COVER STORY
Welcome aboard the Pleiades –
Sail back in time on the Fjord
Imagine a warm, salt-air breeze whilst waves lap at the wooden slats. In the distance the ice capped Olympics rise from a sparkling sea. The only sound is the creaking wood as it rubs the leather guides of the traditional rigging. Fluttering sails snapping the lines taut. The schooner glides through the water as the sun slowly sinks behind the peaks, casting a vibrant orange glow over the Canal. This is what Olympia Schooner Company has to offer. The “Pleiades,” is an 59’ working replica of an 1830s Eastport Pinky Schooner built at Sauvi Island Boat works by Roger Stallcup. First launched in 1990, Pleiades has traveled throughout the Pacific Northwest – today the schooner makes her home port in Union where she offers cruises around the fjord.
Forty year veteran sailor and Pleiades skipper, Captain Jon Prins summed up his feelings on sailing in Hood Canal, “When I take the boat out in the evening, rounding the Great Bend, and open up to that vista that greets us – that is the most beautiful spot in Puget Sound as far as I’m concerned.”
Captain Jon Prins
23
FJORD
