Sept 2-4. Once again, CYC, STYC and PSCC collaborated for a long weekend joint cruise. In all 22 people participated in the Labor Day journey to Gig Harbor. The CYC boats took off Saturday midday with the flood pushing anywhere from .5 - 2 knots favorable. The weather was beautiful, but not enough sustained wind to bother raising sails. Red Sky came down from Edmonds and Those Guys took off from Shilshole, arriving in Gig Harbor in the late afternoon and rafting up just outside Arabella’s Landing. Trips to shore for sightseeing were quick and easy with the public dock so close, but ice cream was nowhere to be found! With just 2 boats, it didn’t feel like a potluck, so we cooked separately, but ate together. STYC’s Odysseus had a slip at Arabella and kayaked out after dinner with a bottle of champagne. Meanwhile, 2 PSCC boats got in around 3 pm, asked around and found a CYC raft up and joined them. Turned out it was CYC-Tacoma! STYC boat Yonder and PSCC boat Boog spent the night in Quartermaster Harbor.
Sunday was cloudy and cool with some rain and some sun breaks - the perfect backdrop for exploring the little PNW harbor village of Gig Harbor. Gondolas passed by on a regular schedule and a great blue heron joined the raft up briefly. STYC boats Keala and Yonder got in around 1 pm and anchored separately nearby. PSCC boat Boog joined the raft up around 3 pm. A gusty (up to 20k or so) south wind made for an exciting sail over from Vashon for those boats. Nine STYC members met up at Heritage Distillery for a reportedly fascinating 2 .5 hr class, tasting and extra cocktail. A hearty lunch at the Tides Tavern beforehand comes highly recommended. Meanwhile, a group of 9 CYC and PSCC members enjoyed a pleasant evening hang out on Red Sky (thank you to hosts Ed & Liz!). We were joined by the crew from Yonder (STYC) after the tasting. The party broke up at about 9:30 pm with everyone retiring to their respective boats.
Monday’s ebb started around 9 am bringing the 2 CYC boats quickly back north. The wind had once again settled to negligible up the west side of Vashon, but a light breeze in the late morning north of Vashon made it possible to sail for a little bit. All in All - a very pleasant weekend and a great experience cross pollinating with other clubs.
