Peter & Ginger - Exploring Under Sail

Amazingly the sun was out during some of our stay in coastal Neah Bay, WA as we prepared to cross the North Pacific. We've been here before but have never seen the bay in sun. There were some gorgeous sunsets.. . and even some sun for a hike from town to Cape Flattery. On a beautiful day we completed a sea trial out and back from Neah Bay and crossed paths with a schooner returning from sea under storm sails. With Irene stowed and the deck secured we were ready to go to sea. Soon after departure the sunny carefree days of Neah Bay morphed into waves, wind and chilly rain. A couple of days into the passage we were taking on a bit of water and discovered that it was due to the sink through hull fitting. We were on port tack most of the trip so the through hull that is normally above the waterline was under water for about 10 days. Only after landfall did we discover the nature of the problem - old caulk and a hole too big for the fitting that was ins...

Check out Irene's wake! Is it our imagination or does that new feathering propeller really make a difference? We enjoyed a quick run down sound to do some cruising and debug systems. It was hard to leave our Port Townsend flight simulator training when we were making such good progress, but the sea called! In addition to checking our new boat systems, we had concert tickets drawing us to Bremerton. The theater is in a whimsical downtown artsy district, much improved since our last visit years ago. We used our first visit to a dock in 45 days (with unlimited fresh water) to give the deck a good scrub. Next stop, Gig Harbor to check on the blackberries and the Heritage Distilling Co. We found some lazy sailing days we found some visitors, ..and we found some squalls! Anchored in the protection of Eagle Harbor on Bainbridge Island we prepared for guests, enjoyed the hubub of Memorial Day weekend and continued with projects. Friend...

Irene and crew are underway again. We expect to be at sea a couple of weeks as we cross to Dutch Harbor. Cheers, Ginger and Peter