Whisper sailing in Budd Inlet
Thursday dawned clear and warm, and I looked forward to working on getting the boat ready for a Friday morning launch and some quiet sailing with my friend Jim. By late Thursday afternoon, the boat was ready. I had raised and lowered the mast, checked the sails, made sure I had sufficient food and water, checked my safety gear, and loaded my sleeping gear and clothes. The VHF radio was working, batteries charged, and outboard fuel was fresh.
What was left? Check the trailer tires and lights. The tires were a few pounds low, but I could top them off later in the evening. I connected the trailer lights to the truck and turned on the truck lights. Hmmm… I did not see the trailer lights go on. I checked turn signals: nothing.
Eventually, I pulled out the tools and started checking things, starting at the truck. According to the voltmeter, I had good 12VDC current at the plug. I tested the ground on the trailer, and it appeared to be fine. Nevertheless, I removed the ground wire, sanded all metal-to-metal connections clean, and reconnected the ground wire.
Still no lights.
I went to the lights on the trailer, and for some reason, one “leg” of the circuit was showing 23 volts. I don’t understand, and continue to try to find where there is a short or bad connection. Six hours later, I give up.
Ultimately, I drove to a local store and bought temporary trailer lights, and then lashed them to the teak rails on the cabin roof. They may look odd, but they work. And that’s the way Whisper showed up at the Swantown Marina boat launch: adorned with temporary trailer lights.
Friday
Whisper Joins Dare at Swantown
The trip to Swantown Marina was uneventful, and when I pull in, I see Jim arrived just ahead of me with his new-to-him P19 named Dare. I pull up behind Dare, and we start rigging the boats for launch.
Neither of us uses a checklist, and we talk quite a bit during the low-key prep phase. We started rigging a little after 9:00 am, and I don’t think we launched until 11:00 am. As I said, our prep time was very low key!
It’s been so long since I had a launching partner that I had forgotten how nice it is to back down the ramp, pause, and then drive up the ramp. Jim has the identical trailer, so he launched Whisper and I never had to get out of the truck. In turn, I did the same for him. It surely makes launching much, much easier.
Friday sailing
We motor away from the marina, staying to the navigable channel until well past the point the west channel and east channel join. The wind is very light, and the day is warming rapidly.
Up go the sails, off go the motors, and we are sailing at about one to one-and-a-half knot. How much of that is current from the falling tide, I don’t know, but we are definitely maintaining steerage despite very light air.
Kokomo stern view
No sooner are the sails up but I hear “Whisper Whisper Whisper, this is Kokomo” on channel 16. Dan has arrived and is launching. Soon he joins us, and a troika of P19s spread out across Budd Inlet. And soon, I’m seeing Kokomo’s stern as Dan sails away in the light wind.
One of Jim’s goals has been to sail to Boston Harbor and back, and today we make it all the way there. I dock to buy a pair of Crocs and a sandwich. While I’m getting ready to get underway again, friend and past workmate John walks by. We talk for several minutes; it was a delightful surprise to see him at the dock.
Jim has turned southward while I was shopping, and he is surprisingly far away. I crank up the motor and make a four-knot run to catch up with him. Sails up, and we’re sailing in tandem back toward Swantown.
Back at the dock
Back at the dock we find other Potters have also launched a day before the official event.
Whisper spends a quiet night at Swantown in transient moorage. The only disruption was a stiff breeze that kicked up around midnight, causing my mainsail halyard to vibrate in the wind. Although not loud outside the boat, the combination of a stiff mast, vibrating halyard, and boat hull made the combination resonate like a guitar…and I was trying to sleep inside that guitar. A couple of bungee cords to tension the halyard by connecting it to the starboard shrouds, and the music became much quieter inside the boat.
Saturday
Prep for guests
Our guests sail Whisper
Saturday morning dawns cloudy but not cold. A morning breeze ruffled the surface of Budd Inlet and then faded away. Our guests arrived and we got them situated on Whisper while Saturday morning arrivals started rigging their boats.
I was running back-and-forth between the marina office, the new parking lot, the boat ramp, and Whisper. I should have prepared Whisper for our guests on Friday, but I didn’t think of it until Saturday morning. Fortunately, Jan arrived and put things right, allowing me to spend more time assisting others.
Clinic
Heaving-to clinic
Dan presented an easily understood clinic on heaving to. (Later that afternoon, we heard from several skippers that when the wind become strong in the afternoon, they did heave to!) His explanation of opposing forces was easily understood, and it was clear from questions asked that our skippers followed his explanation well.
Ready to go sailing!
Jim also reviewed known hazards and navigating in and out of the marina. Olympia has two navigable channels that converge to one main channel, and the markers can sometimes confuse new sailors. Skippers clustered around while he reviewed the nautical chart, and again, folks were focused, interested, and tuned into his review. And with that, we were ready to take the fleet out.
Potters take over Budd Inlet!
Jim leads the fleet out
Since Jim is probably the most familiar of us with this body of water, we played follow-the-leader as he kindly agreed to show us the way between navigation markers. West Wight Potters filled the channel!
As on Friday, the morning breeze was very light. We baked in the muted sunshine and reveled in the occasional cooling breeze as our Potters drifted along at one or two knots.
Around 1:00 pm the wind started to slowly build, and by 3:00 pm it was reefing time. This is when folks started to heave to while managing their sails. At one point Whisper hit 5.3 knots under full sail, and Kokomo reported a 5.7-knot boat speed as measured by GPS.
Folks began heading back to the marina where we helped boats pull out at the boat launch. Kokomo, Basilisk, and Whisper spent another night at the dock, and we pulled our boats out on Sunday morning.
Conclusion
All in all, this was a much more successful event than I had expected. Our Potter sailors were hungry for some sailing time, and Budd Inlet gave them light and heavy air sailing experience. I was surprised how many sailors had little experience with their boats, and several of our more experienced members provided critical assistance during rigging, launching, sailing, and take out. International Marine came through with Potter hats which were proudly worn by almost everyone in attendance. The Swantown Marina folks were very helpful, even when we surprised them with two dozen people showing up for the event!
Lessons learned
- Have a sign-in sheet. We needed to know who belonged to what boat, whether they had a marine radio and/or cell phone, and if they planned to return to the marina on Saturday evening.
- Consider an early launch and hands-on sailing instruction forinexperienced sailors. We talked about the idea of actually putting an experienced sailor in the boat with someone new and spending part of a day on the water.
- The clinic was a big hit, and several folks said we should do something like that at every event. I wish I knew more people with exceptional sailing skills and experience, because our intrepid group would enjoy talking with them.
- Consider a BBQ on the beach, either at a mid-day destination, or back at the marina.
Original plan
On Saturday, June 13, 2009, owners and aficionados of West Wight Potter sailboats will be launching out of Olympia, Washington for a day of learning and sailing. International Marine – the west coast manufacturer of West Wight Potter sailboats – has generously provided some swag for this event!
The tide is going out all morning, so we will launch by 10 am. Experienced Potter owners will be on hand at 8 am to help folks with rigging and launching. We’ll return to the boat launch as the tide rises in early evening.
We will launch out of Swantown Marina. The launch fee is $5 per boat, payable using pay envelopes and a drop box at the launch ramp.
(Google Maps wants folks coming from the north to use Pacific Avenue, which is rather bumpy. If you are hauling your boat to Swantown Marina, I suggest a smoother route [click here].)
Folks who wish to launch the day before, or stay a day later, can reserve temporary moorage by calling Swantown Marina at (360) 528-8049. For boats 20 feet and under, the minimum rate of $15 per night applies. Reservations require an additional $5 non-refundable fee and the first night’s guest moorage paid in advance.
Parking for the day is free. Overnight parking is $3 per vehicle per night.
For a nautical chart of Budd Inlet, take a look at one assembled by a Northwest Potter member or try making your own at http://demo.geogarage.com/noaa/ (in the lower left corner, search for Olympia, WA).
Although we tried to plan a meal for this event, nothing solidified. Some folks may want to stop at Tugboat Annies for an early lunch (the tide will make it too low to moor there at dinnertime). Call them at (360) 943-1850 for information about reaching the restaurant from the water side. Boats that make it all the way to Boston Harbor can stop at Boston Harbor Marina and enjoy their sandwiches and shop for a pair of Crocs. (Note to sailors: it’s a long haul to go from Olympia to Boston Harbor and back in one day…about 14 miles. It can be done, but you’ll probably need to motor part of the way!)
Questions? The most current information will be posted to the Northwest Potters Group on Yahoo!, or you can contact me.
Links:
PDF 
I talked to the Swantown folks today. There are a couple of large yacht clubs coming in on our weekend, but that will primarily affect guest moorage, not launching. There will probably be a spot on the end of dock A where a few Potters can tie up overnight, and rafting is allowed.
Pictures are now posted in my gallery!