Allegro is the name of my sail boat and this definition fits her to a "T". Allegro is a 1982 Tartan 33R and the only one of her kind on the west coast that I am aware of. The 33R is the masthead version of the much more prevalent fractional rigged 33. Masthead meaning the fore sail attaches at the top of the mast rather than attaching lower or, a "fractional" distance below the top.
Well, Allegro has been a tad neglected over the past year so the decision was made to right some wrongs. Since MSC up in Anacortes did the original delivery of the boat and almost all upgrades and maintenance since new, I thought it only fitting to deliver the boat to them for some additional TLC. So, let's schedule a trip to Anacortes aboard the good ship Allegro.
Now, for those of you who are not sailors, sailboats are not known for their ability to reach high rates of speed.... about 6.5 knots is the best we can do without a gale. Allegro is moored in Everett and the distance to Anacortes via the Swinomish Channel is approximately 45 nautical miles. Since there is no possible way to do the trip without fighting some adverse currents this time of the year, you better figure an average speed of 5.5 knots. You do the math..... this trip is going to take the whole day.
Since things have been a bit stressful at PGS of late, I decided that a good managerial summit would be in order and what better place to do this than to have all my managers held captive on a boat for 9 or so hours. Allegro is all about low stress and this was probably the best leadership idea I have come up with in quite some time. As we departed Everett you could just see the stress levels begin to drop and creativity ran rampant among our little group. Lots of good discussion, both work and non-work related, flowed in generous quantities throughout the day.
The guys met up at Allegro in the early AM, we readied the boat for departure, made a stop at the pump-out, and then motored out into the bay. The morning began with a thick, soupy, fog with visibility in the 100 foot range. Thank goodness for GPS chart plotters. There be islands out there..... somewhere!
As the day wore on the sun did begin to shine and slowly burn off the fog. It really turned into a beautiful day. It would have been nice if the wind would have blown a bit so we could sail but I guess that was too much to ask for so we motored along to the sound of that little diesel engine mixed with some Jack Johnson music as backup.
It always amazes me just how relaxing it is to be on the water. For whatever reason I just never get bored. My crew commented on the exact same feeling, so it isn't just me. There is just something about bobbing along watching the sea critters, eagles, and debris all while navigating the straights, channels, and passages of the puget sound that keeps the mind occupied. Speaking of navigating, here is the entrance to the Swinomish Channel:
We got really lucky this time as the tides were fairly high and navigating the narrow channel was relatively simple. The last time I had come through this channel on my way to Succia it was at a low tide and I basically navigated by brail. I do believe that I left a bit of Allegro's keel rubbed along the bottom of the channel. The channel is always interesting as you see lots of big motor yachts moored along the waterfront in LaConnor and the narrow channel affords views of some pretty spectacular homes.
Once you leave the channel it's not long before you arrive at the Anacortes Marina. Some more rather tricky navigation through shallow dredged channels and we arrived at the fuel dock/haul-out for Marine Service Center. Handed over the keys to Skip, gave a few instructions, some well wishes, loaded things up into the Jeep that my wife had so graciously brought up to get us and headed home. What a great day!
Skip got Allegro hauled first thing the following morning and sent me some pics of the bottom:
Now, that don't look so bad!
Oops, I did leave some keel on the bottom of that channel last trip through!All in all, this was one of my better trips on Allegro and I am really looking forward to getting her back all gussied up for the summer cruising season. My crew performed flawlesly and did a great job of covering some really important management subjects. I think I will have to get them to crew for me more often..... maybe a PGS racing crew! Stay tuned.....
Cheers!
Cap'n Ron
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