We had been sailing around the San Juan Islands for several months and had yet to see an orca. We were anchored off Pearl Island and it was my birthday. We were just getting into the dinghy to go to shore when I saw them. A pod of orcas at the entrance to Roche Harbor!Continue reading “Orcas!”
Author Archives: Tales of Misadventure
When will the sun come out?
It’s times like this that I have to remind myself that the gloomy days won’t be last forever.
Plane Crash!
Yesterday, we left our mooring ball at James Island to make our way to Stuart Island, about 20 miles away. About an hour into our journey, a PAN PAN call came over the VHF radio. When you hear someone say “PAN PAN PAN” on the VHF radio, you pay close attention. It means two things.Continue reading “Plane Crash!”
Sealed Fate – Epilog
This is a multi-part story. Read part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4 | epilog Follow up. Garry called to thank me for being so persistent about getting a rescue for baby Arctic. He said the rescue was the first collaborative event for the organizations involved, so it helped forge a good workingContinue reading “Sealed Fate – Epilog”
Finders Keepers
As we wait for the final episode of Kathy’s seal story, I thought I’d give you a quick update on one of our latest wins. We’ve been in the market, as it were, for a floormat recently but do to budget and location were unable to procure one. We came into Anacortes (Cap Sante Marina)Continue reading “Finders Keepers”
Power Struggles
I was observing the ship’s power monitor in the morning, and it wasn’t looking good. The last few days were rainy and cloudy, which meant little solar power was coming into our system. We were at 50% on the batteries. We only had power for basic life support at this point. I looked desperately atContinue reading “Power Struggles”
Sealed Fate – Part 4
This is a multi-part story. Read part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4 | epilog Day 3 (continued). 30 minutes after the pup went missing, he’s back and he’s swimming with all his might to fight the current. And the fog is clearing. I message Jessica that the fog is lifting on myContinue reading “Sealed Fate – Part 4”
Sealed Fate – Part 3
This is a multi-part story. Read part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4 | epilog Day 3. We hear the pup moaning at the mooring ball overnight and, this morning, he still clings to it. The back of our boat gets rough when boats pass or the wind picks up, so IContinue reading “Sealed Fate – Part 3”
Sealed Fate – Part 2
This is a multi-part story. Read part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4 | epilog Day 2. I am already stressed for the pup, but it notches up more when I awake from a restless sleep and hear Sean up on deck say, “Hey there little guy.” The pup is still here, atContinue reading “Sealed Fate – Part 2”
Canada Check-in
We arrived at the Van Isle Marina Customs Dock around 11:30 am. The marina staff was kind enough to help us dock and then explained that we needed to call Customs. I went below anxious to finish the process. Kathy told me to sit down as she dialed the number on her cellphone and putContinue reading “Canada Check-in”
Tales of Misadventure 