The day of departure finally arrived. I had repaired the windlass, I had repaired the generator. And I even thought I had repaired the fridge. It was time to shove off. Departing at 0735 with the girls still in their bunks reading, there was no wind as we motor sailed up and out Puget Sound. Fortunately, we were able to ride the ebb tide north and passed Point Wilson light at 10 knots SOG, just before lunch. We were making good time and had an easy crossing of the non-threatening Strait of Juan de Fuca.

Entering Cattle Pass we struggled against a two knot ebbing tide and were surrounded on all sides with laughing tidal overfalls and gaping whirlpools as the busy water boiled around us. I was reminded there are some significant currents and tides in the region one of the

Off-season sailing here in the Puget Sound region is a joy as wherever you go you pretty much have the whole place to yourself. There are no crowded anchorages and if you must duck into any marina prices are half summer rates, people are glad to see you and you never need a reservation. With water temperatures of 45 degrees and air temperatures in the 30s, it does help to have heat on board. We installed a Webasto hydronics system at my wife’s gentle urging (“No heat – no sailing!”). I have not regretted the decision to swiftly comply with her wishes at all.

In the winter you also have wind. We had about 20 knots crossing the Strait of Juan de Fuca both ways on our recent trip up to Victoria, BC (Be Courteous, Be Canadian). Named after Queen Victoria, the

I’m Scared of It All

“I watch the wan faces that flash in the street;
All kinds and all classes I see.
Yet never a one in the million I meet,
Has the smile of a comrade to me.
Just jaded and panting like dogs in a pack;
Just tensed and intent on the goal;
O God! But I’m lonesome…I wish I was back,
Up there in the land of the Pole.”

– Robert Service

It was time to leave the emerald isle of Kodiak and we raced through Whale Pass again, this time 30 minutes after low tide and rode the ebb in the early afternoon. I watched with interest as our speed over the ground hit 13.5 knots for the first time. We averaged 12-13 knots for most of the half hour trip where we

We wanted to go to Kodiak but thus far we had only made it to Sitka. To get to Kodiak we needed to cross the feared Gulf of Alaska. It was critical we picked the right weather window to make our first crossing of the Gulf of Alaska. In the middle of the gulf where we must go seas reach 30 feet and sometimes 50 feet in height if the weather turns evil. We wanted to avoid that. Every day for several weeks I studiously downloaded the latest weather forecasts via our Iridium satellite phone. The information is presented in grib file format which using wind arrows show the forecasters’ best guess of wind direction and strength. I hoped that by constant exposure to this information I would begin to get a sense of how it all fit together and be