We spent two nights at the marina in Eureka. We had a few things to take care of and Eureka seemed like as good of place as any. Also, looking at the weather, it seemed like we would get some nice weather in a day or two so no reason to go now. We took the dinghy across the water […]
Travel
Diesel and Fog
"Light winds are okay," I keep telling myself. When given the option of light winds and motoring or 15-20 kt headwinds beating into the weather, I keep reminding myself I should be grateful for the light winds. So it went for several days... and it was okay. We continued north through […]
Near Tragedy at Sea!
The boat didn't nearly sink. The liquor didn't get thrown overboard. It's worse that that. The french press beaker broke! Can you imagine; out on the water day and night for weeks with no good way to make coffee? Well Kelli found a work around as she was the first one […]
What to expect
The time has come to move the boat north. We are taking Elysian Sea from San Diego and heading north to Coos Bay, Oregon. We have been planning this trip for a month and it's exciting it is finally here. I have expectations of what is to come but the truth is, I don't really know […]
Elysian Sea - First Trip
The last post ended outside San Diego Bay, staring across the Pacific toward Japan. Sadly I couldn't continue westbound. I sailed 4 miles offshore, turned around, and moseyed back to the marina. It took eight hours to leave San Diego Bay and come back; it's a big bay and with the […]
Elysian Sea
Oh, did I forget to tell you? We bought a new boat! Say hello to Elysian Sea. She is a 1988 Valiant 40. Almost immediately after selling Northern Light, I kept a lookout for our next boat. I had a better understanding of what I was looking for in a longterm boat and started […]
Looking Back - Tracy Arm
I started writing this over a year ago. Better late than never. I didn't tell many stories from this past summer but I find myself looking back at the adventures often with fondness. We sailed almost every weekend spending two nights at anchor and sailing three days. We explored […]
Homeward
How's winter in Alaska, you ask? I don't know. I imagine it is cold and wet. Kelli and I left Alaska at the end of August. Here's how it went. The Alaska flying job was a seasonal job with the opportunity to stay year-round. I was officially offered a year round […]
Leisurely Day VLOG
We are only three weeks from heading back to Utah. Kelli leaves August 29th and I leave August 31st. Here is a little video for you of what we are up to on this fine Saturday. Tomorrow we are both picking up shifts for other people so we are only out for a little bit today. […]
How's the Flying?
Have you ever written an exam paper only to forget to save it and when you go print it off, you can't find it? Weeks ago I wrote an entire post about flying IOE and starting to fly on my own at Seaplanes only for it to not get saved and then lost forever. Writing the same thing twice is […]
New Arrival
Look who showed up... Kelli made it up here after us being apart just over two months. She flew in Tuesday June 4th at 9:45 after a little delay in Ketchican. I picked her up at the airport and she met Northern Light for the first time about 10:00. I took the next day off work so I […]
Settling In
My early 20s (and mid-20s) was filled with lots of moving. I moved from home to Arizona for college at 18, back home, then into a farm house where I worked, into a single-wide mobile home next to my parents, off to my sister's in Truth or Consequences, NM, then to Leadivlle, Colorado at 24, […]
North - Part IV
Day three I awoke early, made breakfast and coffee, and took a look at the manual for the autopilot. There was a magnetometer calibration procedure I wanted to try. The magnetometer is the electronic compass the autopilot steers by. I looked through all the settings in the […]
North - Part III
I woke up to a nice morning still anchored where I dropped the hook by Whitney Island sometime near 6:30. Being new to everything still, I wasn’t sure how good of a spot I picked but it seemed to be good enough as I hadn’t drifted at all. The standard anchoring protocol is to put out […]
North - Part II
My flight from Seattle to Petersburg on Alaska Airlines is referred to as the "Milk Run." It makes multiple stops along the way at small airports and several places you just stay on the airplane rather than getting off. We stopped in Ketchikan and Wrangell before stopping in Petersburg […]
North
Big changes. I'm sitting in a little cafe a six-minute walk from the harbor I'm living in. My laundry is tumbling next door in the local laundromat. My location is Juneau, Alaska. How did I end up here? So, I've been thinking about a change in jobs for a while and applied for […]
Long Distance Travel
I have realized the past couple days that traveling with a woman changes things a little. Please understand that my wife, Kelli, is a resilient woman. I don't have to struggle to keep her comfortable; she is able to do that for herself. What I mean is, I used to hop on a motorcycle […]
Smiley Creek UBCP Fly-in 2019 Days 3 and 4
I forgot to mention that I had to get fuel July 5th (the night of day 2). I wanted to do more flying and I didn't have fuel access in Smiley Creek so I decided to take an evening flight to Challis (KLLJ). The weather was decent and I left with enough time to get back to Smiley Creek before dark. I […]
Smiley Creek UBCP Fly-in 2019 Days 1 and 2
July 4th weekend the Utah Backcountry Pilots Association hosted a fly-in at Smiley Creek airstrip in Idaho (U87). I had the lucky chance to break from my normal schedule and get up there and join the fun. I had not yet taken my airplane to a fly-in so this was the maiden fly-in voyage for me and the 120.