A half-dozen boats participating in this weekend's Pacific Challenge pass a ship moored in Fidalgo Bay on Saturday morning.
Carefully taking down a sail and making sure that the halyards would not foul the oars was part of the routine for the Port Townsend crew making their boat ready for inspection this morning.
The young crews, many of them members of Explorer Scout groups, prepared for a day of competition in knot tying, navigation, rowing and sailing. Six boats arrived Friday night from Olympia, Port Townsend, Vashon Island, Kent and Tacoma to camp on the lawn at Seafarers’ Memorial Park.
The crews from elsewhere in Puget Sound are competing with the Anacortes boat “Elizabeth Bonaventure” and her Sea Scouts crew of Crew 81. They started the day off with a knot tying competition and left the dock with an inspector aboard each boat to observe the crews’ navigation skills.
Next comes some rowing and sailing competition and a hearty lunch on the north beach of Saddlebag Island.
The annual event is designed to test the nautical skills and knowledge of young mariners, aged 14-18 aboard traditional wooden longboats and gigs.
The Anacortes crew, aboard the Elizabeth Bonaventure, won the Queen's Cup in the last two outings, held in Seattle last year and at Grays Harbor in 2007.
The weekend event brings together youth, their maritime mentors, and community supporters. The competition celebrates the team’s achievements in teamwork, leadership, and their mastery of rowing, sailing and seamanship. This is accomplished through friendly competition rooted in long-standing tradition. For many of these young crews, the Pacific Challenge is the culmination of a year's worth of studying and training in their home maritime program.
The first International Pacific Challenge was held in Port Townsend in 1992. The maritime activities were organized that year around the bicentennial celebration of Captain George Vancouver's explorations of the Puget Sound.
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