Port Townsend Archives - Small Boats Magazine

SALISH 100

Overnight stops along the route are Henderson Inlet, Longbranch, Gig Harbor, Blake Island Marine State Park, Kingston, and Port Ludlow Marina before reaching our final destination in Port Townsend. Due to the Salish 100’s length and challenging waters an application must be completed prior to joining the event. Information: Salish100.orgfacebook.com/groups/285180382147515/ and for questions please email directly at [email protected]

The fleet of small boats range from SCAMPs to Whitehalls, wherries, sharpies, melonseeds and flatiron skiffs; this includes a variety of smaller production sailboats and dozens of home-built sailing and rowing boats.

Along the route, small-boat skippers from across the states and other countries will experience everything the Salish Sea has to offer: currents racing through narrow channels, tide rips, sandbars, rocky shores, wonderfully protected anchorages, wind conditions ranging from flat calm to small-craft warnings, encounters with wildlife , and some new friendships that’ll last a lifetime. Many of the participants come from inland states to experience saltwater boating—tidal ranges of up to 14 feet—for the first time. Others drive thousands of miles to attend.

The Cruise works its way from Olympia to Port Townsend at 10-16 nautical miles a day, with overnight stops at:

  • Henderson Inlet
  • Longbranch, Filucy Bay
  • Gig Harbor
  • Blake Island State Park
  • Kingston
  • Port Ludlow

The final day of travel brings cruisers to the victorian seaport of Port Townsend.

More information can be found in the Cruise Information Packet.

41st Annual Classic Mariner’s Regatta – Port Townsend Sailing Association

NOTICE OF RACE

1. ORGANIZING AUTHORITY The 41st Annual Classic Mariner’s Regatta is organized by the Port Townsend Sailing Association (PTSA).

2. ELIGIBILITY AND ENTRY  The regatta is open to sailboats of all designs and materials. All sailboats are welcome! Boats may enter by completing the entry form and submitting it, together with the required fee, online at Regatta Network: https://www.regattanetwork.com/event/28044

3. ENTRY FEE The entry fee is $ 35 per vessel until May 22nd. Late and day of registration fee is $50.

4. VENUE Port Townsend Bay

5. RULES The event is governed by the Racing Rules of Sailing (2021-2024). More info on the Racing page of the PTSA web site.

6. Sailing Instructions The Sailing Instructions will be available after May 24, 2024 at the event Regatta Network site (see above).

7. CLASSES Separate starts for PHRF, One-design, Cruising, and In-shore boats. Classes will be determined after registration. Provisional ratings will be assigned by the local ratings/ handicap committee for boats without an official PHRF rating (https://phrf-nw.org).

8. PRIZES Prizes will be awarded for each class.

9. MOORAGE Point Hudson Marina has space reserved for CMR participants. You can make a reservation through their website, use the code: CMR2024 and that should allow you access to the available slips. We have 5 slips reserved through May 7. The Boat Haven marina does not accept advanced reservations, but will take reservations the morning of your arrival, if you want to take the chance. If you have any questions, please call Holly Kays at 360-531-0462 so that we can help make your stay in Port Townsend as easy as possible.

10. RISK STATEMENT & PERSONAL CONDUCT 1. Rule 3 states: ‘The responsibility for a boat’s decision to participate in a race or to continue to race is hers alone.’ By participating in this event each competitor agrees and acknowledges that sailing is a potentially dangerous activity with inherent risks. These risks include strong winds and rough seas, sudden changes in weather, failure of equipment, boat handling errors, poor seamanship by other boats, loss of balance on an unstable platform and fatigue resulting in increased risk of injury. Inherent in the sport of sailing is the risk of permanent, catastrophic injury or death by drowning, trauma, hypothermia or other causes. 2. Competitors will accept full responsibility for their actions during any activity related to this event. This includes on-shore activities before, during, and after the regatta.

11. SCHEDULE Saturday, June 1: 10:00 am – Skippers meeting at PTSA Clubhouse near the boat ramp in Boat Haven. 12:00 pm – First start warning. Fleets will race up to 2 triangle course races. One-Design classes (3+ boats) may have other style courses- see Sailing Instructions for details. 6:00 pm – Casual dinner at the PTSA Clubhouse. Cost is $12.00 – you can pay at the same time you register(preferred as this gives us an accurate planning head count!) or with CASH/check at the door. Sunday, June 2: 12:00 pm – Race start warning. The race will be a random leg, reverse (pursuit)* start based on vessel ratings. 4:00 pm – Post race awards gathering at the PTSA Clubhouse. *All boats will be assigned an individual start time based on their rating. Individual boat start times will be posted on Saturday night at the dinner event. The start times will also be posted Sunday morning at the PTSA Clubhouse door. We look forward to your participation in the 41st Annual Classic Mariner’s Regatta!

Small Boat Festival – pacific northwest

This event will showcase 75 outstanding small boats in the water and an additional 25-30 on dry land. The dates are July 26-27 at Port Ludlow Marina on beautiful Port Ludlow Bay just 13 nautical miles south of Port Townsend. With terrific views of the Olympic Mountain range, and protected waters, the bay is perfect for a small-boat gathering—and as a bonus, we have secured virtually all guest-moorage slips in the marina, assuring that we’ll be able to display a wide range of small-boat designs along one contiguous dock, and in one upland area close to the boats that are in the water.

During the SBF, participants with in-the-water boats will be free to row, sail, paddle, pedal or motor their boats around the bay…offering rides if they wish, or having their boats photographed for a video documentary by Off Center Harbor, the Maine-based production company.

We’re already planning for a few areas of special focus: Electric small craft and human-powered small boats, so there will be areas set aside for those boats and some presentations made on subjects like the increasing practicality of electric power; comparisons between rowing, paddling and pedal-powered small craft; and tips on how to get beyond day use and start camp-cruising your smaller boat.

Show off your boat

Even though nearby Port Townsend hosts its big annual Wooden Boat Festival, the SMALL BOAT FESTIVAL will absolutely not be limited to wooden boats. (Focus of the event will be on attractive and functional designs, so we expect a lot of older fiberglass production sailboats, along with homebuilt wooden watercraft. Everything from SCAMPs to slippery full-keel classics; and from rowing, paddling, pedaling and engine-powered boats to SUP’s, canoes, custom kayaks and other small watercraft.)

Boats will arrive at Port Ludlow on Friday, July 26, and the SBF will take place all day on Saturday the 27th, with the public invited to attend between the hours of 10 and 6. Registered skippers and their crews will enjoy dinner in the marina’s huge Pavilion tent Saturday evening, along with terrific raffle prizes and visits from some luminaries in the world of small boats.

Ready to register?

Registration fee for the two-day festival will be $75 which includes

  • in-the-water moorage or dry-land display
  • the Saturday evening dinner

If you have a small boat we’d love to have you show it at the festival. Fill out the registration form and the organizing committee will get in touch with you to work out final details.

Please note that you’ll need to be signed into a Google account (gmail, youtube, etc) in order to fill out the form – that helps us keep down the internet riffraff. If this poses a problem for you, send us an email at [email protected].

Further details

Trailer launching options

Launching trailer boats isn’t possible inside Port Ludlow Bay, but there are a number of ramps in the area—the best being the paved all-tides ramp at Port Townsend’s Boat Haven Marina.

Boats can also be launched at:

Overnight parking of tow rigs is very limited at Port Hadlock and Mats Mats Bay, and no empty boat trailers can be parked at Port Ludlow Marina, so the best bet might be launching in Port Townsend and cruising south to Port Ludlow on Friday…or even turning the transit into a slightly longer mini-cruise by—(just for instance)—launching in Port Townsend on July 24, overnighting in Mystery Bay on nearby Marrowstone Island that night, then Mats Mats Bay the second night (Thursday the 25th), before arriving at the SMALL BOAT FESTIVAL venue by Friday afternoon, July 26.

Check out time from Port Ludlow

Check-out from SBF moorage slips will be noon on Sunday, unless individual boat owners wish to stay longer, paying regular guest-slip rates to extend their stay. If skippers wish to display an additional boat, either in the water or on land, a reduced $50 fee will apply for the second small boat registered.