Port Townsend in June

[Dave R]

In June of 2009 I am planning to be in Port Townsend for a bit more than a week. The days will be consumed by a couple of classes I'll be teaching at the Port Townsend School of Woodworking. I can't go that far, though, without doing or seeing something boat related. I don;t know how much free time I'll have but perhaps some of the locals could give me some ideas?

Thanks.

[ron ll]

Must see; Center for Wooden Boats on Lake Union in Seattle.

[Stephen Kessler]

you might also consider visiting the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding in Port Hadlock which is only a few miles from Port Townsend.

[David G]

I was gonna say CWB, also. It's a very lovely - but time consuming - ferry ride over and back. You might also be interested in touring some of the local boatyards that are wooden boat oriented. Talk to your school contact to set that up. Same with the PT Foundry. Pt. Townsend itself is lovely, and worth exploring. Hiking in Fort Worden, downtown shopping, restaurants, the food co-op. And, of course, if the weather cooperates at all - SAILING! Again, perhaps the school folks can set you up to go out. If you like hiking, the Olympic Nat'l Park is a giant, nearly untouched temperate rainforest. It catches all the clouds & rain so PT can be the "banana belt" of the region. Walking up the Duckabush or Dosewalips rivers is a treat. Or drive up to Hurricane Ridge... maybe you'll catch the wildflowers.

What will you be teaching?

Have Fun!

[ron ll]

Don't know it its still there, but years ago there was a small building at Fort Worden that housed a small steam locomotive. In the early 1970's, they were excavating for something and found the entire locomotive buried, hidden from some enemy during some war. I don't remember the details, but it just always amazed me that it was just something they found while digging.

[Dave R]

Thanks gentlemen. Good ideas there.

David, I'll be teaching SketchUp for Woodworkers. There's a two day intro class and a 5 day more involved class. The school is in the old power plant building at Fort Worden and the computer lab is apparently very near by.

That locomotive sounds interesting, too.

dave

[pcford]

You might also contact Dan (Betty-B). He has spent a lot of time in Port Townsend. If I recall correctly he was not altogether complimentary about the chi-chi direction the place has taken in the past few years.

I remember going there 50s to early 70s. Different place indeed.

[rbgarr]

Dave,

Do try to see the NW School mentioned above http://www.nwboatschool.org/about/tourCampus.aspx

Isn't there also a small community boat shop right there on the south side of the boat harbor at the north end of Port Townsend?

[Tom Robb]

PT is chi-chi? It still seems pretty funky to me.
If you can't find something to do in PT, you must be in a coma.

[Bob Triggs]

Dave R,

There is more to do and see here than you will have time to experience. Some of it will depend upon the weather; june here is referred to as "June-u-ary" as it is decidedly not our hottest nor driest month sometimes. (At least before about noon.) W.C. Fields once quipped: "The best winter I ever had was the summer I spent on puget Sound". Still, it could be splendid weather here for your visit.

As much as the great march of gentrification has taken hold around here, all signs point to things staying real for a while longer, at least through next june anyway. True there are a host of cheap attractions; t shirt shops, trinkets, chinese made local suveniers etc. but there is also the Port Of Port Townsend Boat Haven yards, and also the Point Hudson Marina, and everything in between- all within walking distance of Fort Worden.

The Boat Haven always has some interesting projects going on, a small army of craftsmen work there, some tailgating on single boats, some working for the larger concerns like the Port Townsend Shipwrights, Haven Boat Works, Freja Boatworks, Dave Thompson and many many others. Just about every type of boat project imagineable, from restorations of working commercial fishing boats, schooners and skiffs etc, to new builds on classic yachts, many of them wooden boat projects. A walk through the Boat Haven after having breakfast at the yard's own Blue Moose Cafe is really the only way to spend a sunday morning. There is more experience and talent in the Boat Haven, and in this town, than you will ever see just about anywhere else. Its amazing.

The Point Hudson Marina hosts a few clasic vessels, like the Schooner Martha, Halcyon and Bryony, all of which offer sailing trips. And there is a whale watching day trip with a small cruising company there that is really exhillerating. At Point Hudson is also the Wooden Boat Foundation and the WBF Chandlery is right there too. Tied up in the marina is the WBF's own small fleet of wooden boats, including the livery row boats... just call them for details. You can see the multi million dollar construction of the Northwest Maritime Center nearby. You can stop in at the Port Townsend Sail Loft and watch them do it the old way, and you can visit the Point Hudson Boat Shop and met Steve Chapin and see his work on the Pocock Racing Shells he is building there. No visit is complete without meeting up with Brion Toss- the resident rigging Doyen- who is as nimble with the spoken word as he is with his fingers.

A friend of mine once told me that there are more tilting arbor shipwrights saws here in Port Townsend than anywhere else in the world. And that for every project one can see up-on-the-hard in the public yards; there are a few more squirreled away at the ends of the roads, in small and large backyard shops and sheds all over town. Some significant percentage of single people here live in all manner of oddly contrived spaces, vehicles, vessels and sheds, most of them dreaming of their own boatbuilding adventures. They dont call us "Shed Boys" for nothing... People have built just about every kind of dream boat imagineable here, from small rowing boats to huge yachts, and many have sailed around the world in them too

For art and culture look up The Centrum, right there at Ft Worden. They run a huge summer Centrum program of arts and cultural events. Saturdays is the Port Townsend Farmers Market- organic local foods and produce, great hot coffee, fresh baked goods, local panache and live music. You should go see at least one good movie at The Rose Theater, a beautifully restored victorian moviehouse.

Over in Port Hadlock, about fifteen minutes drive out of town, is the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding, which would be a must see. If you call ahead they will probably welcome you and show you around, a very nice bunch of folks there. Right now Capt Wayne Chimenti, (of Force 10 Sails) is running a program there for youth- they are building a classic wooden boat which they will then learn how to sail as they go on a long distance cruise. This alone is worth coming here to see, and support! You can have dinner at the Ajax Cafe right across the street from the school, one of the best little joints here. There are too many restaraunts in Port Townsend. With the economy flagging now I am sure prices will moderate as well. Some of them are very good too.

Drop me a personal message if you want to discuss specifics. If you are a fly fisherman I can give you some good intell here.

For some more ideas about visiting Port Townsend:
www.ptguide.com (http://www.ptguide.com) a local guide
www.ptleader.com (http://www.ptleader.com) our local newspaper

PS: this is just the short version.

[bvv]

The Wooden Boat Foundation's 26th annual Classic Mariner's race is June 6-7. Wander around the Point Hudson docks on Fri nite, Sat AM, or at the skipper's meeting to find a crew spot. People sometimes need crew after the race on Sunday to help transit home as well.

[G. Schollmeier]

:):):):)
Dave, that’s a long way off but I hope we can buy you a pint, it would be great to see you again. I never need much of an reason to visit PT.

[BETTY-B]

I dont know what chi-chi means.

Feel free to get a hold of me if you would like to see it by water.

Will you have any time in Seattle as well?

DAN

[Dave R]

Thank you again, all.

Bob, that's a lot of stuff. Thank you.

I won't be there in time for the Classic Mariner's race. :(

Gary, I would love to see you again and have a pint with you. We'll try to work it out.

Dan, thank you for the offer. We'll have to see how things shalke out. I'm not sure how much time I'll have to go to Seattle. While I'm teaching I'll only have evenings free, I think. I don't really know what is typical for the instructors when their clsses are finished for the day. A tour by water would be lovely.

Dave

[Tom Robb]

There's dance lessons at the Grange;)

[pcford]

I dont know what chi-chi means.



The way it is used these days implies a fashionable yet phony facade.

[BBSebens]

Theres a Gent by the name of Jay Greer on this forum who lives there. It'd be worth pm'ing him.

My wife and I have also been there a lot. Beautiful town. Point Hudson Marina is a must, The Port of Port Townsend too, Northwest School of Wooden Boat Building is a great place, only 15 minutes away.

If you don't have a place to stay, I recommend the Bishop Victorian Hotel. Beautiful place, and right downtown.

Enjoy!

[Dave R]

Tom, thanks for head's up on the dance lessons. Might have to try that. :D

BBSebens, Maybe Jay will chime in. I don't want to impose on anyone. Thank you.

Dave

[Tom Robb]

The Swan is nice too and looks over the Pt. Hudson marina. Actually there's scads of places to stay.