that already anyway.
regards,

[senormechanico]

The ferry SkiprJohn speaks of goes to to the Island about 5 miles North of my place. It's the Keystone/Port Townsend run.
You would need to either take the Clinton/Mukilteo Ferry to the island, then take the free Whidbey bus to the other ferry, or take the free bus from the North end of the island (not sure of Northern terminus) across the Deception Pass bridge and down the island to the Keystone Ferry.

Start here:
Official Washington State Ferries Homepage

Steve B.

[SkiprJohn]

Wow, I can see why this is a long commute!
regards

[planetluvver]

Thank you Steve, for the ferry info. I will look into it for another trip!

It seems to me that there are three possible main choices for a route to Port Townsend from Portland:

For Greyhound, I was routed to Seattle, and then made a connection that went north, before "crossing over" and approached PT from the North.

A second route (which is what I am planning) connects in Portland, Salmon Creek, Longview, Tumwater, Olympia, Shelton, Brinnon, Port Townsend. It uses routes from six different transit authorities.

A third route would be identical to the second until Olympia. Then it would fork off through Tacoma, then use the ferry, and go through the islands. I think that you may have provided the copnnection information that was eluding me. I decided that a stop to the glass museum would just complicate my planning. So I have dropped this plan for the time being.

I must give credit to Evan Siroky, who was found on-line by the reference librarians at Multnomah County Library. His website has many ideas for regional trips, mostly centered around Seattle. I don't think I could have done the planning without him. Just checking the connections was exhausting, since the place names meant nothing to me. When I finally dug out a paper map and looked at the route, things started to click for me.

Yes, I could have tried sharing a car ride from Portland, but I am just tired of relying on the plans of other people in order to make any out-of town trip. Buying a Greyhound ticket that needed a three week advance purchase to be affordable just didn't appeal to me.

I am now glad that I did not buy a Greyhound ticket. I had not factored the Labor Day holiday into my planning, and so I have decided to postpone leaving until at least Wednesday. I planned to go up early to help with the set-up for the festival.

PL

[planetluvver]

It looks like I would take two buses, Route #1 and #6 transferring at the Coupeville Park and Ride.

The website for the bus service is:
Island Transit -

PL

[senormechanico]

I should have given you that link as well...
The buses meet the ferries on time. It's a pretty seamless system.

Steve B.

[Amgine]

I used to live on Jefferson Point, near Apple Tree Cove on the Kitsap Peninsula. The ferries to buses was our lifeline everywhere, since family members were attending school in Seattle and our boat was in Port Townsend.

I don't think I'll make it to the Woodenboat Festival this year, either. But I'll try to be there in 2010, unless I'm in HI grousing about SkiprJohn being in WA.

[GeoPowers]

planetluvver, if you're coming from Portland, OR, you might take a look at the Amtrak Cascades train. I think it is 56 dollars r/t from Portland to Seattle, and pretty quick. We have a friend who lives up north of Seattle, and she uses it to go to her ranch near Portland every weekend.

We've never gone to the wooden boat festival via a boat...can anyone tell me how crowded the anchorage gets? I've heard it isn't the best anchorage either, and that it is rocky/kelpy and somewhat exposed? Is this accurate, or bad gouge?

Thanks,

Frank

[Amgine]

It all depends on the weather, and how much time you are willing to put into getting there...

The portion of PT Bay just off the downtown is exposed to the South and East, has moderate to good holding. The bay to the north of Hudson Point has good holding tucked up near shore, especially nearer Point Wilson, but is dramatically more exposed. SW from Boat Haven toward the paper plant there's better holding, but, well, you're closer to the paper plant.

Across the bay, between Indian and Marrowstone Islands, there's enough room for several fleets of small boats. If you have a reasonably speedy dinghy, this is where I'd suggest you keep the boat. The most popular is Mystery Bay, and it's crowded even when there isn't an event at PT, good holding and well protected. There's a tiny dock in the channel (follow the posts and your depth sounder - the channel can be deceptive, and the inside of that curve is inches deep, a favourite wading place for toddlers) which is part of the Fort Flagler State Park, usually full and with several people cluttering an already narrow spot by trying to anchor there. Scow Bay, at the southern end, has a long drying flat with very good holding, with some minor exposure to the north if it's really blowing. Though it's the best spot for anchoring, it's also the longest commute by dinghy; there is a bus stop not too far though, and you can use the buses to get to PT. Kilisut Harbor, the middle part of the waters between the islands, is pretty deep but plenty protected for bigger boats whose skippers have navigated the channel.

Hadlock and Port Ludlow have nice marinas which are on bus lines that go to PT. Port Ludlow is especially nice in my opinion. Going the other direction, there's a resort in Discovery Bay I've never been to but have often wondered about. It should be on bus line as well. The John Wayne Marina outside Sequim was well-maintained last I was there - more than 8 years ago - and again on a bus line though I have no clue how you'd use it to get to PT. Both Discovery Bay and Sequim Bay have excellent anchoring options, particularly the latter due to the double-bar natural breakwater. Tucked up behind that with a hardish sand bottom is one of my better anchorage memories.

[planetluvver]

Originally Posted by senormechanico

I should have given you that link as well...
The buses meet the ferries on time. It's a pretty seamless system.

Steve B.

When I called Mason Transit and Jefferson County Transit, it turned out that they are fairly "seamless" also. I was told that the Mason driver can phone ahead to the Jefferson driver, and let them know I need to make the connection.

So it looks like it may be very easy to get around the entire area by public transit. I am feeling very stupid for not discovering this years ago. After looking for transit service to plant nurseries, and finding none, I assumed that public transit systems do not connect well. It only makes sense that I would find more bus service between towns!

PL

[planetluvver]

Originally Posted by GeoPowers

planetluvver, if you're coming from Portland, OR, you might take a look at the Amtrak Cascades train. I think it is 56 dollars r/t from Portland to Seattle, and pretty quick. We have a friend who lives up north of Seattle, and she uses it to go to her ranch near Portland every weekend.

We've never gone to the wooden boat festival via a boat...can anyone tell me how crowded the anchorage gets? I've heard it isn't the best anchorage either, and that it is rocky/kelpy and somewhat exposed? Is this accurate, or bad gouge?

Thanks,

Frank

Unfortunately, I would still need to go a long way from Seattle to Port Townsend! But the train is a lovely suggestion, and perhaps I will make the trip sometime. Much more scenic than an interstate highway!

[GeoPowers]

Originally Posted by Amgine

It all depends on the weather, and how much time you are willing to put into getting there...

Thanks for the info! I looked at Mystery Bay, but at almost 6nm, it is a little too far for our 4hp dinghy. We'll probably just see how the weather is, and if agreeable we'll anchor near PT. If not, we might just go next year...