Thoughts on Our Second Long Passage

Three weeks since landfall and the tough times of the passage are already starting to fade. We are thoroughly enjoying our time in Alaska and are so happy to be here. Our Dutch friends on S/V Anna Caroline shared a translation of a favorite Dutch saying of theirs when you accomplish something you are proud of, and I rather like it, we are “happy as a monkey with seven tails,” that we completed our second long passage and made it from Hawaii to Alaska.

The passage from Hanalei Bay to Sitka was a long slog. Almost 2700 miles in 25 days, 4.5 hours. As Tor put it, “two down, zero to go!” We are proud to have done it, but at this point, we don’t think we’ll make ocean crossings again. Never say never, but for now we feel that that itch has been scratched! Maybe it would be different if we didn’t live in and near some of the best cruising grounds in the world, but for now we are excited to focus on sailing the Salish Sea and the incredible Inside Passage, all mostly without ocean swell!

This passage was much better than our previous passage from Mexico to Hawaii, but it still wasn’t much fun. We made great strides in managing Tor’s seasickness and it made a huge difference for us. It seems to be that sleep deprivation will bring the sea sickness on. Most nights he was able to get about five hours of uninterrupted sleep, as well as a good nap during the day and as a result he was in pretty good shape. If conditions didn’t allow for that uninterrupted sleep and he was at a deficit, the sea sick Tor from the first passage returned.

We had several things break during the passage due to corrosion and use over the past year. The weirdest was our compass lost its oil about two days out of Sitka. The powder coating on the aluminum binnacle failed and the resulting corrosion lifted the compass seal and broke the screws holding it on, thus there was no seal holding the oil in. Fortunately we were close to Sitka, but if that had happened mid ocean it would have been tough. The other breakages were minor (our cheapo inverter died, the electrical connection for our mast head light fixture detached and required attention at the dock, and bushings on our windvane wore, leading to some misalignment), and the boat again performed flawlessly. What was different on this passage was the amount of seawater that got below, it’s never been that wet before, and with the cold damp weather as we sailed north, we had some big cleaning to do when we got to Sitka to deal with mildew.

Lars and Odin again did very well dealing with being stuck below on a 32’ boat for 25 days. The amount of Lego play was astonishing, we’ve done some Lego detoxing now that we are in Alaska, but it was a lifesaver during the passage. We read books and did watch several movies, and books on tape were great, but really it was mostly Lego most of the time. The seasickness for them was pretty intense for the first several days, but once they got their sea legs, they never looked back. Again I was too tired to do much but let them entertain themselves, but hey, my motto is “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

We are thrilled to have the passage behind us and have been enjoying Alaska to the fullest with our big 6 year old crew members. It’s so great to be here without worrying about washing diapers!

Pig Pile on Papa while on Passage when it was still
warm enough to hang out in just underwear

Ten days in and it's getting colder!

Halfway celebration! Presents from S/V Asunto!

Reading with Mama, my favorite!

Proud Puzzle Performers!

You know your boat is heeled when...you need to mix
brownies on the floor so they don't go flying everywhere

Close to Sitka! We have cell service to call Grandma Cheryl!

A beautiful, sunny Sitka day perfect for airing soaked things out