Cruising Caro Babbo – Page 5

Transitioning back

DL2955, 114 Minutes east of Seattle, 19-MAR-2019 – It is a transitional time. We’re headed back to Seattle with two houses sold, one undergoing renovation, one about to start. My friend and editor, Peter Coleman, sent me an email discussing the boat he bought in the UK (he lives in Australia), his plans for motoring through the canals of France and a sincere invitation to skip our transatlantic sail and join him and his spouse.

We’re going home…soon.

Decatur, GA, 7-MAR-2019 – With the Edgemont house listed, there is time to get back to life and Caro Babbo. Jennifer and I have been celebrating by seeing friends in the afternoons. Yesterday, we went to Marlay’s in Decatur and drank beer.

Lastnight, I registered for a Captain’s license course that I will start later this month. There is an irony. The course was offered in Port Townsend, while I was here in Atlanta, and now that I will be back in Port Townsend, I will take the course in Seattle, 2½ hours away. Keeping Caro Babbo on Lake Union proves itself once again, as I will be able to stay in Seattle the evenings after the class. I can also tele-attend via an internet connection from Port Townsend.

In short, it’s time to get back to the fun stuff.

Thinking and Learning about the next trip

Rocky Point, NY, 26-DEC-2018 – We left Atlanta last Thursday for NY. We’ve feasted and hosted and visited. Now with time away from houses it’s time to think about the next sailing trip.

RAN – Written that way, I think of a Kurosawa movie. This Ran is a Swedish boat we sailed near in BC on our way home this year.

To prepare to sail to Hawaii this year, we decided we’d spend the spring researching the trip: Jimmy Cornell’s book, weather info, reading recommended books and watching videos. YouTube’s/Google’s search algorithm, being what it is, returned Ran’s Hawaii crossing video first.

What went wrong this year?

Decatur GA, 21-OCT-2018 – A friend from Oregon told us that the only real shakedown for 3000 mile cruise is a 3000 mile cruise.* Our trip in 2016 proved his point; the list of things that broke ran three pages and almost everything on the list was my own fault.

Two years and 6000 miles later we came home from this year’s trip with no serious issues to report.

2018 was the year of leaks: there were four minor water leaks, three freshwater, one salt:

Two Sailing Videos

Lake Union, Seattle, WA, 7-OCT-2018 – These are two short sailing videos shot when we were heading north in British Columbia this past May. They demonstrate most of the sailing we did this year: to windward.

The first video is taken in Johnstone Strait. The night before the video, we anchored in Billy Goat Bay with two aluminum French boats. They had sailed north, with a third boat, from Polynesia to the Kenai Peninsula and were now working their way southward. The idea to do the same would take root in us after we spoke with Tom Kelly in Juneau.

We’re home.

Lake Union, Seattle, WA, USA, 30-SEP-2018 – We’re home. We arrived yesterday at 6:12pm.

It was a different arrival than in 2016. The dock was empty. No one to greet us.

The night before when we docked at Boat Haven in Port Townsend, we spoke about how many hundreds of times we have docked, how Jennifer routinely pulls into a slip with Caro Babbo inches from the dock. And so we did here.

The east end of Port Townsend as we sailed away towards to Seattle’s Lake Union.

Victoria, BC – Back in civilization

Victoria, BC, 27-SEP-2018 – There’s no denying we’re back in civilization. The drop boards are in the main cabin way to keep out the noise, not the cold. The sirens sounded throughout the night. Jennifer slept soundly.

Oil Change: We can’t have motored that much!

Port Renfrew, BC, Canada, 25-SEP-2018 – The motor from Bamfield to Port Renfrew was easy and calm. The wind, by our measurement, was 1 knot from the east.

We’ve made it a standard practice (SOP) to put up the mainsail whenever we will be in ocean swells. The difference, when the swells are abeam or in the confused waters near the shore, is remarkable.

We motored against the current for almost three hours and then picked up a favorable current that carried us into the strait of Juan de Fuca. The current in the strait ebbs from the east at 1.8 knots and floods from the west at 0.8 knots, so it is best to pay attention. Additionally, as most sailors know, when the wind is against the current, the waves will build. The strait is known for its moods.

Bamfield

Bamfield, BC, Canada, 23-SEP-2018 – There are many half-written, long thoughtful pieces that are not posted. Pieces on the remarkable people we’ve met and thoughts on the tourist trade, and lots of writing about the places we’ve been, and recently, we’ve been to a lot.

This is a short piece on the town of Bamfield, where Jennifer and I are today.

There are many places that are reminiscent of Cabot Cove where Murder She Wrote took place… or rather that cove was to be reminiscent of other places. This is one such place.

Resting and Reflecting in Hot Springs Cove

Hot Spring Cove, Vancouver Island, BC, 18-SEP-2018 – Two days ago, we regained cellular service after a two week absence. The first Messenger text to come through was a single, ‘‘Where are you? The pain is unbearable.’’ from a close, family friend.

This year we have an Iridium GO with us. It has allowed us to be in contact with world via e-mail, voice and text. It has been invaluable.

I did my best to make sure that everyone dear to us knew how to easily contact us. In the case of my Dad, who suffered a blood clot, this worked as planned