Alaska Trip Day 1

Does this boat look ready to set sail?  I don't think so!

5/16/11
Port Madison
Miles motored: 12
Miles Sailed: 0

Whew, we made it away from the dock…all the way across Puget Sound, about 6 miles from Seattle, but that is just the distance in physical terms. In emotional terms, it could have been a journey around the world. This is an adventure of a lifetime, and adventures need preparation. Add two one year olds to the mix and you need preparation upon preparation upon preparation, ad nauseum.

The last time we did a big sailing trip (around Vancouver Island for 6 weeks), we were so harried and disorganized before we left and I ended up with a migraine the morning we left. Tor was left to motor from Shilshole to Deception Pass all by himself after about 3 hours of sleep so we could ride the tide north. It was truly an awful way to begin a trip. Independently both of us made it a goal to avoid that sort of beginning to our trip as we prepared for this trip, especially given that we’d be taking our two one year olds and that the trip was for a much longer distance and timeframe. Even though it is incredibly hard to find the time to get things done when you are caring for babies, it was actually because of them that preparations for the trip went a lot more smoothly. Babies have non-negotiable needs, they need to sleep at regular times and eat nutritional food at regular times and it meant that all of us have been eating and sleeping pretty well. Not that Tor and I have been getting full nights of sleep, but it truly hasn’t been too bad. Having the boys also meant that we had to be smart about getting prepared early and that we needed to be organized.
Our planned departure date was 5/15, with the understanding that departure for this trip meant departure from the house and sleeping that night on the boat. We made it in time to get the boys their dinner and get them to bed. Though there just wasn’t enough time to stow all of the stuff we brought. The boys did remarkably well going to sleep in their new beds, though it wasn’t as smooth as we would have liked. We forgot to bring any of their usual bedtime books, so I tried to recite “Guess How Much I Love You” from memory when flipping the pages of another book. I don’t think they really bought it, but they did eventually go to sleep.

This is a SMALL boat and there are no separate cabins so we got them into their beds and then we curled up in tight balls on our berth, since it was covered with stuff, and tried to stay out of sight and super quiet as they fell asleep. There was some crying on their parts, but it wasn’t terrible.

Once they went to sleep I headed back home to finish cleaning it for the house sitter and pack up the remaining stuff. Tor stayed with the boys and then when I got back to the boat he started working on finishing the last touches on the new dinghy he built.
We got to bed late, but the boys slept GREAT and we didn’t wake up until 7:15!!!! I actually had to wake Odin at 7:30. It felt great to get uninterrupted sleep.

We took the boys up to Tor’s usual work coffee break, the benefit of having the boat moored next to where he works. Karl was our computer hero and came down to finish up the last little bit of work needed to get electronic navigation working and he joined us for coffee too.

When the boys went down for their nap we realized we didn’t have their normal nap time book with us…or at least we couldn’t find it, so we made due with another book and got them to bed, and I ran home to get it. Then, because we didn’t have enough food on this boat already (and I’m being completely facetious here), I went to Trader Joe’s. When I got back, Tor needed a little more time to finish up the dinghy and the boys had a great nap.
When they woke up I tried valiantly to stow stuff, but all I managed to do was get the milk I bought at Trader Joe’s into the ice box…the boys are more interested in exploring than helping.

Soon enough we were ready to get going. Grandpa Lee and Grandma Jean came down to get our car keys to return it home for us and say good bye and we were off. I gave the boys lunch and Tor got us through the bridges. I put the boys down for a nap and they were asleep soon after we arrived at the Locks so I could help handle lines.

We made our way into Puget Sound and we were in for a bumpy ride. Lars woke up too early from his nap and was having a really hard time until I sat with him in the companionway and he could see Papa and the water. Odin slept right through the pitching and rolling. I tried playing with Lars on the sole (floor) but I was getting queasy...mind you, I have yet to be sea sick and this was only Puget Sound. There was a pretty awful smell from our new engine driven heater and I think that was making me feel kind of ill. I think Lars was having a hard time with it too and was pretty fussy. I hope as we use the heater more that whatever the smell is off gasses quickly.

Odin woke up when we were about 20 minutes from Port Madison and wasn’t too happy either. I soon crawled into his crib enclosure with Lars and tandem breast fed them and things got MUCH better. I think it was a combination of hunger and being uncomfortable with how the boat was moving…so a little food along with comfort was the magic solution.

Soon we were anchored in Port Madison and Tor played with the boys while I got a simple dinner prepared, bean and cheese quesadillas and broccoli. Then we put the boys to bed and crawled into the small space available on our berth to start the night time routine again. Stay out of sight and quiet while they fall asleep. Fortunately I’ll get a lot of time to write about our day and read as this trip goes along.

Hopefully tomorrow we can finish stowing all of the stuff we have and maybe our boat will feel a little bigger.