Cruising: Salish Sea vs Mediterranean
This article is also featured in the March print edition of 48° North Magazine. We recently spent six months cruising from Spain through France, Italy, Greece, and Turkey, before returning to Greece. On this incredible Mediterranean adventure, we often found ourselves comparing the experience and our surroundings to our home cruising grounds in the Pacific Northwest. We were aboard a power catamaran for this [...]
Catamaran Cruising Greece
After three months in Turkey, we were finally able to get back to Greece on May 1st. We loved our time in Turkey, but there is nothing like cruising the Greek Islands. We had one final breathtaking sunset in Turkey. Our first Greek destination was the island of Kalymnos. We hadn't been to a dock for our entire time in Turkey because of the [...]
Video: Shipwreck ‘Olympia’
After 3 months in Turkey, we are back in Greece. The water and air are finally warming up, and we are making the most of our last few weeks here. We dropped the hook at Kalotaritissa Beach on the southwestern side of Amorgos Island - the easternmost of the Cyclades Islands where we explored the shipwreck of the Olympia. In February 1980, her captain [...]
Catamaran Cruising Türkiye
We arrived in Turkey at the end of January, shortly before our 90-day Visa ran out for Europe. Turkey had never really been on my radar for countries to visit but it has blown our minds with its beauty, pedestrian-friendly towns, and kind people. After checking into the country we anchored in front of Bodrum Castle, a medieval castle built in the 1,400s. The [...]
Catamaran Cruising Greece
We left our anchorage in Italy in the early morning for the 250-mile crossing to Greece. There was not a breath of wind—perfect for a motor catamaran. Just a few hours in, we were greeted by dolphins. The water was so calm that we could see the remoras on their backs. https://youtu.be/Rb9_NzO7PWk . We had our watch change at midnight and rang in [...]
Catamaran Cruising Italy
We left France shortly after midnight with the intention of arriving in Corsica later that day. We were eager to get going because of the delay we had in Marseilles due to the Mistral winds. When we reached Corsica, the seas were calm and we weren't tired, so we decided to continue for another night. Our next destination was the south end of Sardinia. [...]
Catamaran Cruising France
We waited in Spain for a weather window to cross the Golfe du Lion, a notoriously windy part of the Mediterranean, frequently affected by the Mistral wind. After the 120-mile crossing, we pulled into Marseille, France and the first place we passed was a castle on an island. I mentioned how it looked like something out of The Count of Monte Cristo and to [...]
Catamaran Cruising Spain
After spending the summer on Lopez Island, Washington, we returned to the mainland for a couple more house sits. In mid-November, we flew to Barcelona, Spain with plans to bring our friends' boat as far west in the Mediterranean as possible within our 90-day Schengen Visa allotment. We spent a week getting to know the boat, doing some maintenance, stocking up on food, and [...]
Island Hopping: WA, BC, HI
It looks like summer has arrived in the Pacific Northwest. When the sun comes out there is no better place in my opinion. We have been doing a housesit on Vashon Island near Seattle. Doing these longer sits really allows us to get to know a place. Mount Rainier Oscar The Bird King troll sculpture on Vashon. Point Robinson Lighthouse Back in February, [...]
Van Migrations: Washington to Southern California
After spending the summer in Nome, Alaska, and then house-sitting in Washington through October, we were ready for some sunshine. So we loaded up the old minivan camper and high-tailed it south through Washington and Oregon and didn't stop until we made it to Northern California. I hadn't been to Burney Falls since college - these photos were taken about 25 years apart. We [...]
From Chesapeake Bay to Roatan to Alaska to the Pacific NW
After spending February through May working on the rivers of the Chesapeake Bay we wanted to get a bit of sunshine and relaxation before heading up to Nome, Alaska for another charting project. We'd heard good things about the island of Roatan, Honduras for the excellent snorkeling and diving. Roatan's coral reefs are part of the Mesoamerican Reef, the second-largest barrier reef system in [...]
Life After the Boat
After selling our trawler Limerick last October and moving everything off the boat and into our storage trailer, we headed out on the road in the minivan (which now has over 290,000 miles on it) to spend the holidays with family. First stop Colorado, for Thanksgiving with Mike's family, and then on to San Diego for Christmas. In January we drove back to Washington [...]
Our Last Summer Aboard Limerick
We've had quite a busy year. After doing a bunch of boat projects in January and February to get Limerick ready for the cruising season in the Pacific NW, we spent March working on the rivers around New York City. In April we launched Limerick and did a month-long shakedown around the San Juan Islands. We then headed up to the Bering Sea [...]
Gear for Dinghy Adventures
This article was also published in 48 North Magazine's March 2022 print edition and you can read it online here. While we're waiting out winter in Washington, we're slowly preparing for the upcoming cruising season. Limerick is all wrapped up at the storage yard and we are sitting by the fire thinking about how to improve our daily commuter Shamrock, tender to Limerick. You [...]
Baja Accident
>>NOTE: There has been some confusion, so please note that this took place back in April but I am just now posting in November.<< The last time I wrote a post we were having a great time driving down the Baja peninsula with our minivan and had made it about halfway to Cabo. Little did we know that in a couple more weeks our trip [...]
Baja Bound
After four months in San Diego, we were itching to get moving. We packed up the minivan and left for Baja on April first. At the border, they simply waved us through, but we had to make a quick stop to pick up our FMM tourist cards. We had already picked up our car insurance (about $200/year - which was cheaper than a six-month policy - [...]
San Diego Bike ‘n Hike
One of my favorite places in San Diego (other than the beach) is out east towards the Anza-Borrego Desert, near Warner Springs, less than a mile from the Pacific Crest Trail. Some of the rock formations are reminiscent of Joshua Tree but there is a lot more vegetation here - like huge Coastal Live Oaks. This time of year it's still quite cold at [...]
Inflatable Kayak Upgrades
One of our favorite toys is the Hobie inflatable kayak. It can be paddled like a regular kayak or pedaled much like a bike leaving your hands free to take photos or sip your morning coffee. The kayak, a Hobie i11s, is extremely stable and fast due to its flat bottom and the raised chair keeps your bottom dry. It can carry a bunch of [...]
Fall Cruising and Southbound by Minivan
Last post, we left off about to go exploring in Alaska after completing another charting project. We did some fishing, hiking, and even had bear cub and beluga whale sightings. Alaska always delivers adventure! If you head up to Alaska, make sure to get this guide to find all the best sights. After a couple of weeks, we were ready to head back to [...]
Bering Sea NOAA Charting
When we launched Limerick back in mid-March we weren't sure how the summer would go. We had hoped to be able to go to Canada but the border has been closed due to Covid. We ended up finding out that work would start much earlier than usual and we would be heading to Alaska June first. Just as the weather was starting to be [...]
