george’s blog

I left Olympia Wed, 9/6, and mostly motored to Blake Island, stopping at the Narrows Marina for an hour to wait for the tide to turn. I continued to Port Townsend the next day, bucking the tide all day. I towed the 18′ Doriak behind me, and it flooded mysteriously that first afternoon. I bailed it out the next day, found no leaks, and watched it all day, in similar conditions, and I cannot account for where the water came from. It had to have flooded quickly over the transom, but I’m left guessing as to what held the transom down in the water. Could it have been a seal, trying to hitch a ride? Otherwise, towing such a big skiff has been no problem, and it’s been luxurious having an outboard to get around with in port. The boat show went well, in the sense that I received lots of praise and interest from the 10,000 people who strolled by, and I visited with many of my boating friends from all over the region. I left Port Townsend yesterday, the 11th, and sailed across the Straits of Juan de Fuca to Friday Harbor, San Juan Island, where I visited with my friend, Peter Fromm. The weather was great for the crossing, with good visibility and just enough wind to keep sailing along between 3 and 4 knots, although I did have to motor for a couple of hours to clear Smith Is. before the tide changed. It was an awesome feeling, being out on that huge body of water, with mountains in the distance on three sides, the helm tied down, the boat sailing itself gently along.

Moonrise over West Seattle.

Fellow wooden-boat guy, Micheal, crossing the Straits.

As I made breakfast this morning, I had a close encounter with a float plane.

Friday, 9/1 - Trudes, our friend, Jesse, and I made a delivery today by boat. Another friend, Kieth, just got a place on beautiful Fishtrap Cove, which is about 8 miles from Olympia. I offered him a small rowing boat I built about ten years ago, to use at his place. Because his beach access is just a footpath, he suggested we deliver the boat by water. We did that by towing Kieth’s skiff behind my 18′ RIB, behind the big boat. We anchored the big boat at the mouth of Fishtrap and used the RIB to tow the skiff into the cove.

We left the skiff at Kieth’s place and returned to Bella Darya, where Jesse and Trudes dropped me off. I then set sail and weighed anchor, while Trudes and Jesse took pictures from the RIB.

New sails from San Juan Canvas make Bella Darya really sail faster and easier. Having the forsail boom -footed makes tacking much easier. I’m preparing to take the boat to Port Townsend for the Wooden-Boat Festival. I’m also preparing to take the 18′ skiff I built this winter. I will post more pictures as the trip progresses.

I finally have custom sails for the big boat, made by Peter and Susan Risser of San Juan Canvas. The boat’s performance is greatly improved, with better pointing to windward and better speed relative to heel angle. She trims nicely, with moderate weather helm. In a steady breeze she sails herself nicely with the tiller tied down. I just went for a short sail this evening, with a stiff breeze (15-20 knts), and I never felt the need to reef, with heel angles below 30 degrees.

Most of my energy this summer has been devoted to remodelling the house that Trudes bought last winter. We gutted it and now we’re putting it all back. I am looking forward to a fall trip in the boat, up to Port Townsend for the Wooden Boat Show and around there.