SOUND ADDICTION
Depending on where you are, Puget Sound can look no bigger than a mountainous version of the Intracoastal Waterway. That’s what I thought when I first laid eyes on it from the lighthouse at Mukilteo Park on a sunny day last July. Then I went to the top of the iconic Space Needle in Seattle and nearly got the wind knocked out of me, staring incredulously at the immensity of this vast inland sea. Wow, it’s big!
Framed by distant snow-capped peaks, the tendrils of these indigo waters stretch out in all directions, inviting adventurous sailors to come explore them for a summer or a lifetime. My family and I had to settle for a week on a chartered sailboat, and I already regretted this limitation.
After a thorough search of local bareboat charter companies, we reserved , a Catalina 36, from the good people at Windworks () at Shilshole Bay Marina and were introduced to Thor, a gregarious boat hand who took us out for a spin and put me through an extensive checklist to
