We went and visited the good ship Hummingbird at her moorage in Brownsville. We love having a boat – there is nothing more stress-relieving than being out on the water in the sunshine. The Puget Sound is made for boating, with hundreds of miles of twisting coastline, harbors, inlets and islands.

Today, though, it was time for spring cleaning. Boats are hard work. And expensive.

Every spring they need to be cleaned up, stem to stern. In the rainy northwest climate, the mold, mildew and algae multiply, inside and out. Nothing but a date with Clorox spray and elbow grease works – and I ended up sacrificing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt to the cause.

We have the catch-22 decision of whether to keep the boat moored, or haul it in and out. The latter is much better for the boat, but it’s time-consuming and challenging enough that we wouldn’t go out very often.

The alternative, leaving the boat in the water is pretty bad for it. Seaweed grows on the stern and swim step; mussels and barnacles settle on on the drive shaft, trim tabs and prop. The salt water is corrosive; metal parts rust, fuse, get eaten away. The bottom gets covered with algae, and the alternative, bottom painting, slowly leaches herbicide into the water and is horrid for the very marine ecosystem we enjoy.

Nonetheless, we do leave the boat in the water because it gives us easy access. That means every year it has to be hauled out and thoroughly cleaned up, either by us or by a marine mechanic.

While it’s out, it needs a spring tune-up. Electrical systems checked, engine overhauled, necessary parts, corroded, rusted or electrically obsolete, replaced. It gets expensive, but it’s cheaper than having the boat quit on a windy day in the middle of the sound!

At the end of the day, though, taking her out on a sparkling day is worth it. We are blessed.

Saturday we went up to the Port Townsend Wooden Boats Festival. It was fascinating – sail and power boats of all shapes and sizes. Some were a century old, some new. Some were 10′ long – and some 100′ long. Several were handmade, and many were hand-restored. As one of the articles in the program said – at some point you have to decide whether you want to sail or work on your boat!

It was a spectacular day – it probably hit 80 degrees, it was breezy and brilliantly sunny. I was reminded of Toto’s Southern Cross… “I have my ship, and all her flags are a-flying.”

The Schooner Martha took festival-goers out on free sails throughout the day. We didn’t get there in time to get on the list, but admired her from shore.

Bryan and I found a fairly unusual custom boat that fits perfectly with his Star Trek fan status!

The water was full of boats – hundreds of them, from horizon to horizon. A Port Townsend traffic jam is certainly different than Monday morning on the I5!

Today we finally got to take the boat out for a spin. We’re still not sure what’s wrong with it, but wanted so badly to get out on the water that we took it out anyway. Zach’s (new nickname: Gilligan) arms got really tired from all the rowing. No, seriously, the boat wouldn’t start because of the battery. We charged one, replaced the other, and were good to go. Here are some pictures from the afternoon’s cruising around.

Sailboat with red spinnaker.	Sailboat in front of Olympic mountains.
Agate Passage bridge from the water.	Oncoming! Kaleetan Ferry in Rich Passage.
Bryan’s favorite Bainbridge Island waterfront house.	My favorite waterfront house. Lottery time?

The picture of the bridge has special significance for me. Every time we take the boat out, I want to go up Agate Passage and under that bridge. You see, Bryan drives across it as part of his daily work commute. He looks down from there and wishes he was on the water instead. The change in perspective, being on the water looking up at the bridge, is very sweet. ☺

The freaking boat wouldn’t start.

It did just fine two weeks ago, when Bryan was prepping it for the season – but today, nada, no go, zip. Just click click click and a pitiful little cough.

Dang it all! It takes weeks to schedule a boat mechanic at this time of year.

It’s a good thing she looks good docked.

I’ve always wanted to live aboard a boat.

It’s a silly fantasy, not grounded in reality. The major obstacle is that I get seasick! Other minor issues are that my husband isn’t very interested, and my little dogs aren’t very boat-worthy and we wouldn’t leave them onshore.

I envision a mobile, carefree lifestyle, visiting fascinating ports of call and dropping anchor in peaceful secluded coves. We’d have beautiful sunrises with fresh coffee, afternoon swims in warm lagoons and cozy late night conversation. The weather is usually good, the seas are always calm, and the wind always favorable. The boat never has mechanical problems and we sailors (and our small dogs) never have health problems.

I’m sitting on the ferry as I write this and it’s another typical fall Puget Sound day. It’s pouring, gusty, and clammy through and through. The water is quite rough, whitecaps and 2-3′ swells. I would absolutely hate to be out in a small boat on this water, it’d be miserable. The boat would be rocking, I’d be queasy, and everything would be clammy and damp with condensation. We’d be cold, huddled around our heater and a cup of tea, and bored and confined to the cabin. The dogs wouldn’t be able to go out because the deck would be pitching too badly.

Of course, a boat is ultimately completely mobile. We wouldn’t be in the Puget Sound in November. We’d be in the Florida Keys or somewhere equally balmy. (How would I get there from the west coast? Would I need a west coast boat and an east coast boat? Or would I have to become an intrepid enough explorer to do the Panama Canal?)

The reality is probably somewhere in between. Even in the tropics – there are drizzly days. And really rainy stormy days. And gales and hurricanes, under which circumstances my boat would be docked and I’d be in a hotel somewhere.

The old saying that the worst day on a boat beats any day at the office doesn’t quite apply… if you’ve ever been seasick you know what I’m talking about! Does the Coast Guard take platinum Visa for an airlift? But most days on a boat beat most days anywhere else.