Sunny sailing: Lady Washington takes part in Olympia Harbor Days

She’ll be present there for another weekend

Bringing her stately presence to affairs with panache and elegance, the Lady Washington graced Olympia Harbor Days with her presence, as the crew welcomed guests aboard for tours and sailings in the South Puget Sound.

Hundreds of guests came aboard during the ship’s first weekend of a two-weekend stay in Olympia, said Capt. Katherine Pogue.

“It was busy. But it was good!” Pogue said in a phone interview. “We were sold out for all of our sails.”

Every one of the Lady Washington’s sailings over the weekend was fully booked, Pogue said, with more than 400 guests coming aboard the replica of the 18th-century brig as they took them out into the sound.

“It’s cool. Very busy. Lots of people, very interested in boats,” Pogue said. “It’s always fun to have the other boats around us, like Pterodactyl and Pleiades and Virginia V.”

Slow winds Saturday were unhelpful, Pogue said.

“Saturday was the worst. It was really really hot. With three sails a day, it’s tough. Thankfully with the last sail the wind picked up and it cooled down a bit,” Pogue said. “Those first two sails there was no wind and we were just drifting around.”

Boat cats Darrell and Marlin continue to delight guests aboard, Pogue said, varying in their levels of customer interaction but entertaining equally.

“The cats are always entertaining,” Pogue said. “The passengers always love meeting Marlin because he’ll come up and socialize. But Dary too.”

Pogue said that seeing some of the other vessels present was a high point.

“Seeing all the tugboats. Tugboats are cool. We all love tugboats,” Pogue said. “I really love the tiny tugboats.”

The Lady Washington will spend another weekend in Olympia before making sail for Tacoma.

“We’ve got a few more weeks of programming. We’re here for another week,” Pogue said. “We’re sailing Wednesday through Sunday.”

After spending some days in Tacoma, Lady Washington and her crew will retire to Port Orchard, where the vessel will overwinter.

Contact Senior Reporter Michael S. Lockett at 757-621-1197 or mlockett@thedailyworld.com.

Guests line up to sail aboard the Lady Washington as part of Harbor Days on September 2. (Michael S. Lockett / The Daily World)

The state capitol building in Olympia stands in the sinking sun as the Lady Washington sails north on September 2. (Michael S. Lockett / The Daily World)