Hello everyone! We have just experienced our first plot twist of our cruising trip. That change is a 180 degree turn from South to North!
Instead of heading to Mexico we are planning on cruising North to BC and possibly Alaska!
Why the change? Ever since this "sailboat" idea came to be, we have been running around like CRAZY PEOPLE, prepping for the adventure- two years of immense work and planning. Several weeks ago we had basically reached our breaking point- we have been prepping the house to sell it, all while also prepping to flip our lives upside down..... at the same time.
On a Sunday night, after a weekend full of moving stuff into storage (moving is the worst), we opened a bottle of wine, and after two sips Jenny proposed the idea of cruising north instead of south..... I was instantly sold on the idea, and the pressure and stress of everything we were doing immediately lifted. We finished the bottle of wine, excited at the prospect of what awaits us up North.
This begs the question.... what is up North? BC has several world renowned cruising grounds.
These are only two of the common cruising grounds found in BC- there are literally thousands of miles of coastline to explore... and the further north you go the fewer people you encounter. Not to mention, the fishing and crabbing is supposed to be world famous. We are definitely bringing a fishing and crabbing setup with us- good eating awaits!
The prospect of slowing down our pace, coupled with the expansive and pristine wilderness opportunities that BC offers.... well, it was simply a path we couldn't pass up.
Now that you are informed on what we are GOING to do, let me brief you on what we have been up too since the last update.
Work in preparation to sell the house has been very time consuming. This includes the last little projects (kitchen backsplash and some other little updates). We have also been kept busy preparing to move- organizing things, putting stuff we will sell at our garage sale in storage, selling things online, taking staged photos of the house for our real estate listing, etc. Exhausting stuff, but we are ahead of schedule and enjoying that fact.
In boat activities, we attended the Seattle Boat Show! This time last year we didn't even have a boat, so it was a much different show this year. We took advantage of boat show deals on products we need for our trip... namely a satellite phone and other (stupidly expensive) safety gear. Another great thing about the boat show is all the seminars and classes offered there. Over the course of two weekends I spent 12 hours in diesel engine classes. Understanding how our engine works (and how to fix it when something breaks) is critically important for the upcoming trip (most sailboats will only sail about 10% of the time while cruising BC- this is because all the waterways are so channelized). It was incredibly convenient that I could take a 2 minute walk from class to an engine dealer and have him point out EXACTLY where and what things were on our exact engine. So incredibly helpful! Those classes left us with a laundry list of preventative maintenance that we need to do on our engine. That's all good because that maintenance will reinforce how the engine works. And the good news from the diesel engine teacher is that "a well maintained diesel engine will run for at least 16,000 hours..... ours has 400 hours on it.
That's about it for now. Here are some highlights of the last few months. Also be sure to check out the latest youtube video here:
Instead of heading to Mexico we are planning on cruising North to BC and possibly Alaska!
Why the change? Ever since this "sailboat" idea came to be, we have been running around like CRAZY PEOPLE, prepping for the adventure- two years of immense work and planning. Several weeks ago we had basically reached our breaking point- we have been prepping the house to sell it, all while also prepping to flip our lives upside down..... at the same time.
On a Sunday night, after a weekend full of moving stuff into storage (moving is the worst), we opened a bottle of wine, and after two sips Jenny proposed the idea of cruising north instead of south..... I was instantly sold on the idea, and the pressure and stress of everything we were doing immediately lifted. We finished the bottle of wine, excited at the prospect of what awaits us up North.
This begs the question.... what is up North? BC has several world renowned cruising grounds.
Desolation Sound
From Wikipedia: Desolation Sound is a deep water sound at the northern end of the Sunshine Coast in British Columbia, Canada. Flanked by Cortes Island and West Redonda Island, its spectacular fjords, mountains and wildlife make it a global boating and sea kayaking destination.
What is extra cool about Desolation Sound is the fact that the water is WARM!!! Because of the unique geography of Desolation Sound, the water doesn't circulate with the rest of the Pacific Ocean, which means the sun warms the water... up to 80 degrees in the late summer!
The Broughtons
From an online source: The Broughton Archipelago is a British Columbia (BC) Marine Park. It is located between the North end of Vancouver Island and the Coast Mountains of mainland BC. The Broughton Archipelago Marine Park consists of hundreds of small islands, some of which are only numbered rather than named. These islands are surrounded by small channels which are spectacular to paddle by kayak. This little known part of the world is a haven for nature lovers and wildlife enthusiasts.
The prospect of slowing down our pace, coupled with the expansive and pristine wilderness opportunities that BC offers.... well, it was simply a path we couldn't pass up.
Now that you are informed on what we are GOING to do, let me brief you on what we have been up too since the last update.
Work in preparation to sell the house has been very time consuming. This includes the last little projects (kitchen backsplash and some other little updates). We have also been kept busy preparing to move- organizing things, putting stuff we will sell at our garage sale in storage, selling things online, taking staged photos of the house for our real estate listing, etc. Exhausting stuff, but we are ahead of schedule and enjoying that fact.
In boat activities, we attended the Seattle Boat Show! This time last year we didn't even have a boat, so it was a much different show this year. We took advantage of boat show deals on products we need for our trip... namely a satellite phone and other (stupidly expensive) safety gear. Another great thing about the boat show is all the seminars and classes offered there. Over the course of two weekends I spent 12 hours in diesel engine classes. Understanding how our engine works (and how to fix it when something breaks) is critically important for the upcoming trip (most sailboats will only sail about 10% of the time while cruising BC- this is because all the waterways are so channelized). It was incredibly convenient that I could take a 2 minute walk from class to an engine dealer and have him point out EXACTLY where and what things were on our exact engine. So incredibly helpful! Those classes left us with a laundry list of preventative maintenance that we need to do on our engine. That's all good because that maintenance will reinforce how the engine works. And the good news from the diesel engine teacher is that "a well maintained diesel engine will run for at least 16,000 hours..... ours has 400 hours on it.
That's about it for now. Here are some highlights of the last few months. Also be sure to check out the latest youtube video here:
Here's our new industrial sewing machine- we will bring this with us on the boat
Our dingy, "Rita Red" and a little sewing project. We are adding padding to it so we can rest it on Maya's deck.
Regular engine maintenance.... This strainer was busted so we promptly changed it with a working one!
New sea strainer installed!
Dirty bilge
The bilge after a wipe down. Also installed a new bilge pump.
Spoiled dog. Disco likes to be warm
We got a satellite phone! The main purpose of this phone is the ability to send/receive text messages ANYWHERE. We will also hook our computer up to it in order to download weather data. Super cool stuff!
No comments:
Post a Comment