Camille is for Sale… Again!
Our previous boat Camille has been in the hands of a great owner for the past two years. A growing family forces them to downsize and sell Camille. They haven't used her much and I hear she is in similar condition as when we sold her. She was a great cruising boat with a huge swim step and lots of light and ventilation. Please contact us with [...]
Princess Louisa Inlet, BC
Our cruising guide states that Princess Louisa Inlet is the "'holy grail' for cruising people all over the world". It did not disappoint. After a 40 mile trek up beautiful Jarvis Inlet we arrived at the entrance to Princess Louisa: The Malibu Rapids - which can run up to 9 miles an hour. We arrived a few hours before slack tide and took a look at [...]
Dodd Narrows, BC
Seeing the BC ferries is a sure sign that we made it to Canada! We checked in at Bedwell Harbor with a simple phone call to customs. The poor chap next to us was searched and interviewed for hours. He was complaining loudly about his fate, so it just goes to show that if you show a little respect and follow the rules there are no [...]
Shallow Bay, Sucia Island, San Juans
We left Anacortes in the rain with the promise of more rain to come. Our destination being the West side of Sucia Island in a perfect little cove that we had stumbled upon the last time we were at Sucia Island a little over a month ago. The promised rain was left in our wake as we passed the south end of Lummi Island. Weather [...]
From the Interstate to the San Juan Islands
After three weeks in sunny San Diego it was time to head back to the boat.... One of the reasons we made the trip to San Diego was to pick up our cargo trailer full of boat and household stuff. We took full advantage of having access to a garage to go through all of our things and re-organize. When we sold Camille we didn't have much time or [...]
Road Trip!
After finally getting out of the boatyard (after 30 days.... we had planned on 3 days) we needed a little vacation from the boat. So we found a covered slip, got her all tucked in and hightailed it to San Diego in our mini van to visit with friends and family. Pulling thru Portlandia we gave a little wave to our old cubicles. Made it to California! [...]
Privacy in a Fishbowl
Living in a trawler is like living in a giant fishbowl. I love it! My biggest complaint about our sailboat was not having any windows to enjoy the view. Of course with all these great views looking out, you get a lot of curious people looking in. At night we like to be able to get some privacy but our living/dining/galley room had no blinds [...]
Jones Island
For $200 you can get an entire year of mooring and docking in Washington's state parks. That is a great bargain especially if you don't limit your cruising to the summer. Turns out few people actually cruise in the winter and we have had every anchorage to ourselves so far. We spent a few sunny days at Jones Island before the weather turned ugly [...]
Dealing with Condensation
When we cruised Mexico aboard Camille we had very few issues with moisture and condensation. Baja is a desert and the windows were always open to keep the air flowing. Here in the Pacific Northwest, we have the opposite: rain, cold, and closed windows at night. A cushion resting against the hull will be damp in no time. The diesel heater helps to dry [...]
Shake-down Cruise
Before we decide what gear to add (or remove) from Limerick we are taking her out on a shake-down cruise for a few weeks and getting to know her. From Seattle we headed up to the San Juan Islands with a stop-over in Mystery Bay near Port Townsend. The past few of days were like summer in January. Well, maybe not as warm - we sure love the Webasto [...]
Maiden Voyage Aboard Limerick
A couple of days ago we "set sail" for the first time aboard "Limerick" and left the Kipsap Peninsula in our wake headed for Seattle.It was about 40 degrees out but we were snug in our heated cabin while navigating the Sound. What a change from a sailboat! The other thing we noticed (aside from being toasty warm and inside) was that our cruising speed was twice that of Camille. And they [...]
The Next Chapter: Our New Boat
A couple of days before Christmas we finally moved aboard our new boat. It took us a while to figure out what we wanted to do after selling Camille a year and a half ago. We considered buying a house with some land, traveling by land, moving to Europe, etc. We came back up to the Pacific Northwest to look at some properties and spent a couple of weeks [...]
How to Get Free Kindle Books
Turns out your local library not only loans physical books but also virtual books! For free! It is not the most straightforward process, so I thought I would save you the trouble of having to figure it out. I can't believe I have been paying for my Kindle books for years! At over $20 every month this was really cutting into our budget (see [...]
Panamá
We had a perfect flight from LAX to Panama. An entire exit row to ourselves, free meals with real silverware, large selection of recent movies and amazingly nice flight attendants. And no, this flight was not 20 years ago but just last week. And did I mention it was the only non-stop AND cheapest flight available? We could not stop grinning every time they brought us another [...]
What We Learned From Our First Cruising Boat
This article was also published in 48° North Magazine - a great, free sailing magazine for the Pacific Northwest. You can read it here starting on page 45. It was also published on the Women and Cruising website - a great resource for women cruisers. Click here to view my other published articles. It's been nearly a year since we sold Camille and we’re starting to think [...]
Cozumel
April finds us in Cozumel. We rented a little "villa" for the month, in a house of six units right on the water. We're living large and spending a fraction of what it cost us to camp in the Florida Keys. Cozumel is a bit more expensive than areas of Mexico we cruised aboard Camille but the current exchange rate is working in our favor. Right in front of our [...]
Florida Keys Camping
After two months of collecting and processing data for new NOAA nautical charts off Panama City Beach, we are finally traveling again. I flew out to Florida but Mike had some time and made the long drive from Seattle. He drove down to San Diego to drop off our Alaska gear (skis, down coats, etc) and picked up our kayak, and camping and snorkel [...]
Hurricane Ridge
We took the ferry over to the Olympic Peninsula for some skiing and snow-shoeing. As we headed into the mountains it was first raining, then snowing and finally we came out above the clouds to a sunshiny day and fresh snow.We stayed in a cabin on a farm in Eden Valley near Port Angeles. This is "Blue" the miniature horse.
Our Favorite Gear
Need a last-minute gift idea for the sailor in your life? Here is a little list of items that are useful on the boat every day. Also a few options for any kind of traveler or adventurer. For even more of our favorite items visit our Gear page. UNDER $20 Sarong - Not only useful to cover up on the beach but great as a [...]
Back in the PNW
We've been back in the lower 48, in Seattle to be exact, for nearly a month. The weather has been reminiscent of being in San Diego. We lived in the PNW long enough to know that this is not normal and are enjoying every minute of the sunshine. I took the photo above on a bike ride through the Snoqualmie Valley. We already experienced the fall colors [...]
