PT’S VINTAGE APPEAL

SITTING ON THE BLUSTERY FRONTIER WHERE vintageNORTH AMERICA IS CARVED OUT BY THE PACIFIC, HISTORIC PORT TOWNSEND EMBRACES AND NURTURES ITS NAUTICAL HERITAGE.

COMPLETE WITH A STUNNING NEW MARITIME CENTER THAT SERVES DOUBLE-DUTY AS A MECCA appeal FOR SHIPWRIGHTS AS WELL AS A MODERN-DAY SHIP’S TRAINING CENTER, “PT” IS A THRIVING EXAMPLE OF SEAMLESSLY BLENDING THE OLD WITH THE NEW.

STORY & PHOTOGRAPHY \ JONATHAN COOPER

A look at the docks that will host the 37th Annual Wooden Boat Festival this September 6-8 ... along with a few festival candidates

SPRAY 2013 ANNUAL PRINT EDITION 65 Launched in 1913 at Rice Brothers’ Yard in East Boothbay, Maine, the gaff-rigged schooner Adventuress is a common sight on Port Townsend Bay and beyond. Operated by Sound Experience—a local non-profit—Adventuress hosts youth education programs for over 3,000 young adults and adults annually. According to SoundExperience.org, the program is actively supported by hundreds of volunteers who help crew for school groups, public day sails, week long trips and continue the work of historic preservation and restoration. PT’S VINTAGE APPEAL PT’S VINTAGE

Adventuress under sail, with a training group on board.

ear the entrance to Port Townsend sits a welcome sign and inspect the variety of ongoing projects on the hard. The local that bills this gem of town as a “Victorian Seaport and Wooden Boat Foundation and the Northwest School of Wooden NArts Community.” That’s true enough, but far from the Boatbuilding both call the shipyard home, as do many of the marine whole story. Port Townsend has not only acknowledged its maritime businesses that cater to boat construction, repair, and restoration— heartbeat, it has embraced and elevated and nourished it. Among with an emphasis on wooden boats, of course. its world-class boatbuilders and marine tradespeople, within the Farther up the road into town, many of the beautiful Victorian- sparkling and relatively new Maritime Center, and throughout its era buildings stand proudly preserved as homes, B&Bs and other residents, business and civic leaders, you’ll find saltwater and spar enterprises. A swoon in the town’s economy during the late 1800s varnish running through the veins of this singular seaside town. prompted a population exodus that actually helped maintain Port Situated about as far northwest as you can go in the United States Townsend’s charm rather than “renew” it, preserving it for over a without plopping yourself into the vast Pacific, Port Townsend, century to come. As the economy improved during the 20th century, Washington, is both a haven and a breeding ground for artists, the town grew vital and vibrant, pulling in tourists by the ferryboat- furniture-makers, bakers, booksellers and boat builders. Its appeal load. Today Port Townsend is as picturesque as it is quaint, sporting is unmistakable: with towering Douglas fir trees and sweeping views a full-time population of just ten thousand residents. over the entrance to Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Many of those residents have witnessed a renaissance over the past few Port Townsend offers something for everyone: a small movie theater decades; festivals attract visitors far and wide to celebrate everything and performing arts center, quality restaurants and grocery stores, from independent cinema and steampunk to rhododendrons and art galleries, and even car-ferry service from the mainland if you’re vintage cars. The most renowned event of all, though, is the annual planning to rendezvous with landlubbers. Wooden Boat Festival, now in its 37th year. With more than 300 Port Townsend Shipyard, just west of the public marina, is one of wooden vessels, dozens of indoor and outdoor presentations and the big attractions for seafarers; the 150-foot/330-ton might of their demonstrations, a who’s who of wooden boat experts and thousands TravelLift brings many an impressive species of ship to its expansive of wooden boat enthusiasts, it is the largest wooden boat festival in grounds. It is often a fun diversion to simply walk the gravel yard North America.

SPRAY 2013 ANNUAL PRINT EDITION 67 The festival takes place each year at Point Hudson Marina and the Education has become a primary focus of the Maritime Center as adjacent Northwest Maritime Center, where Jake Beattie is the well. Programs for troubled youth offer classes in shipbuilding from PT’S VINTAGE APPEAL enthusiastic and energetic young Executive Director. A jewel of scratch; on my tour I saw the skiff that is used as the model for contemporary design, the Maritime Center features contemporary, teaching these kids how to loft water- and station-lines, and mill large-timber architecture featuring open spaces, breezeways, a café, and assemble their own boat from raw materials. chandlery, nautical library, and much more. This is Jake’s domain, In Port Townsend’s public schools, experiential education will soon and it operates as a unified social and educational meeting place. take on a whole new shape and dimension. Jake, along with Port It serves as a modern example of the community business model, Townsend Schools Superintendent David Engle, have developed as six separate business entities share office space within its walls. a plan to integrate teachings from the Maritime Center into the It has a state-of-the-art training center for ship’s captains—or school system. The idea is “place-based curriculum that unifies young, aspiring captains—to train in a virtual world complete learning along a central focus for a student’s entire school career.” with huge flat-screen displays and expensive software. It contains a In other words, why not use Port Townsend’s biggest geographic beautiful Center for Wooden Boats, where just about anyone with benefit—and this amazing new facility—to their full advantage? the time can rent space, access tools, and mind-meld with other From the age of five to eighteen, kids in the local school system will knowledgeable shipwrights (and in Port Townsend, knowledgeable be able to translate math, science, and history lessons directly into shipwrights are the norm).

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PHOTO [Above, clockwise] PT’s old and new, represented in ; Port Townsend Salmon Club sign and pier leading out to the Adventuress in the background; Lots of beautiful handiwork on sale at the Maritime Center’s chandlery; Grade school student art pinned up on the walls of the Wooden Boat Foundation.

OPPOSITE A collection of oars for the multitude of rowing skiffs and shells that are housed in a separate space.

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At the Maritime Center, the corridor connecting the boat shed, chandlery, and café, with the training center, classrooms, and wooden boat center.

OPPOSITE [Top] Beehive of activity at the Maritime Center’s Wooden Boat Foundation where classes are held and space can be leased [Bottom] The McCurdy Library, a beautiful and quiet space within the CenterCenter.

SPRAY 2013 ANNUAL PRINT EDITION 71 PHOTOS [Top] The Maritime Center at sunset. [Below, left to right] Stunning example of one of the many wooden boats on site; Craftsmen at the Wooden Boat Foundation. PT’S VINTAGE APPEAL PT’S VINTAGE

a practical maritime application. Not all of these children will go on to pursue a career in the field, but they will all with a respect for the sea—and a more informed and intimate understanding of their environs.

Port Townsend once aimed to be called the City of Dreams; its ambition was to become the largest seaport on the West Coast. That dream may have vanished long ago, but what has survived and thrives today is far more important. Port Townsend isn’t just quaintly bohemian—it’s a vibrant maritime community, bustling with irrepressible passion for the boats and boating, strengthened by men and women who excel at their trades, and united by a civic dedication to the industry. Together they will ensure the town’s success well into this century and beyond.

SPRAY 2013 ANNUAL PRINT EDITION 73 PT’S VINTAGE APPEAL PT’S VINTAGE local color : s/v miraka It’s not much of a coincidence that an historic Which brings the tale of one not-quite-tall ship seafaring town like Port Towsend and an to Port Townsend. As her current owners note, eminent boatbuilder like Grand Banks would “wooden boats such as Miraka require the finest be linked in all manner of ways across the craftsmen available, and they are to be found decades. Just scratch the surface and you’ll hear in the wooden boat capital of the West in Port stories of how so many boats—and people— Townsend.” that have come out of the GB factory eventually For seven years there she came under the find their way into the boatyards of this Puget constant care and ministrations of Galmukoff Sound seaport. Marine, “who employed only the best Among the many crossed paths and shipwrights and artisans available.” connections, the story of S/V Miraka has a Fortunately, they had a solid foundation to particularly “vintage appeal” for GB enthusiasts. work from. “Miraka’s original construction Port Townsend Primer The Miraka was built in 1961 at the original was the best to be found,” say her owners. Grand Banks factory in Hong Kong, which at “The quality of the teak is extraordinary, no How to Get Here By Boat that time operated under the name American longer available to our knowledge. Her is Marine. She was a Mayflower—a ketch design For those coming from out of state, Seattle is the nearest city with Port Townsend is ideally located for cruising the region: a charming 1-5/8” old-growth Burmese teak planking on by Hugh Angelman and Charles Davies— a major airport. From there you can take the Seattle-Bainbridge Is- and beautiful destination for those touring the Puget Sound, or the 4x4" double-sawn I-pole frames, 16 inches on the eighth of ten such sailing vessels built by center, all re-fastened and recorked. The deck land Ferry and drive north across the Hood Canal Bridge and up the perfect jumping-off point for a voyage through the San Juans and up American Marine between 1957 and 1962. is 1-1/2" old growth Burmese teak refastened Quimper Peninsula, where you’ll find Port Townsend at the tip. Or into Canada. Boat Haven Marina is a large facility with lots of guest Notably, Miraka is a topsail ketch, with square with 2-3/4" silicon bronze fasteners. you can travel via Whidbey Island and hop the short ferry there from moorage and access to services. Point Hudson Marina is smaller but sails on her main . Angleman and Davies “From that day to now she has been completely Keystone directly to Port Townsend. If you’re coming by boat, set packs a lot more charm and sits just a short walk from the heart of designed the Mayflower with a square sail, restored from the keel to the top of the mast. target coordinates near 48.06.96 N, 122.44.42 W. the historic downtown. Looking to charter? PT is an easy day’s cruise though most of the buyers never opted for that All power, electrical and plumbing systems have from NW Explorations in Bellingham, an all-GB charter operation option. been upgraded and updated or replaced to meet When to Go with loads of regional cruising expertise (nwexplorations.com). But Neville Brand did. As a Hollywood actor today's standards.” who once appeared in a movie—as well There’s something for every season at Port Townsend, but for warm According to a website that now lists Miraka Local Knowledge as many other films, TV shows and, most and sunny weather the most reliable months are July to September. san juan islands for sale, “She has all the current navigation notably, as the prison warden in the original A perfect time to visit would be early September, during the annual Port Townsend is home to scores of delightful attractions: museums, equipment, including an autopilot and GPS Birdman of Alcatraz film—he may have been that integrates with a laptop computer. There Wooden Boat Festival (Sept. 6-8 in 2013), when more than 300 shops, restaurants, breweries, and beachcombing—and, of drawn to the enchanting, storybookish charm is not an aspect of her that was overlooked beautiful wooden vessels are on display: woodenboat.org for details. course the NW Maritime Center and Wooden Boat Foundation. of a Mayflower with square sails and a "great mechanically or asthetically.” Once you’ve hit the main attractions, try an off-the-beaten-path ex- port townsend cabin" aft with ornate windows in the transom. perience for dinner: head to the south end of Port Townsend Bay Whatever the case, Brand commissioned and “The list of work accomplished on Miraka over for a memorable meal at the Ajax Café in tiny nearby town of Port took delivery of Miraka and was her most the years is endless. She's a beauty, and our only celebrated owner. problem was that when she was finished she More Information Hadlock. Tie up your boat at the dock across the street from the wouldn't fit inside a glass bottle.” Want to learn more or plan your visit? Two great charmingly funky restaurant, then follow the delicious scents of lo- Eventually, in 1992, she was purchased by seattle websites are loaded with information about cal-grown goods cooked by the talented kitchen crew. Amazing food, her current owners after they discovered her moored at Friday Harbor, Washington, in need lodging, restaurants and activities in and around warm service and irresistible desserts await. Visit ajaxcafe.com for washington state of some serious tender loving care. Port Townsend: ptguide.com and enjoypt.com. their menu, directions, special events and more . ocean pacific

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