Fall 2025 cruise south

The view of Blake Island from GRETA's saloon.

Family commitments limited our cruising time in 2025. We did get in a short cruise south from Port Ludlow ending up in Gig Harbor.

We stopped for a mid-week visit to the Port Madison SYC outstation which included a chance meeting with sailboat racing friends from past + kids and grandkids and a tour of Bloedel gardens (Kitsap County public transit.) I found and looked through a book written by Monk Sr. on wooden boat building in the club house library. The chapter on building a cabin top structure was enlightening and might be helpful when working on GRETA’s cabin top.

We then cruised south to Gig Harbor and moored at the SYC outstation conveniently located directly across from the Tide Tavern, one of our favorite restaurants by boat or car. We took advantage of the easy access to local shopping and did a dinghy harbor tour looking for other classics.

The Tides Tavern has been around for decades and offers an extensive menu and free moorage while dining.  They sell French fries by the pound, does that put them in the frame for a Michelin Star? Their dock is now located in plenty of water but back in 1977 when stopping by for burgs and beers while delivering a C&C 39 to Olympia for the Toliva Shoals race our departure was delayed when we found the boat aground at low tide.

Gig Harbor and the Tides Tavern host CYA classic boats in May as part of a city-wide celebration.  Gig Harbor also does a great job with their community boating access facility with programs offering lessons for rowing, sailing, and kayaking.

Heading back north it was interesting to compare transiting Colvos Passage by power boat vs racing sailboat. Going by power boat sure cuts down on the tacking and gybing. I was able to do much more sightseeing, checking out some of the small communities and shore side facilities.

We met up with the classic THELONIOUS (Larry and Tina) at Blake Island shortly after they participated in the PT Wooden boat Festival. The Blake Island State Park, mid-week in the fall, had several open spots so we could moor on the same dock. We took turns hosting dinners and movie nights. As they often do, afternoon discussions included much talk about maintaining and repairing old wooden boats and their systems.

Our plans to stop by either Winslow or Poulsbo on the way back north changed as the weather forecast indicated rainy weather was expected the next day and we voted to enjoy a calm/dry trip back to Port Ludlow.