Many years ago, nine to be precise, we acquired our first boat: Uno Mas, an Islander 30 built in 1976. Uno Mas is a “daysailer” with a fin keel. A quick and nifty little boat that allowed us to get comfortable sailing the coastal and inland waters of Washington State for almost five years. We found her in Ballard in Seattle at the commercial fishing port.
She was a liveaboard for the previous owner who had purchased a newer and bigger boat. We kept Uno Mas in the Kingston Marina during the winter and in Port Angeles Marina during the summer. One winter we had her tied up at the Neah Bay Marina, so Nic could stay aboard instead of having to drive back to Port Angeles every night. She has taken us on fun sailing trips in Puget Sound where we were treated to seeing humpback whales and orcas.
We went on many short trips exploring Puget Sound. Twice we spent Christmas at Belltown Marina in downtown Seattle. Each time with spectacular weather and an empty downtown, including Pike Place Market and Lake Union.
Uno Mas was a wonderful starter boat for us. She helped us determine what we want and didn’t like on our future liveaboard boat that we hope to take around the world. Her engine always purred like a kitten and the sails and rigging held up without a problem. Back then we didn’t have a dinghy, so we used our 20 feet long aluminum canoe and would tow it behind us (see title picture above).
Thanks to Uno Mas we can today sail on Rua Hatu!
