Sailing to Alaska – Page 3

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”

We drop off the end of the earth, Siete de Mayo, we start to see other boats

Shearwater BC seems to be a company town. Its history includes a list of the owners. About 90 people live here full time; 1500 live across the way in Bella Bella.

The people here proudly tell us this is the hub for everything for 200 miles in any direction, Continue reading “We drop off the end of the earth, Siete de Mayo, we start to see other boats”

Days pass, We see bears, No Internet.

A gallery with text below. The gallery allows you to click on the pictures and see them enlarged. We’ll see if this is a useful presentation method.

I’ve also added Youtube videos. I’ve previously done this with linked text. Please give me feed back on what format for pics and videos works best. Continue reading “Days pass, We see bears, No Internet.”

Sailing with Hilary

Today is not an atypical day. We’re sailing at 3 knots, the sky is overcast with rain predicted.

Hilary, after eating breakfast, told me that the beauty that surrounds us in the Malaspina Strait was so difficult to express that it hurt in her chest. Jennifer, down below planning our passage through the upcoming rapids, heard this and arrived with three stuffed animals that Hilary is enchanted with, distracting her from her pain. Continue reading “Sailing with Hilary”

The Correct Balance, a Recalcitrant Engine and a Dinghy that Leaks.

Monday we stayed in Friday Harbor, visited with the owner of a Maxi 100 (our boat converted to a motorsailer), went whale watching

Two Oracs we saw while watching on Captain Dennis’ boat.

and joined our friend Dennis for dinner aboard his Pacemaker 26 sailboat.

A Maxi 100: A 95v with a different deck mold to be a motorsailerand other changes to lessen production costs. — A Maxi 100: A 95 with a different deck mold to be a motorsailer and other changes to lessen production costs.

Amongst Dennis, Jennifer and I, two bottles of wine, a round of mescal and a beer or two disappeared (Hilary drinks cranberry juice in a wine glass). At times like those, the conversation often wanders, and did, to living life. Continue reading “The Correct Balance, a Recalcitrant Engine and a Dinghy that Leaks.”

We’re on our way

[Some posts, like this one, will appear on line a day or so after they are dated. It generally means that I wasn’t able to finish copy editing that day.]

Hilary sleeps open mouthed on the main cabin, settee; Jennifer is nestled in the V-Berth, with occasional loud intakes of breath; Harrison is in the aft cabin with Bo – his dog. Continue reading “We’re on our way”