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More tugs raced Sunday than last year, which organizers say is a direct result of having Percival Landing open.
“We just didn’t have room for the bigger tugs last year,” said festival organizer Nancy Sigafoos.
She said attendance for the three-day festival is the largest it’s been in years.
“The community is so thrilled with the new facilities,” she said.
After checking out the tugs up close, Sharon and Mike Welsh of Olympia watched from the new boardwalk as the tugs headed out to Budd Inlet for the races.
Sharon Welsh said she was impressed with the updates to the landing, especially how spacious it seemed even with a large crowd.
“It’s very nice,” she said.
During the skipper’s meeting before the race, organizers reminded captains that the winner in each heat would be the boat to cross the finish line first without the aid of broom handles or oyster sticks.
“I can’t hang a crew member out?” one man asked from the crowd.
George Hill of Vashon Island has raced the Parthia in Harbor Days the last six years. In its past life, the 50-foot boat, built in 1906, was a logging tug in Olympia.
Now it just cleans up in the races, finishing first and second several times in years past.
As for his boat’s success at Harbor Days, Hill said it’s not a complicated formula.
“There is no secret,” he said. “Put the throttle all the way down.” Parthia finished second in its heat.
Other tugs were competing for the first time.
Adrian Lipp has owned Skillful, a 1955 tug that pushed logs in Port Angeles, the past three years and it’s now in good enough condition to race. Lipp, a mechanic for Seattle-based Old Tacoma Marine, fell in love with old diesel engines in school and lived on the Arthur Foss tug for two years.
Lipp, who raced Sunday with his girlfriend he met six years ago at Harbor Days on a different tug, admits Skillful needs help from currents to get above 7.5 knots but that he hoped it would win first place for “being awesome.”
“It’s cute, so I bring it to parties to show off,” he said.
Skillful finished third out of four boats in its heat.
Nate Hulings: 360-754-5476
nhulings@theolympian.com
www.theolympian.com/outsideoly
