Arrived in Port Townsend Boat Haven Marina at about noon after crossing Puget Sound on the Edmonds to Kingston ferry. The cost is a bit shocking when towing a boat, but the convenience of not having to drive through the hell that is Seattle & Tacoma traffic to cross the Tacoma Narrows Bridge and then drive north to Port Townsend is well worth it … the cost is about 2/3rd the price in gas if I had driven ‘around’.
Rigging took about two hours. I’m out of practice and the M17 is more complicated and longer to rig than a Sage 17. Once rigged I ate lunch and then moved the few personal items remaining in the truck and camper into the boat.
Sweet Pea easily onto the water! The centerboard also went down – one concern I had in the back of my mind as the board is cast iron and couldn’t be checked in Colorado.
I loaded Momma Kitty onto the boat and purchased some gas from the fuel dock. Outboard was not wanting to start but did fire up and ran and re-started fine. I moored Sweet Pea away from the launch ramp and then drove the truck/camper and trailer to a friend’s. After talking I walked back to the marina and ‘set sail’ at 5:30pm!
For the first night I, Momma Kitty and Sweet Pea crossed Port Townsend Bay to Fort Flagler. Just after clearing the Boat Haven Marina breakwater I raised sail. Crossed the bay in a nice breeze and sailed through the entrance channel around Rat Island. The wind was light at the mooring buoys in Kilisut Harbor so I tied up under sail – showing off a bit to the other boaters.
I cooked dinner, spent some time trying to find things, and then Momma Kitty and I went to bed.
After a good sleep – I seem to always sleep great on a boat – up at 6am to a wonderful sunrise, though chilly. No heater on Sweet Pea so I put on some layers and made a cup of coffee while enjoying being afloat.
After cooking breakfast I did a couple of hours organizing the boat and updating the boat log noting where things were put.
To take advantage of the tide left Fort Flagler for the Port Townsend Channel in late morning. Winds were very light so motored out of Kilisut Harbor and then up went the sails. Wind was from the Northeast so a reach and down wind to the channel. The wind died about ½ nm from the bridge so motored through into Oak Bay. Here the wind was blowing SE and I had a good sail to the Mats Mats Bay entrance.
Mats Mats is a wonderful ‘hole in the wall’ with a narrow and shallow entrance passage. Not a challenge for a M17, but larger craft must be aware of a few very shallow spots. The bay is small and full surrounded by tree covered hills. This means that the bay is also full of resident boats, mostly on a mooring ball, and a few at anchor. Guests are limited to a three day stay.
I found a location and settled down to enjoy a warm and sunny afternoon.
In order to further settle into living on the boat I chose to stay in Mats Mats for a full day. Besides enjoying the quiet I did some reading, writing, and did more organizing. It was an enjoyable sunny day that included a post-lunch nap!
M17 #375 - SWEET PEA 
A great post. It must feel good to be back on the water’s of the PNW. And with a wide open schedule.
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Well, gosh, Dave, it’s great to have found you again, after months of sudden radio silence from the Golden, CO, pages. I had feared maybe you’d gone overboard. Very glad to learn otherwise. I’m still grateful for your support in my acquisition of my Sage (“Samadhi”), which goes back into the slip tomorrow, shortly after ice-out in Minnesota. Fair winds, Steven Sweeney
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P.S. Since you’re sailing a Monty again, I’ll mention that my Montgomery 15, #324, is still on the water after 33 years, with some repairs and upgrades, now belonging to my son, who first slept in the cabin as an infant 30 years ago and refused to accept the possibility a few years ago now that I was ready to sell “Shenanigans” and get something slightly larger.
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