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| Howard Rice wih John Welsford Speaking in front of SCAMP |
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| Patrick, Nigel, Robert, Jean |
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| Chart Drawers at Northwest Maritime Center Library |
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| Toad,Jean, Francis |
When we stepped out of the loft after Carol's talk I told Jean that we'd better head toward the festival entrance and keep an eye out of Nigel and Patrick. They found us first. I knew that we were late to meet at the appointed time but I was relieved to hear that they too had been late and had been at the festival for only about 10 minutes. It was great to see them again for the first time since Brenda and I had visited Vancouver in Pachuca. They had driven from Vancouver to Whidbey Island and parked the car then boarded the ferry to Port Townsend on foot, thus avoiding all of the parking hassles near the festival grounds. I asked where they were planning to spend the night and they replied that they were returning home that night. "You mean you drove from Vancouver to Port Townsend for lunch?" I asked, surprised, and indeed they had. It was a classy thing to do and I very much appreciated it.
After a pleasant lunch we split up for an hour. Nigel and Patrick went on a tour of the interesting boats at the jetties, most of them open for visitors. Jean and I went to the presentation "SCAMP, The Evolution of an Optimal Micro Cruiser" by Howard Rice and John Welsford, the New Zealand designer. As I had hoped, I saw Simeon Baldwin who is also very involved with the SCAMP project. (http://threesheetsnw.com/blog/2011/10/at-less-than-12-feet-scamp-boat-offers-big-features-in-a-tiny-package/) He took me over to say hello to Howard and John, whom I had met the year before. I told them that I had brought with me the SCAMP burgee autographed by John after the PTWBF of 2011 that I had taken around the Horn.
We then met up again with Nigel and Patrick but, sadly, it was time for them to set off for home. I hate goodbyes but this one was made easier by their invitation for me to visit them in Vancouver, and I hope to do that in mid to late October.
When Jean and I returned to her car I said "Where is my video camera?" I had carried it to the festival and it was no longer with me. It was the great Sony camera that I had managed to protect so well during my rounding of the Horn. I figured that I had left it at the sail loft, where I had put it on the floor in front of me during Carol's presentation. I returned to the sail loft and was told by one of the volunteers that nobody had turned in a video camera but that I might want to check at the "lost and found" tent. On the way down the stairs I met Carol Hosse and explained my problem. She told me that she'd keep an eye out for it.
I went to the "lost and found" tent and reported of my loss. One of the ladies asked me where I had lost it and I replied that I thought that I had left it at Carol's sail loft, pointing to it with my left hand. Another lady then reached in a bag and produced my video camera. Wow! I declared that this greatly lifted the reputation of Port Townsend in my eyes. Some very decent and honest woman had brought it in. I said that it was very good karma for the woman and asked them to thank her for me if they saw her again. I left with three the three women in the tent beaming with big smiles, which matched the one on my face.
Jean and I then wound up on the upper veranda of the Northwest Maritime Center building watching the boats returning to port from the regatta while we waited for Lin and Larry Pardey's presentation, "The Compelling Power of Adventure". The wind and weather were perfect and the boats looked spectacular as they came in under full sail.
I saw Larry walk over to the rail and I approached him. I had brought for him and Lin a card of Neil Shroyer, the manager and no doubt part owner of Marina de La Paz. Lin had given me the impression that she and Larry had not seen Mary and Mac Shroyer since the '60s, but Larry told me that they had seen them only a few years ago. I said that in that case he would not want the card but Larry asked if he could have it and I handed it to him explaining that I had brought it to the USA to give to him and Lin. Soon we went to the presentation which included fascinating photographs of their many adventures on land as well as sea. ... Larry is getting on in years like the rest of us, but wow, could that man build wooden boats in his time!
Jean and I were back in Port Townsend again on Sunday. Jean unexpectedly ran into an acquaintance from another part of the country. While walking along the boat haven she had spotted Burl's memorial bench along the path next to the beach. Jean's sister Vi, who was the inspiration for the bench, would be very happy to hear about that.
We then spotted Francis and "Toad" and it was great to see them again. Being around those two make me - and I'm sure Jean and just about everyone else - feel happy. We accepted their invitation for drinks and finger food at Toad's new house.
Jean took me into yet another wonderful boating resource that I had not been aware of. In the top floor of the Maritime Center building is an excellent nautical library with a wide and comprehensive range of boating literature, including very old and possibly rare books. There were even charts that could be examined in detail using old fashioned surface-sliding magnifying glasses.
Just before Jean and I stepped into the elevator to go up to Lin and Larry's "Storm Tactics" Larry walked into it. I assured him that it was a coincidence and we were not stalking him. The presentation was good, though for me it was only a reenforcement of the lessons in their book "Storm Tactics" which is in my boat and I have read several times.
We then visited Francis and Toad, admiring her very well built two story 4-bedroom house on a large double lot. Francis was, as usual, the consummate host, serving an outstanding pizza which he had "value added" to 5-star standard that was accompanied by a choice of various wines an beers.
While I was biting into a pizza I felt the false tooth of my upper plate give. We were in a social setting and I didn't want to disrupt the flow of the conversation so I managed to work the tooth to the upper left part of my mouth between the gum and cheek while chewing and speaking. Later I retrieved the tooth and put it in my pocket, wondering how I was going to get it fixed.
I'll jump ahead of events and say that on Monday night Arnold and Sandra were very helpful in finding potential dentlal technicians. I couldn't see the need for going to a dentist to be referred to a denture lab instead of going direct. We settled on Anderson Denture Center because they had a good web site, a good Better Business Bureau rating, and were in nearby Paulsbo. I telephoned this morning and got an appointment for 1 PM.
It was a good choice. I got great service and liked Bruce Anderson very much. At first he seemed more interested in questions about Australia and then I told him a little about my sailing adventures. Regarding the partial plate, it was such a straight forward job that he saw no need to take an impression of my teeth and told me that it would be ready at 4.30 PM. At 4.30 I was back and told him about some reasearch that I had done on the internet concerning his questions. He produced a copy of Hal Roth's classic Trekka Round the World and I pointed out where he had been pitchpoled while approaching the Horn.
He made a couple of adjustments to get a good fit to the plate then I asked him whether to address him as "Mr." or "Dr." "Call me Bruce" he replied, then we shook hands and he wished me the best on my voyage. At the desk the bill was $94 which I considered to be very good considering the exellent and very fast work.
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