Sails struck and masts foreshortened, Lady Washington has settled in to her winter home in Port Orchard as the crew readies her for the rain of the South Puget Sound.

The vessel saw ticket sales rebounding from last year, getting back toward where they were pre-pandemic, said Executive Director Brandi Bednarik.

“It was our best year since COVID started. There’s always room for improvement but it was more toward normal,” Bednarik said in a phone interview. “As of September, we were over what we budgeted for the year. And way over what we did last year.”

While the seaport still needed to fundraise to meet operating expenses, the ship did much better on ticket sales this year, Bednarik said.

“We still have a heavy lift to go with the fundraising,” Bednarik said. “We’re a little ways away.”

Capt. Katherine Pogue said longer stays in each port gave residents more time to realize the ship was in town and find time to come aboard for a sailing.

“It was good. We stayed longer in ports longer than last year, I think,” Pogue said. “I liked that. I liked kind of having that time to establish ourselves.”

The weather for the season was pretty tame, Pogue said.

“It was a pretty relaxed season,” Pogue said. “There wasn’t a lot of wind all summer. It was kind of boring. But that is kind of summer in the Puget Sound.”

Now, Lady Washington is being readied for her overwinter stay in Port Orchard.

“We took down the t’gallant yards, all of the sails. Most of the rigging is still up because we don’t have the storage here we do in Aberdeen,” Pogue said. “Two deckhands will stay onboard over the winter to make sure the boat is safe.”

After the 2024 season, the plan is for Lady Washington to haul out at Port Townsend for six months for serious overhaul, Pogue said. Closer to home, the Historical Seaport in Aberdeen continues to improve its space for more future capability, Bednarik said.

“We keep doing more with the event center. We have events or rentals every weekend in October,” Bednarik said. “We’re going to clean out a couple more spots as a shop rental.”

The seaport is also working with state agencies as they determine the next steps for environmental cleanup of areas in the historical seaport’s grounds, as well as developing a strategic plan for the future, Bednarik said.

The schedule for next year’s sailings will go up in the next several months, Pogue said.

Contact Senior Reporter Michael S. Lockett at 757-621-1197 or mlockett@thedailyworld.com.