On the trip up, we managed, to actually sail for about two hours before having to turn the engine on for the rest of the way. Fortunately, we didn't experience any rain, though we heard that there were severe thunderstorms in Seattle. We arrived at Point Hudson Marina in Port Townsend around 6pm. After a lovely venison burger for dinner and some pool at a local brewpub, we headed back to the boat for a good night's sleep. Overnight, the wind picked up and howled through the marina.
The next morning we woke to 20-25 mph winds and showery conditions. It also happened to be
the Port Townsend Kinetic Festival. What is this, you might ask? Apparently it is a 7-mile race over both land and water for homemade, "perpetual motion", self-powered vehicles. The entries were varied and unusual looking. People definitely got creative with their engineering, and pictures don't really do it justice. Unfortunately, though, in order to make it back to Seattle against a strong wind, we couldn't watch the race (though we pitied the poor people who had to contend with tall waves, whitecaps, and cool temperatures).We launced around 1pm in very heavy wind and almost immediately got turned to a different route due to impassible waves and strong winds.
We ended up motoring for a few hours before daring to open up the sails, and once we did, we made little forward progress in the challenging conditions. Rains and wind squalls came and went, as we seemed to be right on the edge of the front. The bow was 
getting hammered by the waves, and sea spray often made it back into the cockpit. To the west, the sun was setting beautifully, but in all other directions, ominous clouds loomed overhead. At 7pm, without about 15 miles left to go, we decided to turn on the motor for the remaining 3+ hours back to the dock. Fortunately, the wind and waves calmed down, and we were treated to a starry night toward the end.For more pictures from this trip, click here
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