The sailing adventures of SV Meriwether and her crew
I wanted to give this post a few extra days just to make sure we actually made it out of Ketchikan’s grasp. By now we are far enough away that it would be easier to get to another town (Wrangell) if something were to pop up on us. It does appear we have made beyond Alaska’s first town. It took...
After our backpacking adventure we both knew that returning to Ketchikan for me to jump on a flight was highly probable. And while neither of us wanted to return to Ketchikan, the next closest airport was many days away and we would have to skip all the adventures between. Time was somewhat important, but there was a few days leeway....
Before we came up to Alaska, Kerri and I both vigorously agreed that the backpacking gear would get some use this year. Sure, it has been since 2017 since we last used it, and we have carried all this gear around ever since, but this was all going to change damn it. As luck would have it, during our time...
It felt like an eternity staying in a marina for a week and a half, but with all the engine repairs complete we were ready to start our Alaska adventures. We finally left Ketchikan on Thursday evening, motoring south to the fuel dock to top off the tank as we knew what was in our future. Our new engine parts...
Poor Meriwether has not moved since arriving in Ketchikan. We finally found the cause to an engine issue that arose back in May and have ordered the replacement parts. Until those parts are replaced, we have chosen to stay put. This season up here in Alaska will involve a lot of motoring, so tip-top shape it must be in. Wish...
Crossing Queen Charlotte Sound would be the hardest part of the entire passage and include just as many miles as the previous six days combined. It was sort of an ocean adventure while not being fully out there in the ocean like our first attempt. After taking a beating last month, I needed to tackle an ocean-like body of water...
Day 5: 36 nautical miles. We weighed anchor at peaceful Tuna Point, with just this cabin with the tractor tire dock overlooking us. It seems unoccupied (by the living anyway), but I swear the door wasn’t cracked open when we pulled in the night before. We’ve been choosing anchorages by pure convenience—whatever’s a quick stop from our route, in and...
Day 4: 45 leisurely nautical miles motoring in light headwind. We planned departure at 7am to motor up to Seymore Narrows. Known for its extreme currents which can reach reach up to 16 knots, everybody gathers at its head just before slack tide, to make the transit through. First thing, we ran into a snag…literally. Our anchor chain was extremely...
Day 3: 62 nautical miles, almost all by sail. We departed Lasqueti Island at 6am to catch the last of the slow current out and anchored at Hornby Island until the tide changed. Weather forecasts predicted a downwind sail up the Straight of Georgia, building from 10 to 20 knots by the evening, and for once, the forecasts were right....
It was sort of a perfect first day of our transit through to AK, which made me ask multiple times, “Why didn’t we just to this in the first place?” We would have been in AK two weeks ago! The forecast told us that we should expect to be motoring the whole time, but we had wind for much of...
