Category: By John

Ketchikan to Salt Lake City – Life Intervenes

Warning: Profanity has its place to convey the emotion and gravity of a situation. I use it in this piece.

What is the lead of this story? I don’t want to bury the lead.

Is it JoAnn dropping into a coma? JoAnn slowly crawling out of a coma?

Deciding to miss my nephew’s wedding… the first in his generation to marry?

The Delta ticket agent who reversed my check in so I could decide not to fly from Ketchikan to Salt Lake City. That she left the gate to find me to give me additional info to help me decide? Continue reading “Ketchikan to Salt Lake City – Life Intervenes”

Conversation Part 3: Picking up the Parts

On Monday morning, the day the Canadian people celebrate Queen Victoria’s birthday, shortly after 6 am, Jennifer helped me climb into the dinghy. I’d left the two five gallon cans of gasoline in the dinghy and added the remaining two-cycle oil and a mostly empty five-quart container of crankcase oil. Continue reading “Conversation Part 3: Picking up the Parts”

Conversation Part 2: Kitasoo Watchmen and a Float Plane

I’m not sure when pictures will get added. The drive that held all my pictures crashed and has not yet been restored from a back up.

‘‘Why do they always want to tie up on the port side?’’ Cara asked, not the world at large, not God, but Joe.

Joe looked at Cara, made eye contact but didn’t even bother to shrug.

The aluminum boat Kitasoo Watchmen backed away from port the side, then came along the starboard side a distance away from the Nordic Spirit, but before the boat could tie up the floatplane appeared, touched down on the water and stopped about 250 feet to starboard.

Joe looked at me. We climbed over the side into the dinghy. The engine started with a single pull.

Continue reading “Conversation Part 2: Kitasoo Watchmen and a Float Plane”

Status: More air-freighted engine parts, more new friends.

Friday June 3rd – It’s 46°F in Ketchikan; Hilary wakes up and comments occasionally; Jennifer arrived in Providence five hours ago; 18 hours ago I ordered more engine parts, this time from Seattle. Caro Babbo strains on her dock lines against the 25kn winds that blast through the harbor. Continue reading “Status: More air-freighted engine parts, more new friends.”

Quick Status – Prince Rupert

Part two is coming.

We’re in Prince Rupert, where we met up with two other boats we’ve met previously. For the first time since leaving Seattle, we went out to a restaurant with Ray of Truce (http://Truce.nz), and Linda and Ian of Coast Pilot. Continue reading “Quick Status – Prince Rupert”

Weather comes ashore, fish processing, I know Ingmar!

May 17th, 2016

It is 6.25 AM. Jennifer and Hilary are sleeping.

Jennifer was up with me at 5.30 discussing whether to leave then. We looked at the tide and realized that there is not enough water for us to make it through the passage we used to enter this small pool of water. In two hours there will be enough.

A problem is a storm moving that will bring 40 knot winds into the open water near by. If we stay ‘‘inside,’’ the high hills and island will hide us from the wind, but there is one place where we may be exposed to the waves.

When Jennifer wakes up, around 7.30, we’ll discuss this. Continue reading “Weather comes ashore, fish processing, I know Ingmar!”

Too Many Wonderful Places, Reality Calls US Back

We went a wonderful week without phone access or internet. (I lie subtly, because in Ocean Falls there was very slow WiFi available, if we’d sought it out.)

Jennifer realized last Sunday that at our current rate we would arrive in Ketchikan two weeks early, so we’ve been able to slow down travel half days and do fun stuff. We’ve also met people along the way, had them over for drinks and dinner and were hosted to Dutch pancakes by Christian and Wanda in Ocean Falls.

This post will mostly be a photo gallery.

We’re currently back in Shearwater for the cellular connection and laundry. Continue reading “Too Many Wonderful Places, Reality Calls US Back”