Grapeview Point Boat Works

On the lower Puget Sound in Washington State you will find Case Inlet. As with so much of the Salish Sea, it is a beautiful place.

Just north of Grapeview is Grapeview Point Boat Works, the scene of a gathering, last Saturday, of die hard sailors.

Marine weather is unpredictable, which is a defining element for sailors of the dyed-in-the wool type. Even in the mid-summer of early August, stable high pressure systems can be displaced overnight by a plunging barometer.

It's raining outside and perspiring inside your rain gear, so you get wet either way.

No reason to miss a fine day on the water.








The Puget Sound Chapter of the TSCA gathered at Tom and Suzanne Regan's boat shop with a great BBQ on the bulkhead and a hearty gathering of watermen and women showed up to revel in the rain.






It's a six hour drive from Doryman's front door to Grapeview, so the day started at daybreak. The Culler skiff Paku was intended to attend, so a few days prior to the event, she received the attention deserving a presidential yacht. At the last minute it was apparent that the brake lights on the trailer were not going to cooperate.

Undeterred, we hit the road without the boat.

On occasion I'd recommend showing up for a boating event without your boat. It's the best excuse for accepting an invitation to crew on someone else's!
I spent the afternoon with Elizabeth and Nik on their Caledonia Yawl, Sutil.

What a treat! Iain Oughtred's Caledonia Yawl exceeds any expectation. It's roomy, responsive and fast. Even on a blustery day, on the verge of a first reef, Sutil was dry and comfortable.





I'm sorry that I don't know all of the good folks of the Puget Sound TSCA by name, nor the names of their fine craft. But hopefully a slide show will tell the story. Beautiful boats, good food and fine company.










Does it get any better than this?





Thanks to Tom, Suzanne and all the good folks of the Puget Sound Chapter of the Traditional Small Craft Association.

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