3/19/2008 4:45PM
After a grueling 62 NM trip up the ICW, AF is now at home in Virginia Beach, completeing the trip of a lifetime! We will spend our first night at home in over a year tonight!
3/18/2008 4:45PM
We are moored at Coinjock Marina in Coinjock, NC for the night with plans to complete our odyssey into Virginia Beach tomorrow! Things couldn't be better on AF!!
3/17/2008 6:30PM
After 65 slow NM's through the ICW, we are anchored at the mouth of the Alligator River and Pungo Canal for the night. We hope to make Coinjock, NC by tomorrow night. All is well on AF!
3/17/2008
Because of a very strong storm system that will dominate the Cape Hatteras area for about a week, we have made the decision to continue our final leg to Norfolk/Va. Beach via the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW). We have spent the day on the paper charts, ICW cruise books and internet sites preparing for the trip. Just as valuable has been the local knowledge freely offered by the locals and fellow cruisers. We should be home in Virginia Beach by the weekend.
3/14/2008
We left Cape Fear last night about 10PM to beat the front to Beaufort that is bringing 30-40 knot winds. After 14 hours in 3 foot seas, we arrved at Beaufort City Docks with the temperature falling 12 degrees in the past 2 hours. With the exception of the dockmaster who seems to hate his job, all is well on AF!
3/13/2008
After a 16 1/2 hour run over smooth seas, we arrived at Bald Head Island Marina about 1 PM. The weather for tomorrow is marginal with 7 foot seas, so will make a decision abot tomorrow's travels later tonight.
3/12/2008
We plan to leave Charleston tonight in order to complete the 17 hour run to Cape Fear with a day time arrival. The weekend weather for the Cape Hatteras area does not look iviting, but it is too early to make a go-or-no-go decision at this time. Charleston has been a very good stop!
3/10/2008
After an easy ten hour run through 3 foot seas, we are docked at Charleston City Marina on the megayacht dock. A very nice day on the water with home 85 miles closer than it was this morning!
3/09/2008
The 30+ knot winds from the west blew the water out of Calibogue Sound and the harbor to the extent that almost all of the boats were sitting on the soft bottom early this morning. Therefore, our departure to Charleston has been delayed until tomorrow (Monday) morning.
3/08/2008
It is blowing up to 40 knots in Harbour Town, Hilton Head! We will be off to Charleston when the weather allows.
3/06/2008
We arrived in Harbour Town Yacht Basin on Hilton Head Island late this afternoon. It looks as if weather will keep us here for several days. All is well on AF!
3/03/2008
The run from Jacksonville to St. Simons Island near Brunswick, GA was through calm seas. We are now moored at Golden Isle Marina, and will be here through Thursday as another front with high winds passes through.
3/01/2008
We are safely anchored about 2 miles inland from the Jacksonville jetties in 15 ft of water adjacent to commercial dry docks. An excellent anchorage for the night.
3/01/2008
We plan to leave St. Augustine mid-morning, anchor in Jacksonville tonight, and arrive in Brunswick, GA Sunday afternoon. All is well on AF!
2/28/2008 6:30 PM
After leaving Port Canaveral at 4 AM in order to get to St Augustine during daylight, we encountered unforcast winds of 30 knots from the north and 6+ foot seas for the first ten hours. We have arrived at the Municipal Marina of St Augustine, and plan to depart for Jacksonville, FL Saturday morning, depending upon the weather..
2/27/2008
We are weathering a storm at Port Canaveral's Cape Marina with plans to leave for St. Augustine tomorrow if conditions allow.It is 53 degrees here with a wind chill factor in the high 40's! The area was without power for hours yesterday, and voltages on the dock remain 40 volts lower than they were on arrival.
2/25/2008
We successfully left Stuart in our wake at noon on high tide and only bumped the mid-channel bottom once! Our plan was to spend the night in Ft Pierce after a short run. However the weather was so good and the seas so pleasant that we elected to gain a day on our tenative schedule by running all the way to Port Canaveral, approximately 100 NM north. The inlet is big, deep, and well marked, so a night time entry was not a problem. After an uneventful radar run, we were tied up at Cape Marina by midnight. A weather front is predicted to hit hard tomorrow, so we may be here for a few days!
2/24/2008
We tentatively plan to leave Stuart on the mid-day high tide for Ft. Pierce. That will be dependent upon NH reloading our "stuff" left in Stuart for the boat show, and completing the last of the minor warranty items still outstanding. The short leg to Ft Pierce is dictated by the need to cross the shoaled Stuart inlet at high tide. The next day, we will continue on to Port Canaveral if circumstances allow.
2/21/2008
We are back in Stuart, FL at Allied Richard Bertram Docks adjacent to the NH warranty center for a few days before resuming our northbound trip. All is well on AF!
2/19/2008
We are moored in Palm Beach after 25 knots on the nose from Miami. Our plans to run to Stuart tomorrow have fallen victim to Stuart's 8AM and 8PM high tides. On NH's recommendation, we are staying in Palm Beach for several days awaiting the advancement of high tide to a time that we can reach the Stuart inlet at near maximum water depth.
2/18/2008
Our last day in Miami! Tomorrow we are off to Stuart with a stop in between.
2/16/2008
We are enjoying the Miami Boat Show in beautiful weather!
We will leave Miami next Tuesday on hte high tide.
2/11/2008
Yesterday we left Stuart for Ft Lauderdale, and after about nine hours in 20 knot winds and 6 foot seas, arrived a Bahia Mar Yacht Harbor in time for dinner. Today we ran the last 25 miles to Miami under simalar conditions, arriving about 2:00 PM in 25 knot winds! We are now safely docked, and the cleanigng crew is due onboard in an hour. We will be updating the website frequently during the show.
2/09/2008
We are back at the Nordhavn center for the offloading of our gear before leaving for the Miami Boat Show on Sunday.
2/02/2008
We are still in Stuart, FL at Harbour Ridge awaiting our return to Miami for the boat show. We will depart Stuart for Miami on 2/10 with an intermediate overnight stop in Ft. Lauderdale. The show runs from Thursday, Feb 14th through Monday, Feb 18th..
1/11/2008
We are still at Harbour Ridge until the end of the Stuart Boat Show. After it closes, I anticipate that we will go to the Nordhavn docks to await our return to Miami for the boat show there in mid-February.
1/06/2008
Because of the upcoming Stuart Boat Show, we have moved from Britt Point Marina to Harbor Ridge Country Club where Doug Perry has arranged for us to stay until SeaTel completes the replacement of the Satellite TV antenna. We should be here until mid-week, then off to Fort Pierce and points north!
1/01/2008
After a trip over flat, beautiful seas, we made it into the very shallow port of Stuart, FL without mishap. We are moored at the Britt Point Marina for NH warranty items before continuing northward in about five days.
12/31/2007 New Year's Eve
We are still in Palm Beach, but plan to leave for Stuart, FL tomorrow morning, as a weather system moves our way with significant seas.
12/24/2007 Christmas Eve!
After a beautiful and uneventful trip up the south Florida coast, we are safely moord at the Palm Beach Yacht Club as guests of Debbie & Ray Breeden! We will be in Palm Beach until the Nordhavn facility in Stuart is again open after the Christmas holidays.
12/20/2007
We are so happy here that we have decided to stay in Ft. Lauderdale until after Christmas! The marina is excellent, the views beautiful and ever-changing as the superyachts glide by, and Kathy loves the shops and resturants! So why leave!
12/17/2007
We are safely moored in Los Olas Marina in Fort Lauderdale after an easy trip in rough seas from Miami. We will be here for several days, then spend a few days in West Palm Beach before continuing north after Christmas. We are enjoying our Summertime Christmas in good spirits!
12/15/2007
We are anchored with a super yacht in Biscayne Bay with an unbelievable, multimillion dollar view of the Miami skyline! The winds are 25 knots and forecasted to increase, but we are very comfortable in a protected area. We may have a several day weather delay here if NOAA is right! No problems on AF!
12/14/2007
We are anchored near Key Largo off of Rodriquez Key. We plan to leave in the morning for Biscayne Bay where we may have to wait out a storm at anchor. All is well on AF!
121/12/2007
We arrived at Marathon Key as the guest of a new friends from the website. Jerry & Jeanette Wert have invited us to enjoy Marathon for a few days, and we intend to do just that!
12/11/2007
Small change in plans - we are leaving in the morning for Marathon Key, rather than Thursday.
12/10/2007
We are in Conch Harbor, Key West for another day, then anchoring out Tuesday night before departing for Marathon on Thursday. I have just added "AF's Trip Tracker" to the choices on the left side of the home page. If you click on that, it will take you to a Google Earth page which reflects all of the waypoints on our way home from Alaska. You can zoom in or out to see more detail or a larger scale if you choose to do so.
12/07/2007 12 Midnight
AF is back in the USA! We arrived safely in Key West, FL at midnight and anchored near the inner harbor. The trip from Grand Cayman was one of the best yet with beautiful weather all of the way. We plan to stay here for a few days before moving north to Ft. Lauderdale.
12/04/2007
Cayman is beautiful! Today Jeff Hawkins arrives from Texas to accompany us to Florida; tonight we are going to dinner with our new local friend, Lee in Georgetown and tomorrow we weigh anchor for Key West unless Tom, the Captain of the CGC THETIS calls with an adverse weather report. Life is great onboard AF! If you want to follow our progress at sea, go to http://www.shiptrak.org/ and enter my radio call sign K4JET. There you will see the position reports that we call in daily by SSB radio.
12/03/2007
Enjoying Georgetown while waiting for a weather window into Key West. For now, it looks like a Wednesday departure for the three day run around Cuba.
12/02/2007
We are now moored off Georgetown, Grand Cayman Island waiting for the winds too fall before heading for Key West!
11/22/2007
We are mooed in Flamenco Marina in Panama City, Panama awaiting passage through the Canal on Saturday the 24th of November! All is well on AF!
11/11/2007
We are in the Gulf of Tehuantepec staying close to shore to avoid the potentially catastrophic winds as we cruise toward Guatemala, now ~350 NM off the bow. Arrival there is planned for early Tuesday morning.
11/09/2007 9PM
We are offshore of Acapulco, about 600 NM from Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala. We anticipate arrival there Tuesday morning with no intermediate stops.
11/09/2007
We left Zihuatanejo at 6:30 AM after a very pleasant stop. We plan to arrive in Guatemala in about three non-stop days.
11/07/2007
We are safely in the Ixtapo/Zihuatanejo area, and from the looks of it, Ixtapo will not hold our interest for long. We anticipate spending the night in Zihuatanejo tonight, then off towards Guatemala.
Addendum at Noon: We are safely anchored in Zihuatanejo Harbor with plans to stay for two nights. Rooster Fish fishing in the morning!
11/06/2007
We are steaming 18 NM SW of Manzanillo, MX, 375 NM out of Cabo San Lucas, with 175 NM to go before arriving in Zihuatanejo tomorrow morning.
11/04/2007
We are anchored off the main beach at Cabo San Lucas, and will spend the night here tonight. After topping off the tanks at $2.67 per gallon, and touring the town this afternoon, the decsion is to leave early tomorrow morning for the Mexican mainland, then south to the Panama Canal. Our primary reason for stopping in Cabo fell through when we got here before Ken & Roberta, whom we had planned to visit at their waterfront home.
11/03/2007
We are an hour out of Cabo San Lucas after a smooth ride from Santa Maria Bay. We will decide how long to stay after we see what the town has to offer. The Canal is calling!!
10/29/2007
We arrived in Ensenada, Mexico about 9 AM after an all night run through smooth seas. We will leave this afternoon after completeing entry paper work, and topping off the tanks from 55 gallon drums! No fuel docks in the city! Diesel is $2.50 per gallon. I'm sure that that must be the American's price!
10/28/2007
Departed Dana Point, CA at 5PM Pacific in beautiful weather with a very good forecast for the ~ 15 hour run overnight to Ensenada, Mexico! Frank from Va. Beach, and Doug & Jeane from Ketchikan are onboard with us, and all are looking forward to the adventure! Raleigh & Binky are feeling a little low after their Mexico shots, but should be back at full speed shortly! Updates to follow as technology allows!
10/27/2007
The weather looks good, the boat is ready, and everyone will be onboard for a departure for Ensenada tomorrow afternoon! Panama Canal - here we come!!
10/24/2007
We are in Dana Point, CA after a 40 hour, 320 NM run from Monterey! The weather was excellent, but the state is on fire! We will be here through Sunday afternoon when we will leave for Ensenada, Mexico and points South!
10/23/2007
We are 165 NM south of Monterey Bay after running for the past 22 hours, with our new destination, Dana Point, approximately 135 NM off the bow! We have just passed Point Conception, and are inbound to Santa Barbara, with Los Angeles 112 NM ahead. We anticipate arriving in Dana Point mid-morning tomorrow.
10/22/2007
The weather in Monterey and south of here is much improved, and we anticipate leaving for the nonstop run to San Diego this afternoon after Frank Willson's arrival. We should be there Wednesday night, and plan to stay in San Diego for several days before crossing the border into Mexico.
10/18/2007
The concensus of all of us waiting out the storm in Monterey is that we will be here until Monday the 22nd. The weather is deceptively nice here in the harbor, but the seas are reported to be 35+ feet north of San Francsco! As George I would say "Not going there - wouldn't be prudent!".
10/17/2007
It looks like we will be here in Monterey through the weekend for our longest weather related travel delay so far. Even the squid boats are coming into port for this one, and they don't run from many storms! Monterey is a very good place to be stuck! Hank & Dixie are on the way to join us for a few days, making things even better!
10/16/2007
Another nice ride in almost flat seas has brought us 62 NM to the harbor in Monterey, CA. It looks like we will be here for 3 or more days as the storm passes through. Even the commercial offshore boats are coming in for this one which has waves of 30 feet!
10/15/2007
We are safely moored in Half Moon Bay, CA after a smooth ride from San Francisco in the fog. Tomorrow we are off to Monterey Bay, CA where we will probably have to wait out yet another Pacific storm before continuing out trek to San Diego.
10/14/2007
After two very nice nights in San Francisco, we are leaving in the fog for either Half Moon Bay or Santa Cruz in smooth seas.
10/12/2007
We are moored at 39th Street pier adjacent to Market Street in downtown San Francisco! Full update to follow. All is well on AF!
10/08/2007
After a 24 hour run through very good weather, we arrived in Bodega Bay, CA to 100 foot visibility in San Francisco fog! Radar got us safely into Spud Point Marina where we will wait out the coming gale. Kim & Steve Sanford from Atlanta are joining us here tomorrow for a few days in SFO and wine country.
10/07/2007
We are leaving Eureka, CA and the Humboldt bar on the flood tide for an overnight run to Bodega Bay, CA. The weather for the next few days is very good, then another storm is brewing off central California.
10/04/2007
After a nine hour run through 10-12 ft seas, we are safely in Eureka, CA. The ride was good, even with beam seas most of the way. The Humboldt Bay bar was one of the worst that we have seen, but by slowing to 5 knots for the last hour, we hit it at near slack high tide, and passed with no trouble. We will probably lay over here for 1-2 days with the gale moving down from the NW generating 17 ft seas offshore.
10/03/2007
We left Brookins about 10 am to hit the tides right, and had a smooth ride through small craft warnings to Crescent City, CA. There is nothing to keep you here longer than necessary, and it looks like we will be able to run before te storm for at least another day. If the forecast holds up, we will be off for Eureka, CA early tomorrow morning.
10/02/2007
We left Coos Bay at daybreak this morning, and cruised 90 NM through 10-12 ft swells (a result of the recent storm to the NW) to Brookins, OR, just 10 miles from the California border. Another storm is moving in from the NW, but tomorrow should be a reasonable travel day with only small craft warnings. We will probably weather the storm from Cresent City, CA, with the next predicted travel day after tomorrow to be Saturday.
10/01/2007
It looks like we might be able to leave Coos Bay tomorow (Tuesday). If so, the next stop would be Brookings, OR near the California border.
9/30/2007
We are still in Coos Bay with the "Dangerous Bar" lights flashing continuously. Within the last few hours, three commercial fishing boats of 70 ft or more have pulled in from the stormy ocean. We can actually hear the surf from the harbor! It looks like we will be here several more days at least. However, it is much better than being out there!
9/27/2007
After an 80 NM radar run down the coast in thick fog, we are moored in Coos Bay, OR at Charleston Harbor. We had the pleasure of Bruce and Toni Brevard of Tillamook joining us for the trip. A gale is brewing NW of us. We will look at the forecast in the morning before deciding whether we go south to Bandon, OR, or weather the storm here for the next 3-4 days.
9/26/2007
Nice trip down the coast to Newport, OR! Two new friends that we met at the docks are with us to Coos Bay, arriving there tomorrow night!
9/25/2007
Safely out of Astoria over the Columbia River bar at 6AM to catch the favorable currents, then across another treacherous bar to enter Tillamook Bay for the night.
Off to Newport, OR tomorrow morning. A storm is brewing for the week end!
9/24/2007
We successfully transited the Columbia River bar today thanks to calculations that required the timing of our departure over the Grays Harbor bar, the en route time to Astoria, and the timed arrival for acceptable currents over the Columbia River bar. All went very well, but this is nothing like Atlantic coast cruising!
9/23/2007
We are sill in Grays Harbor, WA. So are the commercial fishing boats and the charter boats! The entrance bar was closed by the Coast Guard yesterday to all boats under 45 feet. If it's closed to those boats, this is one 55 footer that is going to stay here with the 72 foot tuna boats until the winds subside! It looks good for a Monday departure, but time will tell. Carl and the crew of the F/V LYDOREIN have become our good friends, and continue to entertain us nightly at dinner with their tales of the sea!
9/22/2007
Our next leg to Astoria, OR has been delayed by an off shore gale that is generating 12 foot seas between here and there. Tomorrow (Sunday) should be a much better travel day. We will see! We certainly aren't going to challenge the Columbia River bar in 12 foot seas! Under those conditions, the Coast Guard may be using the bar to roll their 45 foot boats 360 degrees for training!
9/21/2007
After 13 hours at sea, covering 106 NM from Neah Bay to here, we are now moored at Westport Marina in Grays Harbor, WA. That's about as far as you can go in daylight in a NH in one Fall day! If there is nothing to do here, we will probably go to Astoria, OR tomorrow to see why the Columbia River Bar strikes such terror in boaters up here!
9/20/2007
We covered 72 NM against significant currents to get to Neah Bay, WA about 5:30 PM where we have anchored for the night. Tomorrow we will change from our recent westerly headings to essentially due south as we enter the Pacific Ocean, with the next major change in direction at the Panama Canal!
9/19/2007
We are in Sequim, WA, the home town of John & Debbie Marshall of SERENDIPITY, NH 55-20. They traveled with us from Seattle through Puget Sound and into the Strait of Juan De Fuca. We plan to leave tomorrow morning for Neah Bay, WA, the last stop before Kathy, Raleigh, Binky and I enter the Pacific Ocean for the journey southward to the Panama Canal.
9/17/2007
We have delayed our Seattle departure by one day while waiting for the arrival of a part. We plan to leave for Port Angeles, WA about 8 AM tomorrow (Tuesday) in order to efficiently ride the currents northwest to our first stop on the trip down the coast. Wednesday we plan to cruise westward to Neah Bay, WA for the night before entering the Pacific Ocean on Thursday, weather permiting. Seattle has been an excellent stop!
9/12/2007
We are in Seattle , WA in Elliott Bay Marina for warranty work of a minor nature through Emerald Harbor Marine. We plan to be here for the rest of the week before leaving next Monday for the beginning of the trip to the Panama Canal!
All are doing well! The boat continues to excede our expectations!
9/06/2007
We are in the Straits of Georgia, about 15 NM north of Anacortes, WA with plans to meet SERENDIPITY and SANS SOUCI there.
9/04/2007
We just arrived in Vancouver, BC after anchoring last night in Nanoose Bay. I am going downtown with Kathy unless I can find Dr. Kevorkian's office!
9/01/2007
We are in pea-soup fog in Johnstone Strait on the way to Campbell River with Seymore Narrows 22 NM ahead.
8/28/2007
Leaving Shearwater, BC at noon on the way to Namu, BC. Gale warnings are up in our future path after Namu, so we may be moored for several days and out of cell or internet range. All is well!
8/24/2007
We are in Prince Rupert, British Columbia, one of two towns in Canada that does not recognize US cell phone companies! Bill Calliott will join us by float plane from Ketchikan this afternoon, and we will leave tomorrow for Lowes Inlet, about nine hours south of here.
80/22/2007
We are 7 NM south of the Alaskan border on a heading of 150 degrees, being drug southward toward Prince Rupert against my will by forces beyond my control!
Craig, Greg, Paul and Glen - come get me...Fast!
8/16/2007
Kathy, Raleigh, Binky and I are leaving Ketchikan this morning to continue our southward trek to Seattle. We will be anchoring most evenings, but anticipate internet access in a few days from Prince Rupert, BC.
8/11/2007
We are in Clarence Strait heading south for Ketchikan, with plans to arrive in approximately two hours. We will be there for 3-5 days before heading south for Seattle.
8/09/2007
We are sadly heading south at Cape Fanshaw, entering Frederick Sound on the way to Petersburg, arriving about 4PM. Tomorrow night we will be in Wrangle, then Ketchikan by Sunday.
8/04/2007
We are in Icy Strait en route to Auke Bay, Juneau with a stop tonight on the anchor at some point around sun down.
7/30/2007
We are moored in Elfin Cove, Kathy's favorite place in Alaska. Tomorrow at 5AM we will leave to catch the tide at a point adequate to float AF out of this quaint little harbor.
7/29/2007
Leaving Auke Bay for Elfin Cove and Glacier Bay today; returning in eight days.
7/27/2007
Back in Auke Bay awaiting the arrival of Kathy's family, then off to Elfin Cove & Glacier Bay.
7/24/2007
We are leaving Auke Bay for Tracy Arm shortly, and will return this weekend.
7/21/2007
In Auke Bay Harbor until Tuesday. Going salmon & halibut fishing with Dennis & Donna of Douglas, AK on their boat this afternoon!
7/20/2007
We are in Icy Straits en route to Juneau, with an ETA of about 6 PM this evening. We will be there until Tuesday when we leave for Tracy Arm with the Youngs.
7/17/2007
After fog forced us into into Idaho Inlet for one of the most beautiful nights of our adventure, we got into Elfin Cove by virtue of radar this afternoon. We have scheduled our departure for Glacier Bay in the morning to coincide with favorable tides for the passage through the narrow straits that are to be encountered during
the trip of 2 1/2 hours.
We will be returning to Auke Bay next Friday, and will be out of contact until then.
7/11/2007 4PM Alaskan time (8PM EDST)
We are in Icey Straits en route to Auke Bay with an ETA of 10PM, more than an hour before dark! We will be there until Sunday when we leave with our Lynchburg friends for where ever they want to go.
7/07/2007
We will be in Hoonah tonight, then into Glacier Bay National Park for the next 4 days.
6/30/2007
Happily fishing and playing in Auke Harbor while waiting for Lauren and Nathan to arrive.
6/27/2007
After three beautiful days "at sea", in remote coves each night, we are back in Auke Bay Harbor for several nights before moving our home base to Hoonah for a while. The Greenes leave tomorrow, and Lauren and Nathan (our daughter and son-in-law) join us soon for a week of fishing, crabbing and exploring!
6/23/2007
Off to Shelter Island, Tracy Arm and Endicott Arm tomorrow. We will probably be out of cell phone and internet range until next wednesday.
6/21/2007
We are back in Juneau at Auke Harbor. The Shuttleworth's left this morning for Denali, and the Greenes arrive at noon tomorrow. Boat maintainance (oil changes for the main engine & generator and other general cleaning) will consume today, then off to somewhere special tomorrow! That could be anywhere up here!
6/18/2007
After a great dinner at The Lighthouse Resturant in Haines and a very relaxing evening onboard AF, we awoke to explore the town before departing for Skagway. We have now spent the afternon in Skagway, and Kathy is preparing us a fresh King Salmon dinner from the fish we caught ourselves in Auke Bay.
6/17/2007 Father's Day!
We left Juneau midmorning for the 7 hour ride to Haines, AK, arriving about 6:30 PM with 5 hours of remaining light!
6/14/2007
Enjoying Juneau from Auke Harbor until Sunday or Monday when we will again move northward.
6/12/2007
After two memorable days in Tracy Arm and Endicott Arm, anchoring out for the last three nights, we are tied up in Auke Harbor just north of Juneau. The Harts will leave us Thursday, and the Shuttleworth's will join us during the weekend.
Full updates under "What's New".
6/09/2007
We completed the beautiful and very challenging passage up Wrangell Narrows this evening, and are in Petersburg for the night.
Tomorrow, we enter Frederick Sound with the Humpback Whales and continue our trek to Tracy Arm and Sayer glacier!
6/08/2007
We are in Wrangell for the night (see todays website update), and leaving for Petersburgh in an hour. The weather is beautiful, and the seas are flat.
6/04/2007
After 54 hours outside in very good weather, we arrived this morning in Ketchikan just as the gale lowered the boom behind us. The Ketchikan harbor approach was by radar, as the fog socked the area in quite effectively. Between Nobletech and Furuno, the approach was safe and relatively easy. Frank Santoro left us for reality this afternoon, and Jim and Monica Hart arrive tomorrow for nine days into the north! Kathy is cooking an Alaskan King salmon that slept last night in the ocean! We are very tired, but feeling good about being in Alaska!!
6/2 - 4/2007
The quintessential BC Inside Passage experience! All the famous names - Seymore Narrows, Ripple Rock, Discovery Passage, Johnstone Straits ! We saw it all in splendid grandeur! I took a picture of AF's speed indicator registering 13.7 knots about an hour north of Seymore Narrows as the current built to maximum. That was in an area more than a mile wide, so the ride was interesting rather than chaotic and dangerous.
After assessing our schedule and checking multiple weather reports, it was clear that a gale that would adversly effect our schedule was building and moving east to greet us if we did not move rapidly (relatively) north. Therefore we made the decision to go non-stop to Ketchikan from Campbell River, 284 NM. Float plan was filed with multiple knowledgeable friends and we are off to Alaska!
6/01/2007
After 55 NM today, we are in Campbell River, the salmon capital of the world! Tied up at Discovery Harbor and left very early to catch the slack tide at Seymore Narrows.
5/31/2007
Stopped at Pender Harbor for the night. The marina that the guide speaks of is no longer there! Picturesque, with good dockage. Met two very nice couples from Vancouver on their way to Desolation Bay for prawns for the next several weeks.
Quite a ride through Porlier Pass! Saw 11.5 knots as we swayed through with the currents swirling at half their maximum speed! Don't go there when the current is really boiling!
5/30/ 2007
After a short run, we are in Ganges for the night. A quaint little town with good local food, but no reason to stay for long. Caught our first crabs off the stern, but too small to keep. They must be 4 1/2 " across to keep. Ours were close, but not quite big enough. Raleigh enjoyed the bait (canned cat food) after the trap came up!
5/28/2007
Always Friday has just arrived in Sydney BC. We will spend a few nights here with the Marshall's and Wepprt's, then move north towards Alaska.
5/27/2007
Kathy, Buddy, Raleigh & Binky have arrived in Victoria, BC after 1,125 NM at sea over the past seven days!
All are well! The boat is perfect.
The plans are to enjoy Victoria for a few days, and then head north to Alaska at a slow (what else?) pace.