Another great delivery in the books. This one was a real treat; a Swan 46 needed to be moved from Roche Harbor San Juan Island to Port Madison Bainbridge Island after it had been shipped from the east coast. An old race horse and “Mediterranean RV’ according to the long time owners. (23 years) She had brand new tech sails and we had a great forecast to shake some of the wrinkles out. Samuli Järvinen an alumni of the GBA advanced sailing program jumped at the opportunity being no stranger the the reputation of the brand. As a young man growing up in Finland he knew well the renown that the boat carried. I too am a long time fan of the boats. Since I was knee high to a carbuncle I’ve admired the lines and after getting behind the helm of a 44 when I was 13 I’ve been drooling over them ever since. I love a downwind surfer as much as the next person who has tasted the rare and wonderful fruits of surfing a sailboat and sustained planing speeds. That said I’ve spent more than my share of time going to weather as a delivery captain and can really appreciate a boat that can go upwind like a train while taking care of you in the conditions most don’t want to find themselves in.

Our forecast was for a beam reach from 10 to 20 so dream conditions. We arrived the night before and cast off first thing. The wind howled all night long and we bounced around quite a bit for a boat weighing 31,000 pounds. In the morning heading out mosquito pass we weren’t sure if the wind was going to taper as forecast but of course once we hoisted the main with the second reef things started to calm down. I gave the helm to Sam and took advantage of the calm to cook us up some breakfast. Once we finished our bacon and eggs all the reefs were shook out and we started to move at a pace appropriate to the boat’s reputation.

After San Juan was in our wake it even filled and veered a little for us while still remaining highly civilized on the beam or just aft. It was so much fun sailing we just wanted more but knew that once in the shelter of Admiralty inlet and the Olympics we were going to have to motor. Then that phone rang. “ Are you on a Swan heading south approaching Admiralty Inlet? Why yes captain Jake. Are you on that tugboat? I said. Yes I’m the one with a CPA of 0 on your stern. Very cool I said ..but if you must come so close please snap a shot.

Always nice to run into a friend on the water.

I’ll spare the boat dorkery that ensued. Jake is not only a very accomplished and young tugboat captain he is also a savvy sailor man. Even though he was helming a state of the art tractor tug in a quiet bridge on his second cup of coffee. He would rather be on our boat.

It was looking like a daylight arrival was out of the question with the tide as it was against us. Fortunately Ive got some experience with port Madison from teaching sailing out of Seattle in the past. I used to take my students to the public dock and local pizza place in Suquamish quite regularly and the neighboring mooring ball cluttered Port Madison was perfect mooring pick up training grounds. So I knew we had a minefield ahead and to proceed with the same caution I eat the crabcakes my mom makes and my dad picks the crab for. Aphrodite’s dock and her owners were waiting for us and our landing was uneventful.

The other thing that was waiting for us was a three course meal punctuated with fresh baked chocolate cookies and Baileys on the porch around the fire.

Not shabby at all.

Note for future delivery customers for arrival procedure.

What a treat and to hear so many great stories about a boat well loved and traveled.