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You are welcome to apply any part of this article to your own personal use. Please do NOT publish any part of the article or apply any part of it to any non-personal use without the express written concent of the author.
What an amazing difference! Last year at this time we were about to head out for an exploration the Abacos islands (Bahamas) from Ft. Lauderdale. Today we're about ready to head out for an exploration of the Pacific Northwest from Seattle. Last year we'd be complaining of the cold if the temperature fell below 70°F (19°C). Today we're practically sweating if the temperature goes much above 65°F (17°C). Last year the air conditioner was required equipment aboard. This year the forced-air diesel furnace was required equipment. Last year we'd be wearing shorts and tee shirts for practically all occasions. This year we've become intimately involved with Polartec® fleece vests, jacket linings, and pants, and are automatically put on several layers of clothing in the morning.
What happened?
There's a saying among cruisers, "By the time the plans come out of my mouth I've already changed my mind."
While preparing for a crossing of the Atlantic, my lovely wife Kit Hitchcock had a sudden inspiration. She contacted Dockwise (www.dockwise.com), a company with (among others) four vessels dedicated to transporting yachts across oceans. These vessels are essentially sea-going floating dry-docks. One Dockwise route takes yachts from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, to Vancouver, British Columbia in only 22 days. The price was reasonable, the timing was just right, we had heartstring tugs to the Pacific Northwest with three grandchildren and a gazillian other relatives living there, and the region was high on our list of places to explore. So we changed our minds and went west instead of east. [Check out: Back to Plan "A"]
So this winter was spent aboard in the Puget Sound region, mostly in Seattle. There was Bell Harbor, within a short walk from Downtown Seattle and the world-famous Pike Place Market. And there was Shilshole Marina at the north end of town where we linked up with Windworks Sailing Center (www.windworkssailing.com) and became sailing instructors with them. There were a few mini cruises with the grandtykes, with this proud old grandpa's heart melting while watching the 6-year-olds granddaughters and 9-year-old grandson driving the boat and keeping a fine compass course.
There was also the obligatory boatyard experience. Some significant work was accomplished, along with some fine-tuning of minor systems. Always a tough experience living aboard while work is being done inside, this experience was almost painless. I give kudos to Paul Miller and the gang at Miller and Miller Boatyard (www.millerandmillerboatyard.com) for their high degree of professionalism and workmanship that eased an otherwise difficult situation. Together they resolved a number of irritating problems that many others have tried and failed to do.
We're back at Shilshole Marina for the few remaining days until our departure. We're waiting for some mandatory gear to arrive, otherwise we're pretty much ready. We had hoped to be underway well before now, but such is the cruising life.
When everything is aboard we'll be heading north. The broad-brush outline is to head to Bellingham, Washington for a few days before crossing over into Canada, most likely to Victoria, British Columbia. We'll then work our way up to Desolation Sound at the north end of the Straights of Georgia. Then it's an exploration of the channels of the Inland Passage ending up in Prince Rupert, British Columbia in the early to mid June time frame. From Prince Rupert we will cross over to Ketchekan, Alaska for an exploration of Southeast Alaska. We'll likely return to British Columbia waters sometime in August. We should be back into Washington sometime in late September or early October.
Anyway, that's the plan. We shall see how it will unfold.
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