PORT TOWNSEND — There was a time near the end of a month-long sea journey from Japan to British Columbia when the tall ship Europa had no wind, little fuel and was several days behind schedule.
There was the storm off the coast of Korea when the vessel could only motor 2 knots at full power in the face of gusting winds.
But the 185-foot barque, built in 1911 and touring the world for past year, successfully completed the trans-Pacific journey and arrived in Richmond, British Columbia, a week ago Tuesday.
Now headed to Seattle, the massive clipper-era ship docked Tuesday at Union Wharf before leaving town Wednesday.
The impressive boat drew scores of onlookers and a round of applause as its sails were raised around noon and it departed.
First mate Eric Kesteloo has been aboard for much of the trip around the world since the boat left its home port of Amsterdam last June.
—————
The rest of this story appears in the Thursday Peninsula Daily News. Click on SUBSCRIBE to get the PDN delivered to your home or office.