The Magic of the Northwest
I recently traveled to the Pacific Northwest to spend some time with Bob and Polly Lane before they joined the Grand Banks fleet headed to Alaska as part of the company’s 50th anniversary. The Lanes have traveled extensively throughout the PNW, from lower Puget Sound to Southeast Alaska and most ports in between. They represent the best of adventurous boat owners who enjoy cruising grounds second to none. Few who have spent time in that part of the country would disagree with that sentiment. The couple’s GB 42 Europa, Quadra, was all spruced up for the celebration cruise.
During my week in Anacortes and Seattle, I put aside my ongoing internal debate of whether the area’s Dungeness crab is better than Chesapeake Bay crab. No one I know can agree one way or the other, but I realize I am lucky enough to have both on occasion.
While in country, I had the opportunity to visit many of the Northwest boat companies who create lovely cruising boats for our trawler community. I’ve always thought there’s an inordinate number of quality boatbuilders in the state of Washington, and anyone in the market for a trawler can find just about any type or size dreamboat from the area’s builders.
Bob and I stopped at Rozema Boat Works, a builder of custom aluminum workboats and yachts, and we saw an almost complete workboat that would soon be headed to the Marshall Islands to salvage test missiles. Dirk Rozema is justly proud of the family operation, with plenty of orders in both commercial and military markets.
Next we visited Nordic Tugs and toured the growing operation, which now has 13 tugs under construction. The Nordic crew is on a roll with orders across its fleet!
I found that true for most of the builders I visited. American Tugs is doing great, and the same-day splashing of 34 and 41 tugs gave us a chance to poke around these new boats. Even the smaller builders, such as Sea Wolf, are successful at balancing a passion for boats with the business of building them. Larger companies, like Northern Marine, continue to weather the changing economic scene and accompanying fuel concerns. In fact, Northern Marine’s current agenda of building semi-custom expedition yachts seems a clear road to success. This yard creates ruggedly beautiful yet extremely capable trawler yachts.
Big boats are certainly not the only offering in this part of the country. I checked out Fluid Motion, now finishing a new design that is a joint venture with C-Dory. The 25-foot cruising boat is called the C-Ranger 25. She was set to debut at Trawler Fest Poulsbo in June, and she is a cutie, a bona fide, inboard diesel cruising boat in a smaller package. I’m sure the boat will be successful, as it is an affordable yet complete cruiser, something people have been asking for.
Despite the large number of thriving builders, several new companies are forming and hope to launch some new boats in the next year or so. We’ll keep an eye on them as they come closer to producing these new boats.
Overall, the yacht industry in the PNW is alive and well.
When I lived there so many years ago, I dreamed of being lost among the many islands and clear, cold waters of Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands. Whether in a kayak or a well-equipped cruising boat, sailng in that area is unique. To head north into British Columbia is to embark on a charmed journey, and the wildlife and magnificent scenery are spectacular. The wisps of smoke from cabins on some of the more remote islands add to the allure in one’s memories, but it is the rich magnitude of it all that takes one’s breath away.
I recall a woman in New England marveling at the sight of an eagle she had seen high above her home in the woods. Another time, a sailor told of the thrill of seeing a dolphin off the coast of New Jersey. I recollect thinking that these folks needed to visit the PNW, as it is common during the course of any Northwest cruise to see dozens of eagles soaring above the wooded hillsides and islands. And glimpsing a single dolphin pales to the experience of watching a pod of orcas splashing a short distance off the bow, a truly humbling experience that witnesses nature’s dignity.
“Special” does not do justice to this place; the magic is so vast, it is hard to embrace it completely.
Put the Pacific Northwest on your short list of future cruising destinations.
It will change your life.
Bill Parlatore
Editor-In-Chief