On June 16, the Northwest Paragraph of the Americas Chapter of the Moody Owners Association had our inaugural rendezvous. Walt Drechsler and Walt Knowles—owners of sister Moody 47 and Moody 46, both purchased in December, 2015—had identified nine active and interested Moody owners in the Seattle to Vancouver area of the Salish Sea. With the encouragement of Peter Robinson, they organized a get-together at Fort Flagler State Park on Marrowstone Island. Marrowstone Island is right across Port Townsend from the seaside town of Port Townsend, just south of where Puget Sound (north and south orientation) meets the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
Three boats, Chantey V, a Moody 376 from Victoria, BC (owned by Daragh Nagle and Cathryn O’Neill), Braesail, a Moody 46 from Everett, WA (owned by Walt and Lorelette Knowles), and Pellucidar, a Moody 47, also from Everett, WA (owned by Walt and Linda Drechsler), tied up at the dock, and Heron, a Moody 54, from Seattle, WA (owned by Jeff and Kim Seely) decided to trust her own ground tackle and anchored a ways down Kilisut Harbor where there was a bit more depth for her deeper keel.
On Saturday afternoon, Ursa Major, a Moody 346 from Gig Harbor, WA, but formerly from Victoria, BC, sent her owners, Jill and John Parker, up by car.
Anchoring down harbor didn’t keep Jeff and Kim from participating in our time together. They came into the dock in their dinghy, and both Walts (a most confusing situation for people with a relatively uncommon name) ran their dinghies down to Heron’s anchorage.
The skies were grey—we on the Salish Sea call this time of year “Junuary” for its often cold and dreary days—but a look around finds great color and beauty. Because of quite rigorous pollution control, much of the invertebrate life in the Puget Sound has recovered. This was the view on the underside of the floats on the dinghy dock!
As one might expect, there was a wealth of experience among the five boats represented. Chantey V has had the most sea time, having sailed from Victoria to Newfoundland and back (by way of Hawaii). Her blog is http://ChanteyV.blogspot.com . Heron has many trips through the Inside Passage (http://heronadventures.blogspot.com). Braesail, after a life as live-aboard in Southern California, came up to God’s country in search of adventure; her crew has been sailing the San Juan Islands and the Strait of Georgia in a much smaller vessel for twenty five years (https://braesail.wordpress.com). Pellucidar is another Moody finally getting to do what she was built to do after being leashed to a dock. Her crew has similar experience in the southern Salish Sea (https://svpellucidar.wordpress.com ). Ursa Major, after a good time sailing has spent the last few years tied up in the Royal Victoria Yacht Club. Her new crew is taking their experience in Southern California sailing and have moved her to Gig Harbor and she is getting all her systems ready for new adventures.
Of course, sailors must be fed. We had planned to set up camp in one of the picnic shelters on shore, but with a couple of boats reporting that their crews were on the “injured reserve list” and others already sailing into the great North, we stayed on the dock. Lunch on Saturday was on the dock next to Pellucidar.
Hot dogs (actually polish sausages from Costco—the place for provisioning for a long cruise!) were expertly grilled on Pellucidar’s back deck by Walt Drechsler and formed the centerpiece for lunch.
Georgie, the four footed captain of Chantey V, was adopted as the mascot of the gathering, found being next to the boat a most congenial place to (unsuccessfully) beg for contributions.
Supper was a potluck on board Braesail. It was cozy, but ten people is entirely possible in the saloon of a Moody 46! Much conversation and conviviality flowed, beginning with a proper toast to the strength of the Moody Owners Association and the health of Peter Robinson, the captain of the Americas Chapter.
We ended the evening by awarding each of our attendees a commemorative plaque with which to remember a great time together.
A foggy Sunday morning scattered us to the four points of the compass. Heron was first out, heading south to catch the incoming tide to Seattle (the early morning flood was a mere 1 kt). Chantey V headed west and north to Victoria, and Pellucidar went east (and south) to Everett. Braesail stayed at the dock, catching her breath for the run north to Desolation Sound and the Broughton Archipelago.
Braesail - A grand yacht in the Salish Sea 