The sailing adventures of SV Meriwether and her crew
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...
Although we have gone up the east side of Whidbey Island before, we did not stop off in Penn Cove at that time, making it an easy choice for a visit this time around. No wind was in the forecast for the afternoon’s sail (we didn’t even get started until after 3 PM) but luckily it was a straight shot...
It was finally departure day, after our two week stay in Port Gamble. The forecast was for little to no wind at all, and the total distance to our next destination was 30 miles. I said it in the last post; the engine needed a long running ‘in anger’ to complete the shakedown tests and we were going to get...
After the overnight trip to Ludlow, we had a few more days in Port Gamble before the weekend, where we finally planned to head off to new adventures. Two weeks we have hung out here relaxing my poor old joints (after months of winter projects) and hiding from the rest of the world. It has served us well with only...
A phone call from my Mother & Sister prompted a quick reschedule of our next couple days. They wanted to drive out to visit before we left to Alaska. Luckily, the drive is only about two hours from there house to where we were anchored in Port Gamble, but the accommodations in town were slim. Not to mention this would...
