Where it all began

Leaving the sheltered waters of Mystery Bay we had only a few mile journey across the Port Townsend Bay to get to our next week’s destination. Everything went smoothly this time with calm seas and a mild breeze. A few minutes before arriving I called in on the VHF radio to verify our place was open. It was. With some trepidation we slipped through the break walls and successfully parked Meriwether on the first try with no issues at all. Yea, this is easy when there is little to no wind. We thanked the two gentlemen that helped us tie up and paused to take stock of where we were.

This was the day we have looked forward too for the past year – arriving to Port Townsend by boat. Port Townsend has long been our favorite small town in all our travels. There are some close runner-ups (none that we can sail too) but PT has stayed on top for so many reasons. When we have been here in the past we have stayed at the Point Hudson RV Park (once in the Airstream, and once in the van) overlooking the bay and marina, dreaming of being one of those adventurous couples pulling in just before sunset on their sailboat. This time around we were that adventurous duo – minus the sunset timing – and it felt great. Even Meriwether looked at home in this town. She got a lot of attention from veteran and next generation sailors. There was not a day that at least one person would come to the boat and strike up a conversation about our boat. The Baba’s are well known and liked by many, and Meriwether is a foxy one to boot, so she draws them in.

I had a long list of projects to do here. This being the first time in a while for us to get some packages shipped in. Motor parts, sailboat parts, and dinghy parts were arriving to the office, to be added to all the ropes and lines we were replacing this week too. Some, like the new gypsy for the electric windlass (1) was an easy fix. Other projects, like learning to splice the new main and head sail halyards (2) required an appointment with the local rigger and an hour in his shop learning from a master. I even got the final part to finally fix our leaky galley sink… and it is so nice to have that problem resolved. Another one or two small jobs would get completed each day, but don’t think for one second that out todo list got any shorter. For every job completed, another two jobs would be found, of course.

Finally, the new float for our dinghy arrived. Much more stable and easy to control now.

Old halyards will be packed away as spare lines. A good sailor never throws away any rope

A whole lot of walking took place. The grocery store was nearby a mile and a half away from our marina. Same with the hardware store. West Marine and the second hand marine store were also way out there. Lots and lots of walking, much of it with out trusted wagon in tow full of groceries and other supplies. Each evening we would walk the one block into downtown to enjoy another local eatery, choosing to sample as many as we could instead of returning to our favorites.

The only real struggle was the heat mid-day. Now, seriously… when did 75 degrees become too hot? It was brutal-hot out there, like a Colorado sun but at sea level. I actually had to change clothes more than once during the week. Evenings were cool and breezy, just how they should be in the pacific north west.

At least our todo list isn’t as long as this guy’s

1 – A windlass is the motor that lowers or raises the anchor chain, the gypsy is the rotating wheel that holds that chain securely

2 – Halyards are the ropes that raise or lower a sail