Sep 26 – Poulsbo

More dominos last night – an abbreviated session to be continued. I had picked up a package of bay scallops at Safeway the day before we left – neither Erin nor Barb are fond of seafood based breakfasts, but Erin fixed scallop and onion omelets for Trav and me this morning. They were awesome.

Today a public viewing of the classic yachts at the marina is on the agenda for visitors to the city of Poulsbo. We have our information narrative out on deck near the door for people to read as they stroll by. We are not required to allow visitors boarding privileges, but it is optional at our convenience and most of the long time CYA members have their signs that display “Welcome Aboard” or “No Boarding at this time”, depending on which way it’s flipped.

We went for a dock walk this morning to look at some of the other boats, and as we approached the Olympus at the end of the dock, Diane Vanderbeek, the owner, invited us to come on board for a tour, even though the “No Boarding” sign was out. We were treated to a private tour by Diane, and she told us quite a bit of history about the boat. As I mentioned earlier, it’s a 97’ fantail – it was built in New York in 1929, commissioned by a wealthy Wall Street tycoon to be used as a commuter vessel between his two estates. For that reason, it was built fairly low to enable it to pass under all the bridges in New York City. It can also pass through the ship canal from the locks to Lake Washington without having to raise any of the drawbridges, including the Fremont Bridge, the lowest of them all.

It didn’t belong to that Wall Street tycoon for long as 1929 wasn’t a very good year for him. The yacht was purchased in the 1930’s by George Converse (of Converse shoes) and his wife Mary Stuart, a former silent screen star. They brought it from the east coast through the Panama Canal to Southern California. During the 1930’s and into 1940 it was a part of the Hollywood social scene and appeared in several movies.

During World War II, the boat was conscripted into service by the Navy to act as a patrol boat, plying the waters between California and Alaska on the lookout for Japanese submarines. As we were being shown the formal dining room, we learned that, during its Navy service, President Truman had met with various military brass there just days before the first A-bomb was dropped, perhaps to give a go-ahead or plan some post event strategy.

After the war, the boat was declared surplus to be auctioned off. Harry Truman told his good friend Monrad Wallgren, the current governor of Washington State, about the auction and it was subsequently purchased by the sole bidder, the state of Washington, for $15,000. Truman and Wallgren had worked together on legislation to form the Olympic National Forest, and the boat was renamed Olympus after Mt. Olympus. Truman spent time aboard the boat on many occasions during that time, and once signed the guest book as a resident of Independence, Mo, and in parentheses, he wrote: (temporary residence 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, D.C.).

From the 1950’s on, the boat was privately owned by various corporations and individuals, and was eventually purchased in the mid 1990’s by the VanDerbeeks. Diane mentioned that they had no original plans or blueprints for the boat, but at a yacht club function some years later, famed yacht architect Olin Stephens was a guest on board for a function and told Diane “I designed this boat – I’m surprised it’s still afloat!” He had been an apprentice at the yard in New York where the boat was built. The largest boat they had built before this one was 77 feet long, and he was told to draw up some plans for something similar, only 97 feet long. He went on to design several sailing vessels that won the America’s Cup, beginning in the 1930’s. He died just recently at the age of 100.

Thanks to Diane for the wonderful and informative guided tour of the Olympus!

Moored a couple slips towards shore was the Old Man IV, an Admiral’s Barge from the U.S. Navy. It’s an honorary member of the CYA, and was crewed by three smartly dressed sailors: a bosun’s mate, an engineer and a lieutenant. It was used by the local Navy admiral for daily commuting between Sand Point and Bremerton back in the 50’s and 60’s, but now makes the rounds in a PR role. We enjoyed talking to its crew, all long term Navy, but still young.

Tonight’s activity was a potluck dinner at the end of our dock, next to the Olympus. Erin made a bowl of spaghetti for us to take down, and there was quite a wide selection of dishes from which to choose. Probably one of the best potluck dinner’s we’ve ever attended. We dined out at the end of the dock, then returned to the boat when a chill wind picked up.

Erin and I walked the docks later in the evening and we then all finished off that game of dominos we had started the night before.