Richard McCurdy on his circumnavigation 

This week (January 21, 2026) the speaker at our Winter Wednesdays Series is Captain Richard McCurdy. Captain McCurdy was born in Port Townsend, as was his father and his father’s father. He grew up sailing on PT Bay and had a dream of sailing his own boat to the South Pacific and beyond. His father told him that if he got an advanced degree he would help him build a boat to take on this long voyage. After getting a Masters degree he spent 1974-1976 finishing the bare hull of a Cape George 36. During that time he met a girl at the Town Tavern, and in 1977 they departed and spent the next five years sailing around the world. Arriving back in Port Townsend in 1982, he signed on as a deckhand on a tugboat, and over the next ten years worked his way up to captain. That gained him enough sea time and experience to become a Puget Sound Pilot. As you can imagine he has a lot of stories. This talk will focus on his circumnavigation.

Coming up in our Winter Wednesday series, next week we have Blaise Holly speaking about “Historic preservation from Duckboats to Schooners”. Others on the schedule include Ernie Baird, Ace Spragg, Dan Newland, Pam Petranek, Stig Osterberg, new PTSA members Shauna and Al Walgren-Hughes, and more! Everybody is welcome, you don't have to be a member to attend.

FIRST WARNING: SHIPWRIGHTS REGATTA, FEBRUARY 21, 2026

THANK YOU to everybody who has already signed up as a member for 2026. If you haven't joined yet you can do so here.