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 heater the previous owner installed! There is a small system pulling through [...]
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 say trawlers are slow.We had less than 20 miles to go but [...]
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 house shopping. But every time we drove past a marina we talked about [...]
How to Get Free Kindle Books
Turns out your local library not only loans actual books, but also virtual eBooks! For free! It is not the most straight forward process, so I thought I would save you the trouble of having to figure it out. With our driver licenses matching our location for once, we finally had a chance to pick up some library cards. I can't believe I have been paying for my Kindle books this whole time! At over $20 every month this [...]
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 (free!) drink. But all that ended as soon as we stepped into [...]
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 about our next boat. We've had a nice break but the sea [...]
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 villa is a great place to snorkel. We even brought our inflatable [...]
Florida
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 gear before heading east. Our little mini van now has over 175,000 miles on it. [...]
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 everyday. 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 lightweight beach towel and to add more shade to the cockpit. Portable Inverter - We use this [...]
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 up in Alaska and get do it all over again down here. A [...]
Heading South :: Petersburg to Seattle
It finally stopped raining the day we had to leave Petersburg but not before Mike got in just a little more Alaska fishing.We drove aboard the M/V Taku for another overnight passage.Our room even had an opening window right on the "promenade deck."Navigating the Wrangell Narrows is not something I would want to do with a 350 foot ship! Just look at all those nav-aids!The next morning we arrived in Prince Rupert, Canada. So far we had driven 800 [...]
Heading South :: Haines to Juneau to Petersburg
Before leaving Haines we headed back down to the river to take a few more photos of bald eagles and to hopefully get another glimpse of the brown bear (aka grizzly) that had been hanging around. Watch the video at the end of the last post! Since there are no roads to connect most of Southeast Alaska, we boarded the M/V Malaspina to take a trip down the Alaska Marine Highway. When we came up here, back in March, we made one long ferry-trip [...]
Heading South :: Anchorage to Haines
We left Anchorage on Saturday and drove the 700 miles to Haines in three, slow-paced days. The timing was perfect for the fall foliage and we couldn't have asked for better weather - that was until we arrived in Southeast Alaska. Since we crossed the border from Canada back into the US and into the Alaska panhandle it has been pretty standard Southeast AK rain. But it is amazingly beautiful nonetheless and still my favorite part of [...]
New Minivan Camper Bed and Trail of Blue Ice
It's almost time to head back south so we are getting the van ready. Picked up these bike racks to transport our new bikes and built a new bed for the van. Here are lots of photos of other ways we have set up the minivan bed in the past. On our drive up to Alaska, we didn't have a bed in the van at all since we didn't have time for a lot of stops. On [...]
Hatcher Pass
Last weekend we drove up to Hatcher Pass and rented a little cabin. It came complete with a fridge stocked with everything we would want for breakfast.View from the pass of the Mat-Su Valley below. Anchorage is about an hour to the "right" in the valley.The ground is so thick and soft you just want to lay in it all day (but it's a bit too wet).The fireweed is still blooming. This is dwarf fireweed. The Little [...]
Seward
Last weekend we took a drive down to Seward for a little mini-van camping. Seward is a great little town that is more reminiscent of SE Alaska with lots of fir trees, clear water and small town atmosphere. Up around Anchorage, where we are working, it's mostly deciduous trees and the water in Cook Inlet is about as clear as a milkshake. Sockeye Salmon I just can't enough of that color! Fireweed.
Winner Creek Trail
Mike is back in the Aleutians for a couple of weeks but before he left we got in a lot more fishing and some nice hikes. Winner Creek Trail is part of the famous Iditarod Trail and has a hand-tram that crosses the Winner Creek Gorge. We'd tried to do this hike before but there were so many people waiting to use the tram we turned back. This time we went on a weekday and were able [...]
Sockeye Fishing and Canning
The sockeye (red) salmon are finally running on the Kenai River! This is the main thing we have been looking forward to since being back in Alaska. There is nothing like going fishing and knowing you will actually catch something. And I never tire of the scenery and watching the bald eagles. Yes, that really is the color of the Kenai River. Fireweed on the KenaiOur favorite fishing hole where the fish never stop jumping.Fish on!Another fish on!They are very fun [...]
Summertime
I can't believe we've been in Alaska for three months already! (only four more months until our next adventure...) In April we still had a lot of snow on the ground. May was a bit chilly but dry and sunny. And June has been gloomy and rainy. But it looks like summer is finally here! Today was downright hot and wildflowers are everywhere. Just waiting for the fireweed to bloom. Glacier Creek and a couple of Girdwood's seven glaciers in the [...]