HAPS Bremerton Marina Rendezvous August 16-18, 2013, Summary

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Mikem

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Dec 20, 2009
820
Hunter 466 Bremerton
Is this a great summer or what. It was so warm and windless on Friday afternoon that I threatened to hoist the spinnaker just for shade. The Bremerton Marina, infamous for vicious currents, was robbed of any docking victories Friday afternoon as all nine boats slipped gracefully into their assigned slips with no mishap whatsoever. It was fun for all of us to be moored adjacent to one another on C-Dock.

Heavy orderves (spelled like it sounds) were enjoyed by all hands Friday evening and then followed a discussion on a proposed HAPS voyage north to the San Juan and Gulf Islands next year. Bob and Kris Riddenour provided great insight to the conversation and this is the proposal.

Proposed HAPS Voyage July 11-25, 2014

July 11 Friday, meet at Everett. Marina reservations required.

July 12 Depart for Anacortes, 36nm. Check with MSC for space at their boatyard
Cute town, big Safeway for groceries, lots of restaurants

July 13 Depart Anacortes for Spencer Spit
There is a good anchorage with lots of room, you can walk on the beach and up through the park. They have campsites where we could have a campfire and the crabbing is reported to be good.

July 14 Depart Spencer Spit for Stuart Island. 18nm.
Reid and Prevost harbors both have good holding and are pretty big. You can hike to the lighthouse on Turn Point and might spot Killer Whales.

July 16 Depart Stuart Island for Ganges via Bedwell for customs. 20nm. Fuel, water and 5 different marinas.
Very cute town with shops, you can take the bus to several wineries, the restaurants usually have live music and the grocery store and liquor store is well stocked for all those items you can't bring in from the states.

July 18 Depart for Ganges for Montague, Genoa Bay, Port Browning, Fulford ...20nm at the most
All of these places are very close and usually have both marinas and anchorages. Montague has a bus to a pub, Genoa Bay has a couple of nice walks, Port Browning has a marina, pub, groceries, pool and more. Fulford is a hippie community with some fun shops but no marina. There are also a half dozen other places close by with beautiful anchorages, hiking and more.

July 23 Depart Gulf Islands for Roche Harbor and customs. About 20nm.
Roche Harbor is a fantastic place with good anchorage and modern marina, store, liquor, restaurants and shops. You can hike to Sculpture Park and Mausoleum, take a dinghy ride to Westcott Bay and buy oysters, play Bocce Ball or go to the pool. At sunset they have their "Colors" ceremony that is a must see.

July 25 Depart Roche Harbor for Port Ludlow. 50nm
Coincides with the proposed MSC Hunter Rendezvous.

Again, this is a proposal but one that is achievable and flexible. This will certainly be discussed at future rendezvous but the time frame should be decided on before anything else so vacation plans can be made.

Saturday morning we were all treated to the world famous Coykendall/Murray breakfast burritos complete with egg, meat, cheese, sourcream, guacamole, salsa, served in a toasty warm tortilla. Coffee, fresh fruit, and orange juice completed the waterfront cuisine.

The remainder of the day saw some crews take the foot ferry to Port Orchard and others partook of the annual Bremerton Wine Festival at the very nice waterfront park.

The evening meal, was cast as the first and maybe last HAPS Annual Iron Chef Cook-off with the not so secret ingredient of Hot Dogs. Of all nine entries we had nine winners. In no particular order we had

The best hot dog stew
The best Italian hot dogs
The best fish hot dogs
The best hot dogs and beans
The best hot dogchili mess
The best Greek hot dogs
The best HAPS hot dog biscuits
The best Guinness marinated hot dogs
The best mini crescent hot dogs

Each winner was awarded a prize from the Dollar Store. We shopped at the Dollar Store because the Woolworth Five and Dime Stores closed years ago.

And to top it all off for dessert there was the best hot dog cake.

Emile Stewart of Yikes, supplied us with some delicious chocolate mint brownies, Emile, you must attend each rendezvous from here on out...no exceptions. Nancy Treat of Cat's Paw introduced us to Abbey, their black and white nine month old cat.

Sunday morning the crews enjoyed a continental breakfast of Costco muffins (you have to try the chocolate banana variety), freshly cut fruit, orange juice and Starbuck's coffee.

Some boats departed early to catch the big currents that day. Later, about 2:30 PM, Bill and Jeannine Bramstedt of J Michelle, a H26 with an 8hp outboard, fell prey to that infamous current. Backing out of their slip directly against the current they started their starboard turn intending to go forward and exit the marina. That didn't work and as the current swept them broadside Bill backed down the fairway and slid against the open pier. Three more times with Gary, Lori, Ruth, and myself assisting he could not get off the pier. We finally towed him to the end of the dock and the center of the dock. As we got his bow pointed straight down the fairway and perpendicular to the current we held the stern lines and told him to gun his engine. We held the line and let go a la catapult. He crabbed at a 45 degree angle down the fairway.

Those attending included

Dennis and Nancy Treat in "Cat's Paw
Ben and Emile Stewart in "Yikes"
Ray and Deb Valpey in "Sloe Tango"
Bill and Jeannine Bramstedt in "J Michelle"
Brian and Mary Scott in "Too Cool Runnings"
Larry and Sue Tughan in "Beverly Jane"
Gary and Lori Coykendall in "Laetare"
Bob and Kris Riddenour in "Luna"
Mike and Ruth Murray in "Wings of Gold"

Again, it was a wonderful time with a great group of folks with really nice boats. We were topped off with fuel and water and with a strong following current we transited all the way from Bremerton Marina to our homeport of Bremerton Yacht Club...almost 35 minutes.

The next rendezvous will be held September 6-8 at Poulsbo. Bill and Jeannine Bramstedt, Wbramstedt@q.com and Dave and Susie Garland, dgarland@comcast.net hosting.

An email from Greg McGuire today somewhere in the San Juan islands assures me that the October 18-20 Rendezvous in Tacoma is still a go.

Many thanks to Ruth Murray of Wings of Gold and Gary and Lori Coykendall of Laetare for your considerable efforts to make this another successful HAPS rendezvous.

Mike
 
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