Here you will find tales of voyages past and present on our trusty Pacific Seacraft Dana 24, "Sockdolager," and our Bigfoot29 powerboat, "Raven," from Port Townsend, Washington, USA. In 2009 we sailed north from Puget Sound up the west coast of Vancouver Island to the Queen Charlotte Islands (now called Haida Gwaii.) In 2010 we went back to the west coast of Vancouver Island. In July 2011 we left the Northwest, sailed to Mexico, and in March 2012 we crossed the Pacific to French Polynesia, then on to the Cooks, Niue and Tonga. We spent several months in New Zealand, and in May 2013 loaded Sockdolager (and ourselves) on a container ship for San Francisco. In June and July 2013 we sailed north along the California, Oregon and Washington coasts, and in August we arrived home. In October 2016, Sockdolager found new owners, and we began cruising on Raven, a unique wooden 29' powerboat. In 2018 we cruised up to Glacier Bay, Alaska, and back. But in 2024 we had the chance to buy Sockdolager back (we missed her), so we sold Raven. We hope you enjoy reading about our adventures as much as we enjoy having them. (And there will be more.)



Monday, December 3, 2012

Tonga to NZ day 9

We turned off the motor at 8am and have been sailing since in very nice conditions. But now the clouds have moved in and there has been a bit of rain. Forecast calls for winds increasing starting tonight and then three days of wet and wild - wind in the 20's with gusts in the 30's. But the good news is that it will be in the right direction making it easier to sail in the strong conditions, and it will be fast.

The ship is ready. We are fortified by a lunch of Mexican food. The beer is cold. 336 miles to landfall in Wrangarei. If all goes well we'll get in on Saturday. Or if everything goes perfectly, Friday afternoon.

Tom's quote of the day: "O Shit!", said when a small but heavy, sharp, and pointy knife got knocked off the galley counter, flew threw the air, and stuck straight up in the cabin sole about two inches from his bare foot.

As conditions will be getting rough these updates may be getting shorter...
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