Port Townsend - Grand Banks Yachts

Launched in 1913 at Rice Brothers’ Yard in East Boothbay, Maine, the gaff-rigged schooner Adventuress is a common sight on Port
Townsend Bay and beyond. Operated by Sound Experience—a local non-profit—Adventuress hosts youth education programs for over
3,000 young adults and adults annually. According to SoundExperience.org, the program is actively supported by hundreds of volunteers
who help crew for school groups, public day sails, week long trips and continue the work of historic preservation and restoration.
PT’S VINTAGE APPEAL
Adventuress under sail, with a training group on board.
Near the entrance to Port Townsend sits a welcome sign
that bills this gem of town as a “Victorian Seaport and
Arts Community.” That’s true enough, but far from the
whole story. Port Townsend has not only acknowledged its maritime
heartbeat, it has embraced and elevated and nourished it. Among
its world-class boatbuilders and marine tradespeople, within the
sparkling and relatively new Maritime Center, and throughout its
residents, business and civic leaders, you’ll find saltwater and spar
varnish running through the veins of this singular seaside town.
Situated about as far northwest as you can go in the United States
without plopping yourself into the vast Pacific, Port Townsend,
Washington, is both a haven and a breeding ground for artists,
furniture-makers, bakers, booksellers and boat builders. Its appeal
is unmistakable: with towering Douglas fir trees and sweeping views
over the entrance to Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca,
Port Townsend offers something for everyone: a small movie theater
and performing arts center, quality restaurants and grocery stores,
art galleries, and even car-ferry service from the mainland if you’re
planning to rendezvous with landlubbers.
Port Townsend Shipyard, just west of the public marina, is one of
the big attractions for seafarers; the 150-foot/330-ton might of their
TravelLift brings many an impressive species of ship to its expansive
grounds. It is often a fun diversion to simply walk the gravel yard
and inspect the variety of ongoing projects on the hard. The local
Wooden Boat Foundation and the Northwest School of Wooden
Boatbuilding both call the shipyard home, as do many of the marine
businesses that cater to boat construction, repair, and restoration—
with an emphasis on wooden boats, of course.
Farther up the road into town, many of the beautiful Victorianera
buildings stand proudly preserved as homes, B&Bs and other
enterprises. A swoon in the town’s economy during the late 1800s
prompted a population exodus that actually helped maintain Port
Townsend’s charm rather than “renew” it, preserving it for over a
century to come. As the economy improved during the 20th century,
the town grew vital and vibrant, pulling in tourists by the ferryboatload.
Today Port Townsend is as picturesque as it is quaint, sporting
a full-time population of just ten thousand residents.
Many of those residents have witnessed a renaissance over the past few
decades; festivals attract visitors far and wide to celebrate everything
from independent cinema and steampunk to rhododendrons and
vintage cars. The most renowned event of all, though, is the annual
Wooden Boat Festival, now in its 37th year. With more than 300
wooden vessels, dozens of indoor and outdoor presentations and
demonstrations, a who’s who of wooden boat experts and thousands
of wooden boat enthusiasts, it is the largest wooden boat festival in
North America.
SPRAY
2013 ANNUAL PRINT EDITION
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