Wooden Boat Show Port Townsend

[Charlie]

Hi All:
Wondering if anyone has ever been to the wooden boat show in Port Townsend WA. Heard that there are lots of wonderful boats to see and that it gets very crowded.

I am/was planning to go to Port T on 9/8 but in talking to the Marina office it seems that they take all of the non-wooden boat out of one marina and move them over to the other leaving precious little room for transient moorage and since the show starts on 9/6 it is doubtful that I will be able to find a place. Has anyone anchored in Port T. and how deep is it. It looks like it is about 10 or 11 fathoms by the charts that I have. Any recommendations that people have as to where to anchor would be appreciated.

[Amgine]

There are actually two primary marinas in Port Townsend, but yes things to do get a bit crowded with WBF.

Yes, you can anchor in PT Bay. The bottom is somewhat variable, but mostly mud. You'll see a cloud of boats anchored there; I suggest you anchor south of the ferry, but not much if any south of Boat Haven (the closer you get to the paper plant, the greater the smell..) There's a canal dredged between the islands and Quimper Peninsula at the south end; the current can be strong so time your arrival.

There are nearby places to consider as well. Between Marrowstone and the navy's munitions island (Fish? Indian?) there's a cute little town in a bay, but the whole space between is a safe anchorage which shoals to the south. Port Hadlock, iirc, has a marina as well (and also fills up during WBF, but is less rowdy.) There's a resort in Discovery Bay, too, and I believe they have a bus which runs into PT.

[Amgine]

I think I'd call the John Wayne Marina over in Sequim and see if there's a bus/rent a car to go to PT. When I was last there (10 years ago...) it was being kept in top form. Do not try to cross the sandbar(s); you really must enter between them.

[Charlie]

Amgine:

Thanks for the ideas. Sequim sounds interesting. Perhaps we will go there instead of Port Townsend to get away from the crowds. We'll have a vehicle when we get to Port T since the delivery crew is bringing the van up.

BTW are you still going to be able to make the trip to Astoria with the change of living situation?

[Amgine]

The Astoria trip is being put on hold. The people I'm supposed to meet are having second thoughts, and I've found another location to haul out which may be just as advantageous to me for the Hawai'i trip - Port Hardy. Some costs are higher, some are lower, but there are some benefits in avoiding clearing into the USA with a Canadian cat. Of course it means dealing with Cook Bank again when I head out to the Pacific, but surely that's no worse than the Columbia Bar.

And it will mean a couple weeks wandering north through Desolation Sound and beyond with just the cat for company... not a task to be avoided or fore-shortened! two long cruises in one season, I must be doing *something* right!

I plan to be at the Wooden Boat Show on 9/8. I've managed to have 4 hardware failures in the past week and a half, and I'm on a 2001 box at the moment whose grasp on life may be pretty tenuous, so I'm not sure if you and SkipprJohn have set up a plan to get together or not and I'm not taking bets on when I can next get back to this site. So I'll leave you a PM with my # and we can wing it.

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha Amgine and Charlie,
The last Festival I attended there was a bookstore and gift/hardware shop on the extreme west end of the grounds (can't remember what it was called but it is the headquarters for the school there?). My wife and I can meet you there at 5PM 9/8 if I make it up from Oregon in time. (Brother's birthday is the 7th in Salem) If you can make it I'd like to buy you a beer. I'm 6'1", thin, grey hair, wire rim glasses, ha'ole guy and don't look Hawaiian. I usually wear a red jacket because its cold in the PNW.
I'm not certain about the forum and how often I'll be able to post messages because of the slow down so hope I see you there.
JohnL

[Charlie]

Skpr J:

I'll PM you my phone number. 5 pm on 9/8 sounds good. I'm trying not to keep a cell phone on me but I'll turn it on when I am there. Amgine has given me his cell # but even though I don't think he will mind it I will let him PM you with his number. Looking forward to the show.

Amgine:
Sorry you have to cruise the boat twice in one season. And to have to do it in a spot like Desolation Sound too.

If we should all be so cursed.