PORT ANGELES — Canoe pullers from various American Indian tribes were welcomed by their largest crowd of the 2002 Paddle Journey at Hollywood Beach on Wednesday afternoon.
As the canoe pullers consisting of men, women and children from the Northwest and Canada ventured along the Strait of Juan de Fuca on placid waters from Jamestown, the wind and wave troubles many of the canoes faced leaving Port Townsend on Monday were long forgotten.
Except for two canoes, all that landed in Port Townsend on Monday were trailered to Jamestown on Tuesday.
Not so Wednesday, when 13 canoes pulled into Port Angeles Harbor, amassed near the old Rayonier pier and paddled single-file to the beach next to City Pier as an estimated 350 watched from shore.
“You could not have asked for a more beautiful day,” said Lower Elwha Klallam tribal chairman Dennis Sullivan, who welcomed the canoes and formally granted permission for each to land.
The pullers will rest today and leave Friday morning.
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