35 and 5

Today the love of my life turned 35.  Today also marks the 5th anniversary since we launched our good little ship Yare.

Tor decided way back in 8th grade to build this boat, not just a boat, but THIS boat.  When I came on the scene Tor adapted his dream to include me (by this he added a head (toilet) to the plans :) ), and I gladly and excitedly took on the dream to build her with Tor.  It was a long road to get her built and as goal oriented people we made a goal to launch her for Tor's 30th birthday.  We did it and now we get to celebrate two milestones in one day.

In the past 5 years Yare has taken us to amazing places and taken very good care of us.  Happy birthday Yare.

I couldn't ask for a better partner in life, father for my children, skipper for my boat, or dreamer for our dreams.  I'm so glad I get to celebrate with you.  Happy birthday sweet Tor.

Gorgeous, glass smooth Johnstone Strait, weather ordered up especially for the birthday boy and birthday boat...though both the birthday boy and the birthday boat probably would have appreciated about 10 kts of wind for a lovely beam reach as the icing on their cake

The boys insisted that green was the color for decorating Papa's birthday cake! 

Celebrating Tor and Yare, Happy Birthdays!

Alaska Trip Day 15

5/30/11

Douglas Bay, Forward Harbour, Mainland B.C.

Miles Motored:  35?

Miles Sailed:  0

We’re very sad on Yare today.  We got word that Jess’ Grandma Helen is very sick.  Please send her a wish or two for comfort if you are able to.

After a relaxed morning in Handfield bay, we left for Blind Channel around 9:00 and arrived at 12:15.  The plan was to fuel up and stay tied up to the dock waiting for the right time to transit Greene Point rapids which is just around the corner.  We were able to use their wifi and that’s when we got the news about Helen.  Even though it felt like we were going the wrong direction, when our time came to leave the dock for slack water at Greene Point, we did.  In memory of our years of Soup Night with Helen in attendance I put on a pot of chili.  Helen always brought amazing desserts and there was no way I could come up with something worthy of her.

We challenged Greene Point about 45 minutes early so we could get to Whirlpool Rapids within 1.5 hours of slack, which according to the guidebook is okay to do.  Greene Point was a piece of cake.  It turned out that we did not have the favorable current we were expecting to push us to Whirlpool rapids so we got there about an hour and 45 minutes after slack and I was pretty worried about it…until I came up in the cockpit.  No big deal.  Seriously…hardly a ripple.

We easily made it through Whirlpool rapids and headed in to anchor in Douglas Bay on Forward Harbour.  The boys loved the chili, baked sweet potato and avocado we gave them for dinner.  Before putting the boys to bed we decided to re-anchor because we didn’t like how much water was under our keel given that we are supposed to have a negative tide at 5:00 am.  Fortunately it wasn’t anything like the mess at Lasqueti Island and we got the boys to bed quietly and quickly.

Forward Harbour is an amazing place.  You anchor at the base of an 1100 meter mountain that is trees from the top to the bottom.  I tried to get pictures the last time we were there, but there is no way you can capture it.  Tonight I was feeling too sad to try again.

We are going to try something new tomorrow.  The boys usually get up to nurse around 5am and then we all go back to bed until about 7am.  Tomorrow when they wake up, I will nurse them and Tor will get us going.  We are thinking that they will be able to go back to sleep with the engine on, since they are used to napping with it, and that way we will be able to get some miles in before the favorable ebb tide changes to flood in the late morning.  The winds are forecast to be high in Johnstone Strait tomorrow, so we want to get as far as we can before they build.  Because of the high wind forecast and the unfavorable flood tide most of the day it looks like we will duck out of Johnstone Strait early and work our way up through the Broughton Islands.

Alaska Trip Day 14

5/29/11

Handfield Bay, Sonora Island, B.C.

Miles Motored:  0

Miles Sailed:  0

A stay put day.  We couldn’t have chosen a better place to stay put, or a day with better weather.  It was GORGEOUS!

We stayed put, but we worked hard.  Well, the boys played hard, but Tor and I got a lot done.  Tor was a wonder child proofer today and I feel so much less anxiety about the boys’ safety.  He fashioned a gate for the head so we can keep the door permanently open which will block the hole Lars fell out of yesterday.  He covered the reading light in our berth so that they can’t smash the bulb and he secured some of the wood slats that form the ceiling (wood covering the inside of the hull), he installed anchors for the booster seats since Lars in particular has a bad habit of rocking back and forth in his chair, and he made the boy’s sleeping enclosures more secure.  They were all little things that as the boys explore the boat it became apparent were needed, but we were having a hard time getting it done when we were on the move all the time.  We still need to come up with a solution for the stove, but in the meantime I’m trying to teach them to stay away from it.  I’m having some marginal success.

I got 2 loaves of bread made and a real dinner cooked.  Sauteed lentils with spinach (kale) and soy sauce.  Yum!  It was a hit with the whole family.

The boys got some serious playing done, including playing naked in the cockpit with a bucket of water.  Serious good times for all!

After the boys went to bed we did 2 loads of diapers, a record 26 diapers.  At times like this, you appreciate just how nice it is to have access to a Laundromat!

During the day while the boys were napping Tor and I did some planning on the next steps.  Unfortunately we need to transit Johnstone Strait next and it should really be done on an ebb tide so that we aren’t working against a pretty serious flood tide, and the timing of the tides right now is such that the flood takes up most of the middle of the day.  It looks like we will do Greene Point and Whirlpool rapids tomorrow and then maybe tuck up into the Broughton Islands to continue our northward progress instead of going to Port McNeill (bummer, good free internet and groceries were found there last time).  It will be neat to see a different area and the Broughtons are supposed to be beautiful.

We will head to Blind channel in the morning to fuel up and hopefully get wifi while we are waiting for the right time to transit Greene Point rapids.  We plan to anchor in Forward Harbour just after Whirlpool rapids tomorrow night.

Looking out of Handfield Bay, our lovely anchorage 

Playing with saltwater, fun, fun fun! 

Lars enjoying his dinner 

Odin looking a little bit like a sea monster eating sea weed 

Quite an advertisement for Fisher Price, eh?  Seriously, we love these booster seats, an excellent investment of $20 a piece

Alaska Trip Day 13

5/28/11

Handfield Bay, Sonora Island, B.C.

Miles Motored:  34

Miles Sailed:  0

Today was sure eventful…some good, some bad. 

Lars fell out of the aft enclosure today and onto the sole.  It was the scariest thing we’ve experienced as parents so far.  He fell about 4 feet and bonked his head pretty badly and also bit his tongue.  There were a lot of tears and a near heart attack for me, but he’s okay.  Not long after the fall he was back to his usual happy smiley self.  Every parent has a story of when their kid fell off the bed, but it makes it no better when it is your kid.  He’s got a bump on his head and a bruise forming.  Poor kiddo.  It makes me feel sick to my stomach to look at the bump/ bruise on his head.

Today was tidal rapid day and you have to make sure you hit the timing right on the rapids or you could be going through rapids like a class 5 river.  We’ve done this before, and I knew first hand that if you timed it right, for slack water, it was easy, but I still got super tense.  Of course it didn’t help that I was on high alert after Lars’ fall.  You need to challenge Yucultas rapids a little before slack so you can make sure to get to Dent right at slack, so there is some turbulence and there are a few places where your speed slows to a crawl of 1.1 knots, but it is doable.  I was on deck because the boys were napping, so I got to see it all.  It was totally fine, but I was still nervous.  The boys woke up between Yucultas and Dent so I didn’t get to see Dent since I was changing diapers, but we made it through easy cheesy.

Looking back at Desolation Sound 

Tor navigating Yucultas rapids

 The next question was where to go for the night.  There are two more sets of rapids, but we couldn’t make it on the same tidal cycle so we needed a place for the night.  Last time we did this trip we went to Blind Channel and stayed at their dock and had a FABULOUS dinner.  But, we paid to stay at a dock last night and Blind Channel is not cheap, not to mention that we have a very different budget now with me not working (for pay), so we looked at the book and charts and found a Marine park to anchor in, 12 miles from Dent rapids.

I finally had enough time down below and took over running the boat about 45 minutes before we got to our anchorage, but it was a good break.  I saw some porpoises, Dall’s I think, and when they saw our boat they made a beeline for it so I was hoping to get to watch them play with our bow wave, but no such luck.  We are into the area of no population and it is wild and beautiful.  There are logging and aquaculture operations to let you know that people have touched this place, but it still feels untouched.  Beautiful steep fjords with trees down to the waterline.  Stunning.

Break time for Mama!

North of Desolation Sound

We had Handfield bay to ourselves and it is a beautiful little spot.  I was pretty wrung out from the day with Lars’ fall and the worry about the rapids that I ended up making boxed mac and cheese (organic and whole wheat, but boxed none the less) for dinner, it was pretty yucky, but with carrots and broccoli on the side at least it was food.

We got the boys to bed and I had a good long cry about Lars’ fall, and how we are just going going going and not having much fun, and worrying about other child proofing needs in the boat.  The crying was the release I needed, but it also made sure Tor and I had a good talk about our goals for the trip and how we think it is going.  We had a talk about it in Bellingham and we made some good changes, but it is SO wearing to be on the go every day.  We are seriously goal oriented people and even though we tried not to set ourselves the goal of Glacier Bay, we did set it, and it’s hard to let go of a goal.  On our last trip here (when we went around Vancouver Island) we were at the north tip of the island by 2 weeks in.  It’s not to say we weren’t feeling rushed on that trip, but we were trying to make sure we had more time on the outside so the rush was worth it.  We are almost 2 weeks into this trip and even though we’ve been moving almost every day, we are still several days behind where we were at this point on our last trip.  At our current pace we can’t make it to Glacier Bay in the time we have.  Things are different with kids, no doubt about it.  We decided that we are still going to work our way north and we’ll see where we get, hopefully Ketchikan.  We also decided that we need to take break days every few days, and that, surprisingly, the long days seem to be better than the shorter days.  

Tomorrow we stay put.

Alaska Trip Day 12

5/27/11

Squirrel Cove, Cortes Island, B.C.

Miles Motored: 27

Miles Sailed:  0

After a long and restful night’s sleep, we got up and motored to Desolation Sound in the rain.

The boys took two good long naps and I did 3 loads of laundry, took a shower and played on the internet.  It was a very good restful and restorative day.  What we all needed.

Tomorrow we hit the first tidal rapids and where we stop depends on how quickly the tides push us.  Keep an eye on our Spot update!

Alaska Trip Day 11

5/26/11

Blubber Bay, Texada Island, B.C.

Miles motored:  31

Miles sailed:  0

Why did I write that we were going to rest well last night?  I totally jinxed us.  If last night was a fire drill of cooking, getting two screaming boys down to bed and moving the boat, then this morning was a clusterf**k.

At 3am the wind piped up and Tor and I were up listening to it.  He checked on things and they seemed to be okay.  At about 3:15 Lars woke up so I brought him to bed and just nursed him to sleep with us.  Then the swell started.  We were directly in the path of the opening to the cove, which is where the wind was coming from, and with it pretty heavy swell.  Uncomfortable.  At about 5am Tor decided to let more anchor chain out, but in order to do that he needed to start the engine to take some of the strain off of the anchor.  More chain out made the ride more comfortable.  By this point Lars was back in his bed asleep, but Odin woke up, so I took him back to bed and just nursed him to sleep.  By about 6:15 the motion had gotten really bad with the swell and the boys both woke up screaming.  Tor was getting queasy at anchor, both boys were screaming because I’m sure they didn’t feel well and I just wanted it all to STOP!

We decided to up anchor and move to another place in the cove. Last night Tor realized that instead of using our manual windlass to pull the anchor chain it was faster if he just pulls it by hand and lays it on deck.  So he pulled 150 ft of chain and put it on deck since we were only planning on moving to another lobe of the bay that was hopefully less impacted by the swell.  Well, the swell looked just as bad in the other part of the bay so Tor looked down at me and said we were getting out.  I had both boys with me in our berth and the safety enclosure up.

Because last night had been so hectic, nothing had been stowed.  There was sh*t ALL over everywhere, including glass bottles and Tor was tripping over laundry supplies in the cockpit…we were NOT ready to go to sea.  We especially weren’t ready to go to sea with 6’ swells that were 30’ apart crest to crest.    The dinghy was trailing behind us and I was sitting looking out the portlight on the aft end of the house and I could see the whole inside of the dinghy as the big boat went up one swell and the dinghy went down the first one…and the oars were still IN it!!!  What a great way to lose our dinghy or its propulsion. 

Lars was having a really rough time, but he quickly cuddled up with me and even fell asleep.  Odin actually played for a while and when he’d had enough he cuddled up with me and fell asleep too.  My boys aren’t cuddlers and I have to say that even through all of the worry and stuff crashing around, I just kept marveling at how sweet it was to be able to cuddle with my boys and give them enough comfort that they could relax enough to fall asleep.

Finally we got in the lee of a couple of islands and the swell quieted down.  Lars woke up cheerful as could be and Odin kept snoozing for a while.  Tor took us around the other side of Lasqueti Island and we anchored in Scottie’s bay.  We fed the boys breakfast and got things cleaned up.  Amazingly only 2 things ended up on the sole, an empty cracker box and a pair of long john pants.  We didn’t lose anything on deck or in the dinghy.  The anchor chain all ended up in a pile in front of the house, but it didn’t go anywhere. 

We put the boys down for their morning nap at 11:00 (usually at 9:00) and we looked at our options.  We were both anxious to get away from the Strait of Georgia and the weather report predicted calm winds in the afternoon so we both were anxious to go.  We planned to go around the south end of Texada Island and go to Pender Harbor on the mainland…it was truly a decision based on desperation to get out.  We still would have a transit of some big open water, but we would be comfortable for the night.  The boys woke up and we got going as quickly as we could…get us the HELL out of here!  Soon Lars started screaming.  Tor and I independently thought he was having some PTSD from the morning or our crossing of the Strait from Nanaimo two days earlier…nope he was just hungry.  I gave them some lunch and they were happy as clams.

The conditions were so calm by the time we got out that we made the decision to head north and get to the northern tip of Texada Island and anchor in Blubber Bay.  The trip was uneventful except that Tor got a bit sea sick.  Stupid Strait of Georgia.  The boys took a nice long nap and I spent most of the transit out in the cockpit.  The winds were calm though there was some residual swell, but it was pretty much ideal conditions. 

Blubber bay is a pretty little cove if you turn your back on the ugly industrial lime kiln.  The sun came out, and best of all it is calm!  There is a little wake from the B.C. ferry dock, but this feels like heaven.   We had a nice dinner and the boys went down easily.  It’s early to bed for Tor and me.  Tomorrow the forecast is for light winds and we will be in Desolation Sound!

We learned some very important lessons:

1. We need to keep the boat in better shape to move if need be in the middle of the night. 
2. We need to look at a chart when we listen to the weather report and understand how it will impact us, not just go on memory of the geography. 
3. We need to not anchor too close to moorings which may necessitate us to move.  The place we had been anchored before we moved last night was as calm as could be and we would have been fine if we had just moved a little farther back into the inlet instead of moving at the last minute to what turned out to be a terrible place because we were trying to be quick before putting the boys to bed.   

Alaska Trip Day 10

5/25/11

False Bay, Lasqueti Island, B.C.

Miles Motored:  0

Miles Sailed:  0

WE SLEPT IN UNTIL 8AM!!!!!  I don’t know when the last time I slept in that late was…AMAZING!  The boys did get up to nurse around 5am like usual, but we all went back to sleep.  8am!!!!!

It was nice knowing that we weren’t going anywhere today.  We had the usual breakfast and got the boys down for their nap and both Tor and I ended up falling asleep too.  I think we are all catching up from yesterday and getting some good relaxing done. 

The boys slept for about 1:15 and then we all got ready to get in the dinghy and do a little exploring.  It’s amazing how much time it takes to get all 4 of us suited up in warm clothes for a little outing.  As we get practice we will get better.  We rowed to the end of the inlet we are anchored in and went ashore to let the boys play on the beach a little bit.  The first thing they did was put clam shells in their mouths…what a horrible sound chewing on clam shells makes!

Ashore!

More Ashore! 

An armload of boys in the dinghy 

We put them down for their nap and they are STILL asleep, about 1:40 minutes by now.  After they wake up it’s time to make some more bread and dinner.

It started to rain after we got back from our row and so I’m listening to rain fall on the new sprayhood (dodger) with the companion way slider open.  The stove is on and it’s warm.  Tor is reading my kindle and I’m getting caught up on my log.  This is what cruising is about.  Our boat is so cozy and comfortable!

The boys woke up after about 2 hours, mostly because I was rattling around in the galley.  I needed to make bread and dinner and they had slept a long time!  The afternoon/ evening turned out to be quite hectic because Tor and I tried to do too much.  He started washing diapers and I worked on dinner (bacon and cornmeal pancakes). 

Lars playing after a GREAT afternoon nap! 

Odin playing after a GREAT afternoon nap! 

The bread was doing its second rise in the loaf pan and I ran out of room on the counter because of trying to cook dinner and replenishing stocks from the lockers underneath the boys beds.  I put the loaf pan on a tall Tupperware on the settee bench pushed all the way back and didn’t think about it again.  At some point Lars drew my attention, not because he was fussing or crying, but I looked over and he was standing in the bread dough, with an expression that just looked like he didn’t know what to do now.  I tried to get a picture, but all I ended up getting was him standing next to a severely dented loaf of bread.  So, I punched it down and set it to rise again.  This bread rising is starting to be really difficult for some reason J.  I made sure to keep it out of reach and got it in the oven without any other mishaps.

Poor bread dough!

Right before putting the boys to bed we decided to re-anchor so our already busy evening became very stressful.  Last night we anchored close to some mooring buoys that were empty.  Soon they weren’t empty so we ended up putting a stern anchor out to make sure we wouldn’t swing into them.  It worked for last night, but the weather is forecast to have pretty high winds tonight and the owner of one of the boats on the mooring close by suggested we put out some more anchor chain since his boat would get closer to ours when the wind comes up and his mooring stretches.  We tried doing it and re-setting the stern anchor, but it just was better to up anchor and move so we wouldn’t have to worry about it.  It got really stressful because it was time to get the boys to bed.  The boys were crying and I was trying to get them ready for bed and Tor was working on getting us re-anchored.  As it was we ended up putting them to bed about 30 minutes late, but at least they had had 2 great naps today so it doesn’t look like it has caused a problem.  Whew, what an evening!  Now Tor is finishing up washing the diapers that I asked him to stop so he could help with feeding the boys dinner.  We will rest well tonight!

Alaska Trip Day 9

5/24/11

False Bay, Lasqueti Island, B.C.

Miles motored:  2

Miles sailed:  27

We all needed baths today so we took advantage of the sink in the Laundromat to bathe the boys, it worked out great!  Once the boys were down for their nap Tor and I traded off and went to use the showers.  All the Bjorklunds smelled better!

Carhartt boys playing in the cockpit in Nanaimo

After a too short nap (I’m getting tired of writing that so often…do you think they could be transitioning to one nap?) I ran a couple of errands and hurried back to the boat so that we could leave and take advantage of the forecast 5-15kt SE winds to push us north through the Strait of Georgia to Lasqueti Island.  We left the dock around 11:15 and pumped out and then headed out.  Tor got the sails up, yup, we are a sailboat!  We started on a reach and were heeling enough that I decided to serve lunch on the sole (floor) to avoid any sliding off the settee benches.  During lunch I spied a new tooth in Lars’ mouth, he has 7 teeth now!  When we poked our nose out into the Strait we experienced some pretty big swell and it was getting a little uncomfortable for all of us.

Tor struck the mainsail and with just the jib and mizzen sail things got a little more comfortable but we still had quite a bit of swell to deal with.  By this time it was time to start getting the boys ready for their second nap.  Changing diapers was rough when we were getting thrown around and the boys were not happy about being thrown around.  Eventually I got diapers changed and had the forethought to put some pillows in the boys sleeping enclosures so that they could snuggle in and not get thrown around too badly.  I took Odin up forward and snuggled him in and gave him his burpie (it’s the lovey they both sleep with) and he got quiet.  Lars on the other hand was in the enclosure on our berth and he was safe, but VERY unhappy because he was being thrown around.  I went back to rescue him and get him snuggled in his berth and read the nap time book, I looked over and Odin was asleep, amazing!  Lars needed some patting to get to sleep, but it didn’t take too much and they both slept well.  Thank goodness….except that allowed me to go sit in the companion way with Tor and I could see just how big the swell was.  OH MY GOODNESS.  In similar conditions in the past I had been reduced to tears.  The boat and the captain could handle it, but it’s still freaky.  We estimate that the swells were about 6’ with a period of about 40’…yuck!  The first time I experienced anything like that was when we crossed the Strait of Juan de Fuca the first summer after we launched the boat.  I spent that whole crossing lying on the sole CRYING.  My confidence in the boat and in Tor has increased substantially, but I also have something more important to focus on…my little boys.  I was totally able to center myself on making sure they were as comfortable as possible.

When they woke up I made a nest for us on the sole out of all the pillows and blankets I could find and tried to keep them entertained.  They didn’t feel well, they kept burping and I myself felt queasy, and they cried a lot.  It was so hard to see them that uncomfortable.  Eventually Odin threw up and afterwards he was as cheerful as could be.  It was amazing the transformation, he is just like his Papa.  Lars never threw up, but I kind of wished he would.  I nursed them twice and that helped and then we got in the lee of Lasqueti Island and the swell calmed down a little and we all started feeling better.

Finally around 4pm we struck sail and were headed into the anchorage when we noticed that another sailboat was headed in that seemed dead in the water.  We threw them a line and towed them into the anchorage.  We got anchored ourselves and it was time to get some food, clean up the boat and get little boys to bed. 

Lunch on the sole

"So Tor, tell me how you feel now that we  are sailing."

Sleeping Odin 

Sleeping Lars

 All of us on the sole trying to stay as comfortable as possible

It was a really tough day, but we will stay here tomorrow to regroup and rest.  The weather is also supposed to change and be strong winds from the NW, so we want to wait that out too.  Hopefully there will be some good sleeping on board Yare tonight!

Alaska Trip Day 8

5/23/11

Nanaimo, B.C.

Miles Motored:  33

Miles Sailed:  0

We were up at the usual 7am time and I wanted to take advantage of the fact that we were in a town and could go out for breakfast!  We loaded the boys up in the carriers and walked to the end of the bay to the Harbour Inn and had a great breakfast.  The boys shared the kid’s pancakes and Tor and I each had 2 egg breakfasts and the sourdough bread and strawberry rhubarb jam were both homemade.  Yum!

Instead of laundry like we had been planning, we had breakfast, and just planned to do a load in our next stop, Nanaimo.  It ended up being a pretty expensive treat since that meant paying for moorage in Nanaimo, but it was so nice to eat breakfast out!  We needed to make sure we left the dock by 9:30 so we could hit Dodd Narrows at slack water on our way to Nanaimo so we didn’t have time for laundry or showers after breakfast.   I motored us away from the dock at about 9:15 while Tor put two very tired boys down for their nap.   Unfortunately they only slept about 30 minutes and were NOT happy when they woke up, but I was able to calm them down by nursing.  As an aside, I’m so GLAD I have that tool while we are out here.  It means we don’t have to have as much cow’s milk with us, and nursing offers such comfort. 

Tor motored us towards Dodd narrows while I worked on baking bread down below.  It was very warm with the stove on so I decided the boys needed a little diaper free time and they totally loved it.  I also got some cute pics!

Diaper Free time!

By the time the boys needed to go down for their nap the bread had raised the first time and was in the loaf pan raising for the 2 time.  It was going too fast since I didn’t want to put the bread in the oven while the boys were asleep and risk them having a short second nap too, so I put it on deck in hopes that it might slow down some.  Well, the boys had a good long nap and that bread just kept rising, so I punched it down and let it rise again, for a total of 3 extra risings.  I was eventually able to get it in the oven when the boys woke up.

We made good time and got to Dodd Narrows early even though Tor kept slowing down.  We ended up going through about 40 minutes before slack without incident.  We arrived in Nanaimo at about 4pm and we pulled up the fuel dock to fill up, then we were tied up for the night at 4:15.

We were thinking we would eat out for dinner but after walking around a bit, most everything was closed for Victoria day.  There is a little floating restaurant in the boat basin we were tied up in that we tried, but my patience was very short and the boys were working on taking the table cloth off and pulling down the decorations so I just made the executive decision that we needed to get back to the boat and get them some food and get them to bed.  It was a good choice, and we even found something to eat with little effort.  It’s interesting how with the little boys sometimes the easiest thing is to just eat at home.  The convenience of someone making your food doesn’t always outweigh the work involved in getting them all set at a restaurant.

After the boys went to bed we went to do laundry and I tried unsuccessfully to find internet.

Nanaimo

We are in Nanaimo and shoving off to cross the Strait of Georgia this morning, so no time for a real update.  Keep checking our SpotWalla page (link to the right)  to see where we get tonight.  We are shooting for Lasqueti Island and we hope to actually do some sailing!

First Birthday

We were so busy getting ready for the trip that I haven't posted anything about the boys first birthday.  Rest assured, we celebrated in grand style!  We served them banana cake with raspberry filling and cream cheese frosting.  I've still got a 1st birthday letter to Odin and Lars being composed in my head, but I just HAD to finally post some pictures.

Nummy present Jamie, thanks! 

Uh, this book is cool, but there are a lot of people here Mama. 

What is that? 

Pretty!

Gee, what's this?

Forget being dainty, this celebration calls for eating the WHOLE thing!

Yum!  I like sugar! 

Okay, I'm a little full now.

Alaska Trip Day 7

5/22/11

Ganges, Saltspring Island, B.C.

Miles motored:  28

Miles sailed:  0

We've been out a week and I think things are starting to gel.  Tor and I talked about the first week being hell, but it turned out to be hard in so many other ways than we were expecting.  I was thinking that the biggest problem would be sleep for the boys but that turned out to not be too terrible.  Ah well, we are starting to figure things out which is fantastic.

Papa didn't want to get up this morning, Lars wasn't very cooperative

I took the first shift running the boat and weighed anchor and motored us out of Echo bay and towards Bedwell Harbor on South Pender Island so we could check into Canada…we made it out of the country!

When we got to Bedwell Harbor the customs officials actually boarded our boat and searched it, that’s never happened before…but I guess it was bound to happen since we were the only boat there and they looked a little bored.  We technically brought too much alcohol with us and potatoes which aren’t allowed, but they let us slide.  We had to promise to not throw the uncooked potato peels overboard.  I would guess that after a dunking in salt water that any eyes in the potato peels wouldn’t grow, but I will definitely follow their instructions!

After Bedwell Harbor we headed to Ganges.  It’s Victoria Day weekend in Canada and it’s a three day weekend for the folks here so things were PACKED in Ganges, but we ended up getting a spot at the dock, which was good because we wanted to run some errands in town.  Tor and I spent a couple of great days in Ganges the first summer we launched the boat and it’s fun to be back.  There is a store here that has EVERYTHING and we were able to get the things we needed.  We keep needing to buy things to childproof the boat.  On the list were clips so we could rig some sort of gate across the opening to the head (bathroom) because the door is a pain to close and the boys keep trying to eat the toilet...disgusting!  We also needed some hand sanitizer since we change SO many diapers.

On the way to Ganges!

While walking around we had to get ice cream cones and it really helped us fit in with the holiday atmosphere in Ganges.  It's a neat little town.

After we got the boys to bed I went grocery shopping for ice and perishables and then went to listen to the live music at the Treehouse cafe, they are having a Bob Dylan fest and mostly I just enjoyed watching people.  When we were here in 2006 we ended up staying an extra night since someone on the dock told us a musician was coming to play at the Treehouse Cafe that we really should stick around and see.  We stayed and were so glad we did.  The musician was Harry Manx, he's quite famous in Canada and it turns out we LOVE his music.  Every time I put the CD on that I bought that night I remember a really fun time.

I found an unsecured wi-fi connection and am sitting outside the Laundromat posting.  Woot!  The plan is to head to Nanaimo tomorrow.  In order to get to Dodd Narrows on the way to Nanaimo at slack water we need to leave Ganges at about 9:30.  That means we've got to head up to the Laundromat as soon as they open so we can, guess what, wash diapers!


ETA: pictures!

Alaska Trip Day 6

5/21/11

Echo Bay, Sucia Island

Miles motored:  19

Miles sailed:  0

Our great weather didn’t last and we woke up to rain, but we knew that we hadn’t been magically transported to California so reality would hit us again, oh well.  For the second morning in a row I woke up to a sinus headache, boo!  Tor took care of the boys so I could lay in bed for a little longer…actually he shut them in the bed with me but since they had clean diapers they were happy to play by themselves and seemed to quickly forget I was there since I was immobile.

I went up to take a shower to hopefully make my head feel better and Tor put the boys down for their nap.  We’ve been having a hard time with them getting to sleep which just adds to the stress we’ve been feeling, but they went down for that nap without any problem (yay!) maybe they’re used to it now, or maybe they’ve been over tired when we’ve put them down and had to work out the stress of the day. I don’t know, but we seem to be on the right track.

 I washed a load of diapers at the Laundromat even though there weren’t many…hey if it means that we don’t have to wash diapers tonight at anchor, let’s have a machine do it!

I went to the grocery store to pick up a few things…easy when you have a car!  And went back to Karla and Jared’s house to drop off the car.  Einar and Soren were very interested in seeing the boat so we all came back and we had another short visit while the boys explored the boat.  It’s amazing how kids like boats, I think it’s because things like the stove or toilet are smaller and more kid sized.

We pushed off at about 12:30 with the destination of Sucia Island in mind.  Here is where we’ve had to make an adjustment to our approach because of the boy’s routine…it would have been a great sail, but because I was going to be putting them down for a nap soon, we thought we should just keep motoring since they were used to those sounds while napping.  We also wanted to get there before their bedtime and motoring was faster in those conditions. Oh well, the wind soon died out and we knew this was likely to be a mostly motoring trip.

The boys went down for their nap without a peep, but Tor woke them up too early by going down below and being too loud.  They both had a really hard wake up and Odin in particular was very upset.  I finally got him calmed down while Tor had Lars in the cockpit with him.  Poor Odin!

After about 3.5 hours of motoring we reached Echo Bay and set the anchor.  I cooked dinner while Tor played with the boys in the cockpit.  It was so nice to be able to cook without worrying about stepping on little fingers!  I made pineapple peanut stew with kale and black eyed peas on top of brown rice.  It’s our comfort food, yum!  The boys had it for the first time since we’ve now introduced peanut butter in their diets and they liked it too.  Score!

Playing in the cockpit with Papa so I could cook dinner efficiently! 

What a difference a day makes in the weather, I had to break out the woolen balaclavas to keep the boys warm (and cute too!)

Another good experience putting them to bed and Tor and I are sharing a generous measure of scotch in the cockpit in celebration of “a day that didn’t suck!”  I think we are on the right track for operation family fun.

Alaska Trip Day 5

5/20/11

Bellingham, WA

Miles motored:  0

Miles sailed:  0

Day one of operation family fun began on another beautiful sunny day…yippee!  We started it off with showers for the whole family, a wonderful thing after 5 days!  Squalicum Harbor in Bellingham is a very nice facility and they have great showers that are in a room large enough for all of us instead of a stall.  It’s still scary holding a slippery baby in the shower with you, but I was able to bathe both boys and shower myself and Tor got a shower too.  So we all smelled good for our planned get together with the Ogle clan (Tor’s sister and family) and Lee and Jean (Tor’s parents) who drove up from Seattle to spend the day with us. 

Sunny warm weather called for breaking out the new birthday clothes all the way from Arizona, thanks Mary!  The boys looked SO cute, but were too busy playing to pose for a good shot.

We ate lunch at Jean’s favorite pizza place, yummy wood fired pizza (thanks for lunch Lee and Jean).  Then we took the boys back to the boat for a nap.  Karla made it SO easy for us, she still has carseats from when her boys were little and she loaned us a car all set up for us, it was SO nice.  After their nap, we took the boys back to Karla’s house and they played with their cousins and Grandparents so that Tor and I could go back to the boat and stow the stuff we’ve been tripping on since the beginning of the trip.  What a wonderful gift…and the boys loved it too!  We came back to a delicious dinner of chicken legs and the boys made an absolute mess!

We then took 2 very tired boys back to the boat for bed.  They fell asleep quickly and soundly and I headed back to Karla and Jared’s house for internet access.  Their generosity was truly magnificent and made for a very fun day, but also added to the continued success for operation family fun because we were able to get so many chores done.  Thank you Ogles!

Alaska Trip Day 4

5/19/11

Bellingham

Miles motored:  40

Miles sailed:  0

This morning started off a little rough…I needed to pee at 4:30, so I got up as quietly as I could.  Remember, this is a small boat with no separate cabins.  Lars woke up and was mad.  So I nursed him and put him back to bed and he started screaming, which is very unusual.  Patting his back didn’t work, so I dragged him to our bed in hopes that Odin wouldn’t wake up.  He wouldn’t go to sleep for about 30 minutes so I took him back to his bed and then Odin woke up…so I nursed them both and put them back to bed.  They did fall asleep, but by this point we’d all been awake for an hour.  The usual 7am wake up came pretty early.

When we woke up for good it was another glorious sunny day and we got a move on right away, Tor weighed anchor and pointed us towards Deception Pass to hit slack water at 11:11, but the tide was working with us and we made great time, so instead of waiting to go through Deception pass at slack water, we took a shortcut and went through the Swinomish Channel.  Taking the shortcut meant that we could get to Bellingham with just another couple of hours of motoring.

Odin and Lars playing while underway

I piloted us to Bellingham bay and Tor fed the boys lunch and got them down for a nap.  Something that is great about us trading off kid and boat duty is that I will get much more experience in running the boat.  We are trying hard not to default to the stereotypical pink/ blue tasks and I think it will make our experiences much better.  Tor can’t nurse the boys, and I’m a long way from feeling comfortable to attempt docking the boat, but all other things are shared.  Hopefully by the end of this trip I will be comfortable docking the boat…though I may still default to Tor on that one J.  Tor will always have to default to me on the nursing J.

We arrived in Bellingham and pulled up at the guest moorage.  It was so warm that I put on sandals and we put the boys in the carriers…and sun hats and took a walk.  It always feels good to stretch your legs after being on the boat for several days.

Getting ready to hit the town in Bellingham

Karla, Jared, Einar and Soren brought us dinner from Casa Que Pasa (an old college favorite!) and we had a lovely picnic on the grass at the marina by our boat.  It was so nice to see the Ogle clan and nom on the delicious burritos.  Lars and Odin had beans and rice and tortilla and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Picnic Dinner, yum!

After we got the boys to bed Tor and I sat in the cockpit and had a beer (nice and cold courtesy of Karla…she is hospitality embodied!).  I hit the Spot device and thought it sent the update but it turns out it didn’t, we weren’t actually in Oak Harbor for 3 days!  We also had a good long talk about the trip and our expectations and feelings about it.  We had spent so much time preparing the physical aspects of the trip…making changes to the boat, packing and figuring out how to deal with things for the boys like laundry and childproofing that we didn’t spend any time thinking about the actual trip.  The thing is that it is INCREDIBLY difficult to do this sort of trip with a toddler, let alone two toddlers!  We are trying to keep a normal routine for Odin and Lars, and that makes it easier on them, but it adds some real complication to actually travelling this way.  Tides and currents need are very real, and dictate when you can travel.  We’re trying to travel in a way that the boys can get their naps and nighttime sleep, so we don’t want to do things like deploy the anchor after we’ve put them down to bed because it’s super loud and would wake them up in a very startling way.  So getting the minimum 25 miles in per day may be impossible, not to mention we may not be able to travel because of a storm, or if we just want to hang out and have a down day.  We pushed it and had two 40 plus mile days and it worked out well enough, but we didn’t have any fun, or much family togetherness time since Tor and I were taking shifts doing the two very distinct jobs for this trip, taking care of the boys and running the boat.  The parent below is essentially a single parent and it sucks!  So, now that Tor and I have discussed it all and understand what is going on, we are just going to put the goal of Glacier Bay on the back burner and put having fun on the front burner.  Once we figure out how to travel this way enjoyably we will be able to think about final destinations, until then the goal is enjoyment!

Alaska Trip Day 3

Day 3
Oak Harbor
Miles motored: 43
Miles sailed: 0

Today was much better than yesterday. It still had its challenges, but we might be starting to get a routine down. If we are going to get to Glacier Bay in the time we have allotted, we need to do about 25 miles a day minimum…that is not allowing for any days we can’t leave because of bad weather, or days we just want to stay and play on a beach. We decided this morning to leave as soon as we woke up and try for a long day so that we could see how it would work out. I have to say things went pretty well.

I took the morning shift down below and Tor weighed anchor and motored us out of Port Madison and on our way to Oak Harbor. I changed diapers, nursed the boys, made oatmeal for all of us, fed the boys and got them down for a nap. Then I got to hang out in the cockpit with Tor on a GLORIOUS sunny morning (seriously, we’ve completely lucked out on great weather to start our trip, yay!!) and I had cell service so I could keep up with my blogs and forums, a guilty pleasure for sure!

When the boys woke up from their nap I nursed them and Tor took over boy care while I ran the boat. It was blowing pretty hard and we were headed right into it, but it was sunny and I was able to stay warm enough so I really enjoyed it. Tor made us lunch (scrambled eggs with chard in tortillas, yummy and the boys liked the greens, score!). When it was time for nap I put the boys down and they slept well.

About 4:00 we arrived in Oak Harbor and bee lined it for the fuel dock and pump out. We were there for a little while and I needed to start cooking dinner, so while Tor took care of the fuel and pump out I started cooking. The boys were getting a little fussy and I almost pooped my pants when I saw Lars reach up to touch the hot cooking surface on the stove. I grabbed him and he started howling so I ran his hand under water and well, it turns out it was likely my reaction that caused him to start crying and not that he had actually burned himself…thank goodness! Man is it difficult to child proof a boat, none of those off the shelf child proofing solutions work here.

We planned on anchoring out and not staying at the marina so Tor got us off the dock and towards the anchorage. By this time the boys were starving and LOOSING it. As soon as we got anchored we got the boys set up in their booster seats in the cockpit and got them some dinner and they were just fine! We all had pork chops and the boys had baked sweet potato and avocado both of which they proceeded to decorate the lines and the winch in the cockpit with. In the midst of screaming babies I only got the pork chops cooked for Tor and me, so we ate some sliced jicama and red pepper along with our pork chops, not a usual combination, but not bad either.

Lars tried to decorate the lines in the cockpit 

Odin actually shoved avocado and sweet potato in the winch handle hole...thanks kid.

After the boys went to bed Tor and I sat in the cockpit and washed diapers. It was a beautiful sunny evening, and washing diapers went quickly. Since I had cell service I texted back and forth with my mom and briefly talked to my sister too. It’s really nice to be able to communicate so easily, that is a change since we launched the boat 5 years ago.

Sunset and clean diapers

A couple of milestones for the boys today: Odin got his 6th tooth, and the boys didn’t have any bottles today!!