Far off, over wind and wave, the Lady Washington has spent the summer flying Aberdeen’s standard across the Puget Sound.
Heading now for Olympia for more than a week, the vessel will be at her closest point of approach to Aberdeen for at least a year as she arrives in time for Olympia Harbor Days.
“It’s Harbor Days! It’s busy. It’s fun,” said Brandi Bednarik, executive director of the Grays Harbor Historical Seaport, in an interview. “Tickets are selling out fast.”
Ticket sales this year have been substantially higher than last year as things recover from pandemic conditions, Bednarik said.
“It’s our best season since COVID. We’re already over our ticket sales from last year,” Bednarik said. “I think by the end of July, we were over our ticket sales (from 2022).”
The ship had sold about 1,700 tickets as of last week, Bednarik said, with some interesting trends becoming apparent.
“Last year we sold more evening ticket sales. This year we sold more afternoon ticket sails,” Bednarik said. “It’s a weird shift from previous.”
Lady Washington’s call in the capital is going to be an educational visit for local kids, Bednarik said.
“We do have a lot of education in Olympia,” Bednarik said. “We got sponsored by the Olympia Yacht Club to take some kids out.”
The tall ship will overwinter at Port Orchard, said Bednarik, to maximize economy of resources.
“We’re going to stay in Port Orchard,” Bednarik said. “We’re going to do our winter maintenance there.”
The plan right now is hopefully to haul out during winter of 2024 for major restoration, Bednarik said, meaning the Lady Washington may not fly her colors in Grays Harbor again until 2025.
“She’s been beat up from being here and overwintering here,” Bednarik said. “Our plan is to restore her so she can come back.”
Tickets are still available for purchase online or in person, as well as by phone, Bednarik said. “People can buy their tickets at the boat,” Bednarik said. “I don’t recommend trying to do it for that day.”
For more information and tickets, check out the website at historicalseaport.org.
Contact Senior Reporter Michael S. Lockett at 757-621-1197 or mlockett@thedailyworld.com.
