People – Page 8 – Caro Babbo

Port Townsend on Parade

Lord’s Pocket, AK, 14-AUG-2018 — I’m not writing as much as I’d like. To be honest, as much as I feel I should. Traveling in Caro Babbo has become life, it is not an adventure or a vacation. It is our life, or at least my life. Jennifer is feeling she has had enough of this trip and wants to return home, wherever that is now. But we are headed south and it is nice traveling.

We’ve traveled from Juneau to Baranof Warm springs, after Tenake springs, and then Cosmos Cove.

Cosmos Cove was lovely. It is wide with nothing particular to recommend it looking from a chart, but from inside it is silent with a focused view of the mountains across the strait. The trip to Cosmos had been a long 10 hour motor with mirrored water rather than the predicted 10-15 knots. We’ve been shadowed recently by two sail boats, Laiva and Balloon. We’d seen Laiva in Juneau, where it sat empty for a few days before showing signs of life. Continue reading “Port Townsend on Parade”

Leaving Glacier Bay

Icy Strait, North of Hoonah, 5-AUG-2018 — I lay in bed for a while this morning after the alarm went off at 4. I wasn’t tired, but I thought it might be darker than we wanted to leave. Sunrise is around 4:50 in the morning these days.

It probably wasn’t, but I lay there anyway. About 4:20, I got up, used the head and found my clothes in the main cabin where I left them. Socks are always the problem. Without turning on the lights, dark socks in dark shadows are generally found aboard Caro Babbo by feel: either underfoot, or on hands and knees. Continue reading “Leaving Glacier Bay”

Dear Dear Deer, Thoughts on Unintended Consequences

Dundas Island, BC 15-JUN-2018 – At Windy Bay, the Watchmen are two men named David and Tory. David is all teeth, practiced at dealing with visitors in his sixteen seasons, and is an eager talker.

Tory is handsome, tall, muscular with black hair streaked with gray. Between twenty-eight and thirty-two years old, Tory has been working in the Alberta oil fields for ten years. While Jennifer was speaking to David, he told me that he missed family; family was part of who he was. In the ten years he’d been gone, he’d only come back twice. He was home now and did not intend to live away again.

As we walked from the watchman residence, we saw a couple of deer walking out in the open, grazing. Tory told us he hadn’t asked what equipment he could bring with him onto the island: he would have brought his compound bow; he intended to kill all of the deer on the island. Continue reading “Dear Dear Deer, Thoughts on Unintended Consequences”

Hecate Strait: Advance Class in Feeding The Fishes

An unnamed cove west of Welcome Harbour, BC, 13-JUN-2018 – We’ve crossed Hecate Strait twice now. Jennifer says it’s not too bad this second time. In the past she is thought of this as the worst possible thing that could happen. Now, she tells me you just vomit and get it over with, again and again and again. No pictures in this post, the waves are never as impressive in pictures as they are on the water, and the rest of the activities we engaged in are not pleasant to watch.

Hecate Strait, we were told by more than one person, is the fifth most dangerous body of water in the world. It is quite shallow, generally less than 80 feet, winds of 50 knots are not uncommon nor are four meter waves.

You pick your weather carefully.
Continue reading “Hecate Strait: Advance Class in Feeding The Fishes”

Vacation after Adventure; Sailing the Portland Pudgy

1-SEP-2017, Matia Island, WA – Yesterday morning we motored just after sunlight from Port Roberts to Matia Island in the San Juans.

We had spent two nights in Vancouver’s False Creek, where, as we have whenever we are anchored there, we dragged.

The dragging isn’t serious. The bottom is sand. When the tide changes the anchor takes twenty or thirty feet to reset. But, it is tight anchoring and I suspect everyone is as fluid as we are. We powered up the first morning and reset. The second morning, we just raised anchor and left.

We didn’t wander around Vancover, visit museums, or even visit the community centers to shower (we have very good internet onboard, so we don’t need to go ashore for internet).
Continue reading “Vacation after Adventure; Sailing the Portland Pudgy”

Adventure over, Home waters

27-AUG-2017, just outside Pender Harbour – We’ve come to realize that the adventure is over for the year.

It is warm here, in the 20sC, 70sF. We haven’t worn foulies or even long trousers in a couple of days. The locals tell us its only rained for four days since May: It has been a glorious summer. Continue reading “Adventure over, Home waters”

Denouement – heading home

This was written a few days ago and is being posted today, 15th of August, 2017 as we motor by Klemtu, while we have a connection. Other posts that have video and pictures may not make it during this window.

13-AUG-2017, Curlew Cove, Fin Island, Wright Sound, BC – Jennifer has become unabashed about getting us home.

The trip has deconstructed into life under siege: of the weather and Hilary.

I wonder whether Hilary is just the excuse for not being productive, for not having as much fun as I would like, for not enjoying the trip as much as we’d like, but I think it is not so much of an excuse as that we have started to buckle under the load. We need a reboot, a step away or a vacation. Continue reading “Denouement – heading home”

In Petersburg

2-AUG-2107 , Petersburg, AK – Quick status. Full posts from Wrangle when we get there this afternoon.

We arrived in Petersburg, AK yesterday. It was sunny ALL DAY and is sunny this morning. This, we believe is the first time we have had two sunny days in a row on the trip. We also suspect that yesterday was the first full sunny day of the trip. Continue reading “In Petersburg”

Some electronic issues

The AIS has been signaling errors. I noticed this yesterday. The light on the unit is moving between red (possibly orange) and green.

We’re seeing the RSSI numbers move from high -90s to -60s on both channels (A and B) but generally it is B that has the problem. We receive oaky, but may be having trouble transmitting.

This could be an antenna problem, or a unit problem. I lean towards the unit because nothing that a I know of physically has changed and the unit has worked well the entire trip so far.
Continue reading “Some electronic issues”

On Alzheimer’s and lentils

This post was written and dated 9-JUL, but is only being posted on 23-JUL

9-JUL-2017, Cleveland Pass – I don’t suffer from depression, but Jennifer can and is.

Yesterday we sailed up from Stedman Cove in Rocky Pass. Our friend Heath anchored near us and came by for dinner. I need to teach Heath to make bread. It will change his life.

Our friend Ray Penson, last year, mentioned that he basically lived on Stag-brand chili. I thought of this as an interesting curiosity. Then, Heath talked of buying $400 worth of Amy’s organic chili to live on. He also buys organic canned condensed soups that he uses as a sauce on quinoa this year, previously rice. But he no longer enjoys rice. Continue reading “On Alzheimer’s and lentils”