Systems failure
Well it had to happen, the first systems failure of the trip. The autopilot developed a mysterious error message so a few hours were spent trying to track down the problem, most probably a short circuit but with all the wiring being fed through small spaces it has been hard to find so that issue has been shelved until Thursday when we spend some time in port. The other issue was a dreaded blocked head (toilet). The culprit was found to be a shell and baby wipe. A joyous experience as I am sure you will all appreciate.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Monday, June 11, 2012
Departure
Having completed our final provisioning and preparations we handed back the keys to the marina and departed at 6pm, destination Deer harbour on Orcas island. The sun was still high in the sky but very little breeze, not enough to sail, so we motored the two hours to our destination where we picked up a mooring buoy and rowed ashore to take Luda for a walk. To answer Jonny and Shelly's question: we have to take Luda to walk ashore at least 3 times a day. So far we have had no accidents, we don't want any surprises in the morning.
Tomorrow we head off to meet with Steve's friend, Ken Savage on Lopez island, a short sail after we spend a few hours looking around the small village in Deer Harbour.
Having completed our final provisioning and preparations we handed back the keys to the marina and departed at 6pm, destination Deer harbour on Orcas island. The sun was still high in the sky but very little breeze, not enough to sail, so we motored the two hours to our destination where we picked up a mooring buoy and rowed ashore to take Luda for a walk. To answer Jonny and Shelly's question: we have to take Luda to walk ashore at least 3 times a day. So far we have had no accidents, we don't want any surprises in the morning.
Tomorrow we head off to meet with Steve's friend, Ken Savage on Lopez island, a short sail after we spend a few hours looking around the small village in Deer Harbour.
Saturday, June 9, 2012
Arrival
Jude, Katya and I arrived at the boat at midnight on
Thursday after a 1450 mile journey from Denver. We left at 2pm on the dot on
Wednesday after Jude and Katya finished school. We stopped in Billings, Montana
for the first night after a 9 hr drive and left at 8am the following day.
We managed to meet up with Steve and Sandy in Missoula
Montana for lunch - no more junk food
please -and then went our separate ways, we were heading on to Anacortes and
Steve and Sandy on to Ritzville which was apparently more like Pittsville.
We unpacked the car on arrival. You should have seen the
chaos on the boat – stuff everywhere – but we were too exhausted to sort it all
out so we just made the beds and crashed out.
4 hours after leaving the house we had a call from the real
estate agent telling us to expect an offer on the house. Sure enough we
received the offer. That was quick! We now have to work out the completion
dates and drive back to Denver to pack and move out.
We were greeted on Friday morning with sunshine and started
the process of packing all our stuff into every crevice we have on the boat
whilst leaving some space for Steve, Sandy and Roger. It’s amazing how it all
vanished. I just hope we can find everything when we need it.
We have a few jobs on to do on the boat before we leave –
general maintenance, a few fixes and preparation for leaving on Tuesday for the
San Juan Islands.
Luda, our terrier, is getting used to the boat and has now
managed to work out how to get on and off the boat.
Roger is currently in the air and should be landing in
Seattle at 9:30 this evening. I am sure he will be exhausted when arrives.
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
For Sale
We finished up cleaning the house and packing at about midnight last night and I must admit the house has not been as clean and clutter free since the day we moved exactly 2 years ago to the day.
We decided to put the house on the market whilst we are away as this saves keeping the house spotlessly clean and clutter free to the standard that is required, always a challenge for us, and makes the most of the summer selling season. The house goes on the market this afternoon and I believe we have a viewing arranged for later today. Fingers crossed, although we don't want it sold too quickly otherwise we will have to be back in a week to pack and move out!
Jude and Katya are at school for their last day of term. Katya is very excited although not necessarily looking forward to the road trip. DVDs are a wonderful thing.
Steve and Sandy left the house at 5am this morning. I received a text saying that they were about 5 hrs drive from Chico Hot Spring and there was very little traffic on the roads. Excellent.
We finished up cleaning the house and packing at about midnight last night and I must admit the house has not been as clean and clutter free since the day we moved exactly 2 years ago to the day.
We decided to put the house on the market whilst we are away as this saves keeping the house spotlessly clean and clutter free to the standard that is required, always a challenge for us, and makes the most of the summer selling season. The house goes on the market this afternoon and I believe we have a viewing arranged for later today. Fingers crossed, although we don't want it sold too quickly otherwise we will have to be back in a week to pack and move out!
Jude and Katya are at school for their last day of term. Katya is very excited although not necessarily looking forward to the road trip. DVDs are a wonderful thing.
Steve and Sandy left the house at 5am this morning. I received a text saying that they were about 5 hrs drive from Chico Hot Spring and there was very little traffic on the roads. Excellent.
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Getting close now
Well, less than a week to go now before we depart Denver on the 1300 mile journey to Anacortes, Washington state, where the boat is located. We have been frantically working on the house as it goes on the market the day we leave. As usual everything is being done at the last minute. Katya is staying at a friends house tonight which has given us some time to get more done. The house is in chaos. Carpet has been taken up. New floors being laid, sanded, re sanded - oh the dust - varnished, re varnished, sealed. Outside windows have been painted and a thousand other jobs to get the house in a presentable and ship shape condition for being sold.
Spoke to Roger today and he is getting ready to fly out to Seattle on Wednesday. I think he has about a 15 hour journey, from London that is. We are all very excited about seeing grandpa and Katya especially. It has been a long time since we spent a few weeks together.
We are taking Luda, our border terrier, along with us on the trip. It is the first time she has been on Sarita although she has been on Zinita, our old boat in Australia. We have purchased a very fetching orange life jacket, complete with carrying handle, for the trip. we will have to get into a routine of taking her onshore first thing in the morning and last thing at night with walks in the day to ensure that there are no nasty surprises awaiting us in the mornings.
Sandy and Steve are leaving on the same day with their trip being punctuated with stops at various hot springs and no doubt some other types of watering holes. All being well we should be meeting them on the 9th.
Steve, having an endless amount of friends around the globe, has been using his magic to connect us with some interesting sounding people including an "old salt" who lives on Lopez island in the San Juans and will be a wealth of knowledge for our journey, as he has cruised the area for many years. I am sure that Steve and Sandy will be making many new friends over the coming weeks!
Well - its Jude's birthday tomorrow - 28, again. So my love and best wishes to my dear wife. What a star she is.
Well, less than a week to go now before we depart Denver on the 1300 mile journey to Anacortes, Washington state, where the boat is located. We have been frantically working on the house as it goes on the market the day we leave. As usual everything is being done at the last minute. Katya is staying at a friends house tonight which has given us some time to get more done. The house is in chaos. Carpet has been taken up. New floors being laid, sanded, re sanded - oh the dust - varnished, re varnished, sealed. Outside windows have been painted and a thousand other jobs to get the house in a presentable and ship shape condition for being sold.
Spoke to Roger today and he is getting ready to fly out to Seattle on Wednesday. I think he has about a 15 hour journey, from London that is. We are all very excited about seeing grandpa and Katya especially. It has been a long time since we spent a few weeks together.
We are taking Luda, our border terrier, along with us on the trip. It is the first time she has been on Sarita although she has been on Zinita, our old boat in Australia. We have purchased a very fetching orange life jacket, complete with carrying handle, for the trip. we will have to get into a routine of taking her onshore first thing in the morning and last thing at night with walks in the day to ensure that there are no nasty surprises awaiting us in the mornings.
Sandy and Steve are leaving on the same day with their trip being punctuated with stops at various hot springs and no doubt some other types of watering holes. All being well we should be meeting them on the 9th.
Steve, having an endless amount of friends around the globe, has been using his magic to connect us with some interesting sounding people including an "old salt" who lives on Lopez island in the San Juans and will be a wealth of knowledge for our journey, as he has cruised the area for many years. I am sure that Steve and Sandy will be making many new friends over the coming weeks!
Well - its Jude's birthday tomorrow - 28, again. So my love and best wishes to my dear wife. What a star she is.
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Final Tuning
The guys are busy building the rack for the Subaru so that we can haul the kayaks to the sailboat. Jude and I are trying out the pressure cooker. Potatoes were ok--broccoli-- well, we burned the broccoli. Hoping to improve on the cooking thing. We're checking and making lists and getting very excited about our upcoming adventure!
Friday, May 18, 2012
We are now preparing for our summer trip from Anacortes, Washington State to British Columbia and possibly Alaska, depending on how much fun we have along the way. Only 3 weeks to go and the preparations are a little slow as work projects on the house have delayed us.
 |
| Sarita in Victoria BC |
We are planning to drive from Denver to Anacortes the day after school finishes and the 1200 mile journey should take 2-3 days. Once we arrive in Washington we are picking up "Grandpa Rog" from Seattle Airport before heading to the boat.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)