washington 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.org, facebook.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.

2024 Sucia Small Boat Rendezvous

The 2024 Sucia Small Boat Rendezvous will be held at Sucia Island State Park on July 12-14

This year marks the 21st anniversary of this annual Rendezvous, established in 2003!

Known as the crown jewel of Washington State’s marine park system, Sucia is almost the most northerly island in the San Juan island archipelago. It offers several bays for anchoring, and several camping areas. Echo Bay on the east side offers docks and is popular with big boat sailors, but this rendezvous is planned for the narrow strip of land separating Fox Cove from Fossil Bay on the southwest. We will be using Fossil Bay unless a strong south-easterly wind makes it uncomfortable – it has the better beach for landing on. There are mooring buoys and two docks as well, but these cannot be reserved and may be full, so be prepared to anchor if you don’t want to beach your boat. Fox Cove is an excellent place to beach too, with a large shoreline almost entirely clear of rocks, but the cove is a bit shallower and has less room to anchor.

There are campsites close to the beach, and plenty of them all over the island. The prettiest sites face Fox Cove and Fossil Bay. We try to grab what we call “The Campsite” (campsite #15) at the back left corner of Fossil Bay to serve as our gathering place, especially for evening campfires. If the first person to arrive could please claim The Campsite, that would be great (campsites are not reservable). Tent campers typically share the campsite. We’ll have a fire in the evenings so bring along your sticks and marshmallows. You’re not camping if you don’t have burned sugar on your face!

Composting toilets are located close to the campsites – these are clean and virtually odor free. There’s good water on the island but no garbage disposal — be prepared to take it home with you.

We have informal potluck gatherings around dinner time at the campsite (or at the picnic shelter if it’s available) and, if the usual light winds and strong currents cooperate, we will attempt a Round-the-island “race” Saturday at noon. This is a unique race in that A) it’s not really a race and B) we never seem to make it completely around the island. Those are the only two things that may distract from the main attractions, which are mingling, relaxing and enjoying the breathtaking beauty of Sucia. The hiking trails and views are spectacular. Wildlife abounds. Orcas, pelicans, sea otters, sea lions, blue herons, dolphins, harbor seals, deer, bald eagles, and gray whales have all been observed. Explore the sandstone caves. Look for fossils at Fossil Bay. They’re easy to spot. They date back 80 million years to the late Cretaceous era, when dinosaurs ruled the world. We found an Ammonite fossil last year. Take a little side trip to explore nearby Matia or Patos island. Or just relax.

This is a Rendezvous, not an organized event. It is not sponsored or supported in any way by anyone. Anyone with a “small boat” is invited to attend. There are no signup sheets or dues. Nobody is in charge of this rendezvous. Your safety and well being, and that of your passengers and crew, is entirely your responsibility, just as it always is whenever and wherever you operate your vessel. Seek advice if you’re unfamiliar with sailing in these open waters.

For more info or advice:

he SSSBS groups.io message board: https://groups.io/g/sssbs

The Port Townsend Pocket Yachters Facebook page

More information about Sucia at the Washington State Parks website.

Read about Galen Piehl’s visit to Sucia. Be sure to watch the video!

Sandy Point Marina – a nearby boat launch. Caution: entrance to the marina is shallow and narrow with swift currents. Best used at high slack tide. Don’t even think about it at low tide.

Bellingham boat launches

If this Rendezvous excites you, check out our sister rendezvous – the Montague Harbour Rendezvous

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:

the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding in Port Hadlock (7.2 nautical miles north of Port Ludlow)
the Mats Mats Bay ramp (4 nautical miles to the north)

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.

Seventy 48 Race

WHAT

SEVENTY48 aka 70 miles in 48 hours.
Rules are simple: no motors, no support, and no wind. That’s right. HUMAN POWER ONLY. Pedal, paddle, or row. We don’t care. It’s up to you. (And this is a boat race. Leave your 10 speed-towing-a-canoe idea at home.)

WHEN

Race Start: May 31, 2024
Application Open: November 15, at noon
Application deadline: April 1, April fools day baby
Registration deadline: April 21, 2024
Gun goes off at 7:00 PM, and teams have 30 minutes to cross the start line. (And PM is not a typo. We know what it means and so do you.)

WHERE

Tacoma to Port Townsend
First find Tacoma, Washington. The race starts at Tacoma’s Thea Foss Waterway from The Foss Waterway Seaport. Next find Port Townsend. That’s where you hope to end. Only one checkpoint is required: The Port Townsend Ship Canal. Here’s the route map.

Electric Fantail Launch DORA Available for Charter at The Center for Wooden Boats

Posted on July 9, 2019April 21, 2020 by Anne Bryant

Nora at Center for Wooden Boats' dock. White, sleek boat.

Solar panels at CWB make a ride on NORA carbon neutral

In the late 1880s, refinements in the steam engine, as well as new technologies such as naptha, gasoline, and electric motors resulted in the creation of a new type of watercraft: the small power boat. Pleasure fantail launches of the late 19th century inspired Oregon Naval Architect Pat Spurlock to design DORA, the electric launch at Seattle’s Center for Wooden Boats (CWB). She’s powered by an electric motor and control system produced by Elco, the descendant of the Electric Launch Company of Bayonne, New Jersey, which was founded in 1893 to produce electric launches powered by early dry-cell batteries. As small gas engines became more reliable, interest in electric boats faded, the company changed its name to Elco and switched to producing gas-powered launches and cruisers until the late 1940s. In the 1970s Elco was resurrected to produce electric launches and drive systems.

DORA was built by the students in the Maritime Carpentry Program at Seattle Central Community College. Wood and other materials were donated by Bob and Erica Pickett (once owners of Flounder Bay Boat Lumber in Anacortes, WA), Bob Duggan, and his nephew Mike Foley. The boat is named after Dora Duggan, Bob’s mother.

white motor launch on lake union with four passengers

A recent installation of AGM (absorbent glass mat) deep-cycle batteries and a new 48-volt system, DORA now has more power and tops out at 6 knots instead of 4, charges twice as fast, and can operate up to 40% longer.

Operating between mid-June and mid-September, DORA takes up to six passengers for charters with a USCG-licensed captain at the helm. More information is available at the Center for Wooden Boats.

Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding Admissions Open House

From NWSWB:

OPEN HOUSE EVENTS
Meet and speak fellow perspective students, current NWSWB students, alumni, and NWSWB staff and faculty.
Learn about the School’s history and future plans from the Executive Director and Chief Instructor
Take an extensive tour of the campus, shops, and facilities.
Get up close to the current boatbuilding projects.
Learn about the career paths and professional opportunities of NWSWB alumni.
Meet the Admissions Manager and learn about the application process and financial aid.
Enjoy all that Port Townsend has to offer, including the Annual Rhododendron Festival on Saturday and Sunday.
*Optional: Attend lecture and shadow a current student in the shop from 8:00 AM – 11:00 AM. Please choose option when registering.

Spokane Middle Schoolers from Marshall Islands Build for Summer Program

Posted on August 23, 2017April 21, 2020 by Anne Bryant

A sky-high view of fish lake, with canoes following the students' outrigger.

In Spokane, Washington, Shaw Middle School students launched a Marshallese-style canoe with outrigger and sailing rig after participating in a summer program with a boatbuilding focus. There is a small group of immigrants there from the Marshall Islands, and the program’s aim was to help with communication, reading, and feeling more connected to both their heritage and to their school in the hope of increasing graduation rates.

Read the whole story at The Spokesman-Review.