It was a dark and stormy night, mega yachts, and pistol shrimp

Coming out of San Francisco, it was a dark and stormy night, blowing 29 knots and gusting to 35 (knots X 1.2 = miles per hour, so, 35 knots X 1.2 = 42 mph!).  We were speeding about 15 miles off the coast of Big Sur at four in the morning when we accidentally jibbed, letting the boom whip across the boat.  In the process, the main sheet wrapped around the binnacle and tore it loose from the deck, sending the large main compass skidding across the cockpit and leaving the pedestal weaving back and forth about a foot in each direction.  Auto pilot was gone.  The compass mount was bent and parts of the housing had disappearred into the night.  We immediately dropped the sail and, bobbing in the high seas, we lashed the wheel back into place as best we could.  We were now able to steer, but the auto pilot wasn't responding, probably because the entire wheel could still wiggle back and forth.  We quickly tried turning back to motor north to duck in at Monterey Bay, the nearest port, about three hours away, but the storm was coming from the north and green water was pouring over us. We were going across the currents and it was stressing the now fragile steering. To make matters worse, I didn't realize that I had put the hatches in the vent mode, rather than shutting them firmly.  While we were getting drenched in the cockpit, water was pouring into the cabin down below dousing the cushions and giving my phone a salt water bath.  By dawn, we decided that going north was just too hard on the steering and we turned south.  The weather calmed through the day and by mid afternoon, we came into San Simeon.  It is a quiet bay which is mostly state park and we were the only boat there.  It was a beautiful anchorage and we had both been up for almost 35 hours.  After a beautiful sunset, sleep was most welcome. The red skiy at night was sailors' delight.

The next day we took stock and were glad to find the damage was to replaceable parts, rather than the boat itself.  Our knome, Lief, (I think he's Swedish, hence the Knome rather than the more common Gnome) is checking out where the compass should be.

We aligned the parts as much as bent metal would allow, got the auto pilot working again, and enjoyed our very distant view of Herast's castle up on the hill.  The cushions dried out, but the phone was dead.

Three more days at sea brought us to Los Angeles, which feels more like a foreign country than I imagined.  We ordered the needed parts, worked on projects, and visited with family and friends.  One such evening was with Lisa and Marty Falk, total strangers, who had contacted us from L.A. when we were still in Bellingham to offer us whatever we might need, showers, a place to send parts, whatever.  The Falks have a newer version of our boat, a J-40, and were able to appreciate each change and upgrade we had done to the boat.  It was a delight to be able to show her off, even with the pedestal removed and a gaping hole in the cockpit floor.

Both Jerry and I had chores on high:

We have abandoned the many layers required for sailing on a January night in the northwest.  We had five layers on the bottom (silk, wool, polypropolene, cotton, Gortex) and six layers on top, which added  a down jacket. Now we are comfortable in a T-shirt!

Los Angeles has very little recyclying.  We are docked next to a park which has about 20 garbage cans throughtout the park, but only one recycling can.  This seems to be common everywhere we go.  Southern California has been in a serious drought for several years now, but the park lawns are over watered creating a muddy mess, many of the sinks and toilets leak, none are low flow, and the "rivers" of the city are dry cement troughs.  On the good side, they have a bottle deposit to encourage people to return their bottles and cans to the store which then recycles them, but many people abandon them, saying, "that's how the homeless get heir income".  In fact, folks comb through the garbage daily, pulling out bottles and cans to reclaim the 5 or 10 cents they bring.

But no homeless are to be found across the harbor from us where three mega yachts are moored.  Waving the flag of the Caiman Islands, infamous as a tax haven for the very rich, the yachts offer large crews in their matching outfits to provide every luxury for their owners.  The "Invictus", for example, is 216 feet long and six stories tall.  It sports a pool, hot tub, gymnasium, theater, elevator, and fold out swim deck and cabana on the stern.  You can charter this beauty for a mere $476,000 per week, plus expenses, like filling up the 51,0000 gallon fuel tank.  Unlike our boat, it has no solar panels or wind generator.  All of its energy is provided by fossil fuels.

On the lighter side of life, we have been enjoying being serenaded by the stacato tic, tic, tic of the pistol shrimp.  These lopsided crustaceans stun their prey by snapping their over sized claw, creating a popping bubble which makes a loud noise.  You can hear this through the hull of the boat, tic, tic, tic day and night.  It's rather soothing.

For our last days in LA, we moved to the Pacific Mariners Yacht Club where we were warmly welcomed, in stark contrast to our first weeks at the park where a class in Hospitality 101 was sorely needed.  Our neighbors here are smart, quirky and easy going.  We fit right in. You can just see the sail cover and wind vane of Heron Reach behind their wooden ketch/pirate boat.

We leave for San Diego in a day or two, our final stop before heading into the Pacific.  We have taken too long to meet our group in the Galapagos as planned so will head directly to the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia.  Before we go, we will create a link for you to be able to follow the boat and see our progress.  So, stay tuned!

The backside of a gale and ecology report

Waiting for a replacement part for the auto pilot kept us in Port Angeles for four days, which gave us time for some of the smaller to-do items that will make life aboard more pleasant. We spent three evenings with our friend, Tom Anderson, including the opportunity to see "Return of the River" , a documentary on the history and removal of the two dams on the Elwah River that flows out of the Olympic Mountains just west of Port Angeles.  Primarily focused on the pulp mill and lumber, taking out the dam was very controversial to the locals.  Many town folks thought it was silly or even irresponsible to tear down two working sources of electricity. Exciting for me was that given solid scientific evidence, people will apply the info to their decision and change their minds.  The dams were built in the early 1900's without any fish ladders or other accomodations for the environment.  The salmon shrunk down to almost nothing immediately.  One old Clallum woman talked about cleaning a fish that took three steps to go from the tail to the head.  A picture of her carrying it over her back showed it to be as long as she was tall.  But the 61 degree water in the two reservoirs far exeeded the 32 degrees that was the normal salmon habitat and disease plagued the young, decimating their numbers.  Silt backed up behind the dams leaving little in the river for the salmon to use to lay eggs upon and a decimated population became almost extinct.

It has been five months since the dam was removed and the salmon returned immediately.  Approximately 72 acres have been added to the Elwah delta, creating habitat for Dungeness crabs, clams, other shellfish, beds for smaller fish to lay eggs, and nesting for terns and other birds.  As we 

passed by, thousands of birds wheeled overhead, feasting on the life of the new habitat.  Up river, elk, deer and other animals are moving into the basins that were once lakes, the Clallum people are fishing again,  and local bird habitat has flourished.  In general, bird habitat for the Salish Sea had dropped severely, consequently, bird populations have dropped.  Hopefully, we will be able to find more ways to support and protect nature.

On the other side of this success story was our disappointment to discover no recycling in Port Angeles and muliple signs of clear cutting.

We took one day to sail out to Neah Bay and appreciated staying at the Makah Tribal marina.  We waited there as a gale raged on Saturday, my 68th birthday, January 17th.  Blowing 40 and gusting to 50, but with a forecast that the winds would drop to nearly nothing by Monday afternoon, we decided to leave on the back side of the gale.  We slid out of Neah Bay on Sunday the 18th around 4 in the afternoon.  It was a compromise of trying to let the wind die down some but still having some daylight to get ourselves stable.  We put a reef in the sail (basically a tuck to reduced the size of the sail, commonly used in storms to lessen the amount of yardage aloft), and stepped out into 20 - 25 knot winds coming against us from the south with 14 to 16 foot seas.  I have often said (bragged?) that I never get sea sick, and,unfortunately, quickly had to eat my words.  Vomiting over the rail and getting it on deck, I'm thinking, "Ugh, and now I have to clean up after myself as well," when WHOOSH I am whooped upside the head with a wave and both me and the deck are clean.  It was dark quickly and I spent the rest of the night in bed while Jerry rode out the rest of the storm.  By morning, it had warmed to 40+ degrees and much had settled, including me. I was ready to take my turn at watch.  

It took six days to San Francisco, taking turns 24/7 to watch for other ships, whales, storms or any danger.  Night watch quickly became a favorite, enjoying the stars and the beauty of the bioluminescence, prompted by the wake and fleetingly sharing their eerie glow.  We enjoyed living in our new home.

The heater helped us stay warm.

The galley served up stews we had made before we left.

We found ourselves enjoying life aboard.  Still, sailing under the Golden Gate was a pleasure.

Time with family has been precious but we leave here tommorow, Wednesday, 1/28 to continue south.  In one week, we traveled about 750 miles as the crow flies, gained approximately two hours of sunlight per day, and some 25+ degrees of warmth, enjoying an unseasonable warmth of 68 degrees on Sunday.  This morning we woke to hundreds of preening pelicans at our doorstep.  Once expected to be extinct because of DDT and now prolific again.

We look forward to warm winds and following seas.

Ready, set, go! GONE!!

We finally left Bellingham this morning after a multitude of items that gave us one delay after another.  

We had a delightful open "house" on a warm winter Sunday.  Our friend Diane (Diane Padys Photography) took a great photo of us. We thought we were ready.

And then we prepared for our sea trials.  We began with a modified sea trial by just running the engine while tied to the dock.  It was awful!  The new engine shook on its mounts and made horrible noises.  It was suggested that our prop was out of alignment and so, reluctantly, on Christmas Eve, we got back out of the water 

and onto the hard.

Jerry got the prop off,and then the weather turner COLD.

It was surprisingly comfortable living aboard when the air was a brisk 25 degrees.  Earlier in December, we had even colder weather but the boat was in the water which keep the bottom half at least 20 degrees warmer. Many friends offered to put us up, but we were content to be in our own space.  The holidays made it hard to get the parts we needed in a timely way, but Jerry got the new prop on and the engine re-aligned. 

and by January 6th,we were back into the water and our sea trials were perfect!

We spent four days provisioning, last minute shopping, packing, and connecting with family and friends.  I put together a week of meals in our new thermos. It's like a crock pot without any fuel.  You bring the food up to a boil in the heavy bottomed pot, put it in the thermos and leave it for 8 to 10 hours.  In the morning, the bottom of the pot is still too hot to keep your hand on and the food is ready to serve or put up.

yummm.

Our friend Terry came to see us off this morning.  Jerry checked all systems on a quiet, grey morning.

The dinghy (in green) was rolled up and stowed, the bikes were tied in an old sail bag (blue), the extra diesel cans (yellow), and extra  propane tanks (to be able to carry three months of cooking fuel) were all lashed tightly.

We unplugged from the grid

and Jerry got the honor of removing the dock lines.  Taking a little of Whatcom County with him in his Whatcom Skill Share Faire sweatshirt. Harper Stone did the best logo ever.

Terry got a shot of us leaving.

 

and we were gone.

Tonight we are comfortable at the marina in Port Angeles, and tomorrow we head out to Neah Bay and beyond.

Open "House" this Sunday!

To All Friends and Family:

Please come to help us celebrate our departure to circumnavigate the world at an Open "House" this Sunday afternoon, December 7th from 2 to 5 pm.  The weather promises to be dry and warmish, something very different from the last COLD week.  Check out this picture of the boat with the (salt!) water frozen here in Squalicum Harbor.

To get to the boat, take F Street down to Roeder, and turn right.   

Go 0.7 miles on Roeder and turn left onto Coho Way.

Take Coho Way for 0.1 mile to the stop sign and turn right onto N. Harbor Loop.

Look for a place to park and go down the ramp at Gate 3.  

At the bottom of the ramp, take a hard right and Heron Reach will be the last boat (third boat?) on the dock.

We look forward to seeing you.

Warm regards,

Ginny and Jerry

Come help us celebrate! We're in the WATER!!!

We will be celebrating soon with an open "house", and will post the time in the next few days.  Please watch for it so you can come see what it finally (well, almost finally) looks like.  Meanwhile, here's what we'ver been up to:

After 15 long months 'on the hard',we are finally in the water and living on board.  It happened on a cold November day right before Thanksgiving. First, they bring their long trailer up to the boat

They back it in slowly,

being careful to leave the front jackstand in place.  New coats of paint cover the bottom except the two spots under the wood blocks she's been resting on.

They slither the trailer in on either side of the keel and take out all but three of the jack stands.

When everything is in place, they raise up the arms to replace the jackstands as support.

Finally, Blaine gives the thumbs up to lift her off of the jackstands.

and she is completely supported by the trailer.  They go off to another project and I lay down under the trailer and paint the last two spots on the bottom of the keel.  She is finally ready for the water.

Now we just have to drive out of this spot.  It's tight, and they move her out VERY slowly!

Very, very slowly,

They tip her a little sideways to get around another boat.

Blaine watches carefully,

and she clears the other boat by a little over two inches.

They drive her over to the cradle

and gently rest her in it.

Soon, she is airborne. . .

and she touches salt water for the first time in 15 months

She's finally back at home.

This community has been a huge help in many ways:

We'd like to thank Peter and Lorraine who kept feeding us, though Lorraine keeps urging us to go out as far as Orcas Island, then return home and call the trip done.  The treasure trove of dried foods will carry us through the long passages.

Terry and Sandy fed us repeatedly and rebuilt one of the finest spear guns for future meals.

Appreciation goes to Susan for a gynormous bag of Chantrelles she gathered and dried and a perfect fishing pole to troll the oceans, double yum!

Tyler, Brooke, Keenan and LaSaya for taking our dog Sira and loving her.  It was great to watch LaSaya having an animated conversation with her and Sira looking like she was listening to her best friend. Parting with our animals sounded like it would be difficult, but actually was way more heart wrenching than we could have imagined.

Rio and Brian who adopted Squeaks and now have more fun and fewer mice.

Nancy and Alicia who both stepped up to adopt Cali who is proving to be more vocal and demanding than anyone expected of her.

"A" for the flask which has some rather nicely aged Patron in it.  I wonder how long that will last . . better bring something along for the refills.

Profound thanks to our Transition Goshen group which has showered us with food from their gardens, moving boxes and help moving all the furniture, etc. thank you all.  Side bar: if you don't have a Transition group in your neighborhood, consider starting one.  It's a deep joy to have such a close community we can count on for anything, anytime. I put out one email asking for help, and 19 folks responded to help move us and make lunch for the whole crew in the process! 

Paul made us two beautiful new cabinets for the boat.  They look like they came with the boat.

Samson Rope donated several new lines.  From right here in Whatcom County, comes one of the world's best rope makers!

Dave who took every CD we owned and moved them onto an iPod, opening up an entire locker of space for the important stuff like chocolate!  Special thanks to Dave for our future sweet tooth and great traveling music.

Jim found two folding bicycles and refurbished them.  They are not the fussy, parts only available from so and so, but rather the more sensible, useful, if it's broke, go to a local hardware store, anywhere in the world.  Also, one is green - my favorite color.  Island adventures, here we come!

Kathryn wrote a great article about us for the Whatcom Watch.

Hilary connected us with the Bellingham Herald for another good article.  

Alyson gave us a comfort pillow that will remind us of her and home, sigh. . .

Lisa wrote us some workouts tailored to the boat.  Something to help us stay awake on a long night watch and keep the core strong.

The Meridian and Highline School Districts will be following our exploits and checking in on some of the most endangered places of the world with us as we go along. 

Chris and Aurora are taking care of the fruit trees and keeping the bass and blue gill in balance in our pond. Chris has been planting the blue gill with his corn and getting some great results in his garden!

Bill and Toby are taking on the Jack of All Trades jobs to care for our home while we

are gone.  Toby will be doing Beaver patrol and dam maintainence, an endless task with those pesky busy beavers.

Bob and Martha and family will be living in our home. If you're in the neighborhood, check in with them and say, "Hello!"  It feels good to leave our home in their hands. 

Alicia will be the go-to person for all questions while we're gone.  We are resting easy knowing she is in charge.  

Finally, to our daughters - who walk a fine line between thinking we're nuts and being proud of us for standing up for the environment and taking on this endeavor.  A special thanks to our first grand child, Vivienne, born September 30th.  In general, we have tolerated folks talking about how perfect their grandchildren are and would you like to see their picture?  but now that we're grandparents, we admit, we must have drank the Kool Aid. We are smitten.  Would you like to see her picture?

Remember, watch for an Open House announcement in the next few days!