Things are really going North

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(Wednesday, July 10) On our way! Hard to say it, even harder to believe it, still crossing our eyes, and holding our breath, but we are at the top of Texada Island in the Georgia Strait and things are really going north for a change!



It's been almost 3 weeks since leaving Portland, with 2 weeks in the Boat Haven in Port Townsend, WA, working on general maintenance and surprise repairs, before our journey has finally begun. No complaints really, the Boat Haven is a rare gem, with shipwrights, marine chandleries, journeymen, engineers, woodworkers, sail makers and skilled maritime businesses scattered closely among dry-docked vessels, huge to small, and boat sheds, warehouses, workshops, plus small mom & pop stores that sustain us all while we make our own boats whole again.



Peter’s boat maintenance list was a full 2 PAGES but steadily shrunk while he, and the new grads from the NW School of Wooden Boats, painted the bottom, the top sides, and deck areas. They also installed a new LED anchor light to the tippy top of the main mast, fixed leaky deck prisms, improved rigging, and though not very visible, supremely appreciated by the First Mate, they painted her interior floors. The amount of engine maintenance performed by Peter & friends, plus multiple hired hands, would fill up the internet if fully described. We tried re-pitching the prop, a complicated maneuver performed by trained professionals, especially those with hard-won experience. A little too soft, too hard, aah, now just right, we felt like Goldilocks relations trying to get it right to find maximum efficiency or at least not any slower while motoring. Perfection has never been our mantra but still, Ama managed to pass the third set of sea trials, and with reservation, we left the safety of harbor behind us and headed out into the Strait of Juan de Fuca.



DECARBONIZING
Early in July 2019, the Inside Passage Decarbonization Project gave its first ever marine business Decarbonizer Award to ReVision Marine in Port Townsend, WA. ReVision has first focused on “Ultra Efficiency,” then electrifying and/or solarizing recreational and smaller commercial vessels. Founder, Matt Mortensen, and his partners received an honorary 8-foot, bright yellow IPDP Decarbonizer Award mast streamer to call attention to their work taking substantial action to decarbonize the Inside Passage marine ecosystem.

Special thanks to:


• Matt & Sasha - BFFs and ever patient friends who put us up in their lovely new home on the hill in Port Townsend. We were lucky to enjoy gardens, movies, thrift-store shopping, and delicious dinners together!
• Jennifer, Marina Cafe - a true restaurateur and fellow sailor who toasted us when finally the boat was “going in the right direction.”
• Port of Port Townsend - Minimum is the maximum. When getting a lift is $360 plus tax, we appreciated their support and minimum charge after 3rd, then 4th reset.
• Shipwright’s Co-op - Smiles and knowledge plus assurance guaranteed kept us all on equal ground. Chief mechanic, Todd Lee, was price sensitive and fair. Dean Bozak, the prop & shaft specialist, was a fast but careful motor-head who fit in our tiny engine room despite his lanky frame and muscles. We got to cheer him on as the anchor leg for the annual Tug-o-war contest on July 4th.
• Boat Haven treasures: Admiral Ship Supply, Henery Hardware, Sunrise Coffee, Port Townsend Brewery, and Randy Charier, for all his advice & assistance, plus the many boat owners who took an interest in Ama's decarbonization plans.


Our late start meant that we spent a night at dock in Skyline Marina in Anacortes that turned out a treat with our bow next to Radiant Star. The first real leg of our journey north, through the Georgia Strait, known locally as the "Monster," was unbelievably calm with flat water and light breezes adding maybe a 1/2 knot to our tentative speed. We made a quick stop in Vancouver to pick up parts, then a lovely visit to friendly Powell River and talked with locals about fully utilizing their famous paper mill again, possibly as a renewable diesel manufacturing plant.



BLOG #2 • 2019

The IPDP is a grassroots effort to decarbonize the marine and light displacement maritime ecosystem of the NW’s Inside Passage over the next decade through demonstration, awareness, education, and strategic partnering. The IPDP’s three principal foci are on clean, very low carbon propulsion; clean, renewables-based lubricants, 100%!t(MISSING)ruly renewable port electric grids, and vessel shore-power for charging.







Check out more news & information at Inside Passage Decarbonization Project: www.DecarbthePasssage.net

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Photos

IPDP decarbonizer streamer, flags of AK, BC & WA
Flags of the Inside Passage