Wow! What a ride up to Port Townsend and points north! We're here though, not because it's in the plan, but because this is where we need to be to get some things done. We pushed up from Poulsbo to P.T. took us about 9 hours...arrived just about dark in 45 knots winds!!! Wild ride all the way. Off of "Point-No-Point" we encountered 6 1/2 knot counter currents that kept us hooked in-spot for over two hours as we eeked through it. Normally it takes us 2 hours to go 13 miles ( at 6 knots per hour)....well, we were down to 1 knot -per-hour...which means the same 13 miles would take 13 hours....ah but such is boating!

The Bridge Story...

Once we to to Port Townsend there is a channel between Maristone Island and the Peninsula that has a bridge that is 57ft 7inches tall max!...we are 51 feet plus antennas (55ft total)...but at high tide there is some question about making it...we slid underneath in a 15 foot wide, 13 foot deep channel in 30 knot winds!!! Never again!

Yes we made it only to pop out the other side into the winds from hell @ 40 gusting to 45 knots! We came in, found the entrance at the last minute...chugged on down and ran into the dock trying to dock in the wind. We lost a running light cover just trying to rope the boat down.

Here at last...
So we're here...but it's so bad out on the Straight that we've decided to shut down here for a while and get some work done...maybe even a month or more...depending. We're having to make decisions about fuel tank replacement and some other critical things.

Willow and Jillian have been great to have along! Willow has even had to go up the Mizzen mast and re-secure the wind generator!! What a trooper and seaman (seawoman? seaperson?...deckhand and Jillian (who is quick to remind us that we dropped something when I pulled out and yanked the power box out by the dink! HA!....anyway she has turned out to be quite the little sailor too and managed to entertain herself for two long 10 hour runs! She even piloted the boat for several hours...(and I mean hours! Not bad for a 7 year old!!) Looks like we're going to have some more sail time with them as we may not leave now until later in September.

I'll keep posting as we move along.

Ray