CRUISING 2024.
Our 2023 summer cruise calendar provided many good memories to sustain us through winter’s long
nights. Now’s a good time to do some cleaning, lighten the ship of fair weather gear, and prepare our
vessels for their idle months. We stay aboard Vixen 2-4 nights each month throughout winter, which
helps chase the damp while spending some time addressing the eternal project list, and hedges against
surprises come spring. We love the harbor seals, birds, and marina and town life in Poulsbo, even in winter, although the long walk from Vixen’s outer-marina slip to shore facilities can be too long when the cold rain’s blowing sideways.
This year’s summer cruise season ended with the Salmon Bake at Poulsbo. Five boats attended and
many people came by car; somehow, we all still (mostly) fit in the marina’s small multi-purpose room.
There was no shortage of salmon and potluck delectables. Mischief Maker hosted happy hours on both
Friday and Saturday, and we were honored to wish Harold a Happy Birthday with celebratory cupcakes!
The weather was fair, and no one fell in – all in all a good time on summer’s last hurrah.
In case you missed the September dinner meeting, we looked through many photos from this summer’s
exploits and voted on favorites in several categories. That was fun and I suspect we’ll have an even
bigger field of pics to review after next summer’s adventures. And at the October meeting, in lieu of an
outside speaker, featured a lively group discussion of experiences and ways to avoid visiting the bottom
or hard pointy things near the surface, with our hulls. Some of these stories take guts to re-tell, others
may be more humorous (after initial shock), and it’s all useful information especially for forward
planning of our various trips in 2024. There are many resources available to aid us in safe navigation in
addition to GPS plotters – including cruising guides, up-to-date NOAA charts (printed for me please, I’m
old school), and the comprehensive US Coast Pilot (free online, print just the pages covering the charts
you use).
And speaking of next summer, we’re setting up 2024 now, see below. Contact us at cruisechair@shilsholebayyachtclub.org with any questions or comments.
WINTER FEST will move to March 15-17, and we’re proposing Edmonds, which has reasonable guest
rates and good dining choices in and near the marina.
YELLOW FEST April 5-7 at Blake Island Marina. The beachfront picnic shelter is reserved for that
Saturday.
BURGER BURN returns to Port Ludlow May 17-19.
JUNE DINNER DANCE will be at Kingston Yacht Club. We heard appreciative comments about this year’s band, Sour Mash, and are inquiring about booking them again for 2024.
JULY 3 RAFT-UP is under consideration and may move from Liberty Bay. Many locales including
Poulsbo/Liberty Bay are opting out of pyrotechnics lately, so please send us any thoughts on possible
alternatives.
SUMMER RENDEZVOUS is up for grabs, again let us know what’s in your plans for the July/August time frame – North? South? West? We really made good use of the new Discord platform this year and it’s easier than you may think, for chat and uploading photos.
LABOR DAY WEEKEND 2024 spans August 31 – Sept 2. Our 2023 meet-up at Port Orchard was a good
location for those of us boating in from Seattle, Tacoma, and Poulsbo, and easy for those driving over or
around too. We’re looking into our 2024 location and are eager to hear any ideas, or if Port Orchard
merits another visit.
The SALMON BAKE will be September 27-29 and will likely return to Des Moines, as Poulsbo’s facility
building proved almost too small for the large group that joined this year.
We’ll publish finalized reservations next month, and they’ll be added to the “Cruising” tab on the SBYC
website next month and in January. Please also consider volunteering to host or help with any of these
events!
“The sea speaks a language polite people never repeat. It is a colossal scavenger of slang and has no
respect.” (Carl Sandburg)