Pocket Yacht Palooza 2021 or That Time We Were in Washington for a Year One Weekend (Part I)

S/V Kat Boat at the PYP21. What's that in the background?

 The Kat Boat returned once more to the Pocket Yacht Palooza, held over the the third weekend of July in Port Townsend, Washington. The whole process took quite a lot of planning and logistics. The Navigator got our campground at Fort Worden State Park back in December. We did not manage a beach spot, good news as it turned out, so we got the final RV spot in the forest section. Kat Boat with the tow vehicle is 40' long so that's a must. Galen of the Port Townsend Pocket Yachters was a great help getting news out and ensuring things happen when they need to. We packed up on Thursday the 15th of July and ensured we went to bed early.

 The goal was to "search and destroy" on the way out of town. It's a ten hour drive from Missoula to PT so we left at 0400ish. The Lady and I picked up The Navigator and The Typesetter at their respective abodes and after ensuring everyone's comfort and safety we hit the road. Ahead of us were 566 miles, four mountain passes, two invasive species checks, and the section between Spokane and Ellensburg (The worst!) The drive thankfully was relatively uneventful and we made good time. There were almost no stops or slow downs for road construction, rare on I-90, and the only real sticking point was the slog through Tacoma. The Lady and I had a sailing charter on a catboat at 1700 and were projected to arrive at 1300. It looked like all was going to plan. Famous last words. A restroom stop was needed outside of Silverdale, WA and we dismounted the rig. That's when we found out what the odd metal screeching noise we were hearing intermittently was. The right side bearing. Except there was no bearing there anymore. 

 All that was left was the gaping maw of the hub and the naked stub of the axle. How the wheel didn't fall off we don't know but suddenly things got a whole lot worse in a very few seconds. The Typesetter quickly and correctly identified the problem and the prognosis was not good. At the minimum new bearings at the worst a new axle. I called Galen to let him know we were going to be late and if it was alright if I dropped the boat in the morning. He thanked me for the call and said that was fine. That out of the way we could move on to trying to fix the issue at hand. There were a few RV/trailer dealers nearby but no one had the needed parts and if they did or could get them they were three weeks out on openings. With nothing to loose we headed to the Silverdale NAPA to see what we could find there. It was the longest two mile drive of my life. It's sorta like the cartoons and walking off a cliff. You're all fat and happy until you look down. Well we had looked down and I certainly had my little sign up that said "%#!$@". 

  I can't say enough good things about the store or it's employees. Without them the whole trip would have been done with. We couldn't park with the trailer so we separated the units and got to work. The Typesetter is amazing in these circumstances. His knowledge of a wide range of mechanical skills are impressive. We needed to remove the remnants of the old bearing to ensure we could even attempt to get new bearings on. The entire hub and spindle had been red hot at one point during the debacle so things were not moving easy. We lost the head of a hammer trying to pound it off. The replacement bearing ended up being free due to scratch and dent so that was a minor miracle, not that it needed to be mind you. The tools we could buy and borrow. And that which we couldn't get was nearby. It was the most fortuitous circumstance in the near worst circumstances we could be in. We bought everyone lunch at the golden arches and a faint glimmer of hope was setting in.  It was getting on time wise and the Lady and I needed to head out for our charter about an hour way.  We left the boys to finish up and made the delightful drive to Port Townsend, a Victorian seaport and arts community.

 Early in the spring I learned that there was an honest to goodness catboat sailing out of Port Townsend. All I knew was I had to see her. I reached out to Left Coast Charters on Instagram and asked if I could come down and see the boat. This turned into a two hour charter. And it turned to be worth every cent paid. We arrived at the Port Townsend Boat Haven on time and met Erik, the day's captain and one of the boats owners. His wife Alyce Flanagan is the other owner. We were directed down the boat and climbed aboard. Katie M. was built in 2000 at the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding. She's a Crosby design, a sister to the Breck Marshall of Mystic Seaport fame. 20' long and around 6,000lbs displacement. She's optimized for the day sailing trade and is kept in immaculate condition. When Erik purchased her in March 2021 she could not float. But several weeks of work and the boat is the equal of any cat on the water. 

Katie M.

 The most interesting thing about the boat was it's electric propulsion system. The system was by Torqeedo and Erik had set it up to be perfect for the type of work he does on the boat. The spinning prop charges the battery while underway and I can attest to it's ability to maneuver the boat equal of any diesel engine. After a short safety brief we were underway. This was the same route The Navigator and I took when we sailed at the 2019 PYP in Kat Boat. This time it was just in a much bigger catboat! Soon it was time to raise sail and I jumped at the chance. It was just like on my boat and even with the greater amount of canvas and much larger spars it was easy enough to hoist the peak and throat by hand, belay the throat and top off the peak. I don't think it's any more difficult on my boat actually. It was all so familiar but vastly different, if that makes any sense. We nosed off the wind and were off. I was offered the tiller and spent most of the voyage there. I should not I forgot how to sail for a bit but it came back soon enough. Katie M. responds as any boat does but I could not feel the legendary push and pull of the barndoor rudder. It wasn't near as bad as people make it out to be and once comfortable the boat was a dream to steer. Erik manned the mainsheet and put up with my occasionally lubberly handling of his boat. We took her as close as she'd lay to the winds and never once did she exhibit bad manners. I tacked, gybed, took power boat wakes, and attempted to avoid the ever present navigational hazards of crab pots, giant bull kelp and state ferries. It was a great time.

Drive panel and mainsheet. The panels stows completely when not in use.

Heading out in a bigger catboat

 

 

The Lady enjoying her cruise. I'm told the goal is to keep the flowers on the table.

Taking the helm. Not a fan of the tiller extension.

Tiller in hand and looking ahead. What a great sail!

It was race night and the schooner Martha was in fine form

Can't wait to sail again.

 While underway we got news the boys had succeeded in their task and were ready for pickup when we were done. We sadly said good bye to Erik and Katie M. and headed back to Silverdale. The bearings had been successfully applied and the would most likely get us home. If we were near the bottom of the barrel we were now on our way upward. It was a great feeling of relief. We made it to the campsite at duck, recreating the last time we were in town in 2019. The forest side of the Fort Warden campground was wonderful. Shaded and secluded it made for a wonderful place to fall asleep. Whatever tomorrow may bring we were in town, with a boat ready for a show and the entire weekend in front of us. 

-Information on some of this entry was taken from the Port Report Summer Fall 2021 Newsletter of the Port of Port Townsend. I'll update this entry once it becomes available online.