The sailing adventures of SV Meriwether and her crew
Meriwether and her crew (we) made it back to San Juan Island to start our week long recovery process after last two weeks of preparing for and failing at a Pacific passage. Just getting the boat back into ‘living mode’ was a whole day process. Then came the shopping for a new fridge unit. Of course, our previous unit was...
12 hours is what it took. 12 sweet hours of undisturbed sleep. I haven’t slept that long ever in my life. We woke to a bright and beautiful Canadian cove right outside our salt coated portlights. Bald eagles were soaring above the green pines on shore. The very land that we could not legally set foot on. Life was certainly...
Kerri took the first watch of our first overnight at sea. From 10 PM to 1 AM she ensured all was well as we sailed west (with a smidge of south) with only the moon and an audio book to keep her company. She did tell me that she passed by a few ships during those hours, but I can...
It was still an early morning departure but we were ready after some good sleep and minor adjustments to Meriwether’s storage the day before. Kerri was back from the dead and ready for what was ahead. We raised anchor and left the safety of Neah Bay, back into Juan De Fuca and pointing ourselves towards the Pacific. This time we...
Day 1 of our passage to Alaska. We almost made it to the Pacific Ocean. It was the plan, but a well laid out plan it turned out not to be. Leaving Port Angeles at 3am meant that we would have the tidal currents in our favor, expediting the long haul out to the Pacific. Or, at least not working against...
We spent the week in Port Angeles working our tails off to get ready for the big trip. It all started with a rental car and a day driving around spending a boat load of money to buy last minute supplies and food. This still wasn’t enough, as boxes were scheduled to arrive in the marina office each day of...
Our destination was Port Angeles, which would serve as our staging point for the next big adventure of sailing to Alaska via the ocean. But first, we had to get there, and only the Straight of Juan De Fuca stood between us. Because the Straight is exposed to the Pacific, it can bring with it some of the ocean waves...
We wanted to make the most of our final week before returning to a marina. Port Angeles – where we will resupply and wait for weather to make our big sail to Alaska – was our next destination. Port Angeles is 30 miles to our south-west with only the temperamental waters of Juan De Fuca between. It would be a...
It was early for us – with a 9 AM start to our sail – but we had the infamous Deception Pass to navigate and the current rules all when it comes to the timing of this small stretch of water. With slack-tide scheduled for about 10 AM, the penalty of arriving late would mean a strong current against us....
Once again we sailed off anchor. There was a breeze, so why wouldn’t we just hauled up the anchor and set a sail to propel us the direction we wish to travel, right? It’s quite easy actually, and a whole lot less stressful than the clackity old diesel that resides down below. Admittedly, I do still turn the motor on...
