It's a Long Shot II

43ft Hans Christian Ketch

Vessel Name: Long Shot II
Vessel Make/Model: Hans Christian 43T Ketch
Hailing Port: Victoria, BC
Crew: Doug & Susan Pickrell
About: Motley bunch includes Charlie, Riley & Saylor.
Home Page: http://longshot2.com
Social:
05 June 2014
31 May 2014
01 October 2013
10 September 2013 | Victoria
31 August 2013 | Deep Bay
28 August 2013 | Salish Sea
20 August 2013 | Oak Bay Marina
11 August 2013 | Oak Bay Marina
07 August 2013 | Oak Bay Marina
05 August 2013 | Downtown Victoria
03 August 2013 | Ship's Point Wharf
03 August 2013 | Juan de Fuca Strait
02 August 2013 | Day 18 Hawai'i to Victoria
31 July 2013 | Day 17 Hawai'i to Victoria
31 July 2013 | Day 16 Hawai'i to Victoria
28 July 2013 | Day 14 to Victoria
24 July 2013 | Day 9 to Victoria
22 July 2013 | Day 7 from Hawaii
18 July 2013 | Day 3 from Hawaii
15 July 2013 | One Day Out Of Kauai
Recent Blog Posts
05 June 2014

Hand Off!

31 May 2014

Are You Reading?

Hi There,

01 October 2013

Hustle & Bustle

For those of you who won't give up reading - c'mon, it's all boring now :)

10 September 2013 | Victoria

Back To Work

Doug and I enjoyed our last week of freedom while the kids got settled into their new routine at school. Saylor was pretty freaked at the idea that her parents would be going back to work soon and she might have to go with strangers to school. After three days with our new neighbours walking with us, [...]

31 August 2013 | Deep Bay

Great Time

Nice sail up the Strait but not near enough wind to really get going so it was a bit of a motor. Good to see Roger and hear the turmoil of the America's Cup and Oracle caught cheating. They'll be in for more turmoil when those crazy Kiwis make landfall in San Fran! We continued North and couldn't [...]

28 August 2013 | Salish Sea

At Sea Again

Hard to break the habit of blogging once we are out on the water so had to post something even if no one is reading anymore. We have fit right back in to life ashore although both Doug & I haven't started work yet. We've been busy getting the house back in order which should have been easy except [...]

Hand Off!

05 June 2014

A video of our love affair with Long Shot II

Are You Reading?

31 May 2014
Hi There,
Are you reading still? There might be big news soon....

Hustle & Bustle

01 October 2013
For those of you who won't give up reading - c'mon, it's all boring now :)

Doug has become the favorite employee of all time at the swanky retirement home. They love him and there isn't anything he won't do for them. He's already been offered a Scotch while he stood in the ladies' bedroom!! (He says he was moving shelves.)

Charlie has shocked us by signing up to shave his head for Cops for Cancer. He's raised $115 so far and I'm dreading Wednesday when the razor comes out. Remember in Hawaii when he shaved his head himself to pocket the $20 I gave him to get a haircut?! What a gutsy kid and for such a worthy cause. Thank you to everyone who donated especially fellow Police Officers: Pops and Bruce! So glad Charlie's girlfriend, Sarah, is so supportive!

Riley is blowing us away with his speed on ice. I wonder if it's the secret - take your kid out of hockey for a year, wait till they are craving to get back, and then let them loose. His latest move is called the Riley Rush where he gets the puck, heads for the net, bulls over everyone in his way. The 30lbs he gained over the last year sure helps (that's the 30lbs Doug lost).

Saylor has fallen back into the Princess position with a very busy social schedule and all the sass that comes with it. We finally convinced her to take swimming lessons so she can keep up with her best buddy MEG. Dance and Gymnastics take up the remainder so she's busy.

As for me, I'm doing much of what I did before I left but my perspective has changed considerably. Those 16 months left a smile on my face that will carry me through until the next time we go again! If it stays stormy like it has been I'll be planning the next trip in the near future!

Back To Work

10 September 2013 | Victoria
Doug and I enjoyed our last week of freedom while the kids got settled into their new routine at school. Saylor was pretty freaked at the idea that her parents would be going back to work soon and she might have to go with strangers to school. After three days with our new neighbours walking with us, Saylor advised us that we could go back to work! Riley is determined to ride his bike to school every day and he is going to pocket the $200 we would have paid for the bus. What a kid. Charlie is living it up in High School and even jumps into his homework without pressuring him. Oh how we love the first week.

I figured Doug needed to get a job however pretty freaky given we both haven't ever pounded the pavement: Doug started with Air Canada right after high school and me with CCG at the same time. So I started answering advertisements for him and two days later he got a call back. It's a perfect fit for him as Maintenance Coordinator at a very posh Retirement Condo Building. After the first meeting Doug knew he had the job thanks to Karma. This building is the home for a little old lady Doug met 2 years ago when he delivered her lost purse. Sweet As!

Great Time

31 August 2013 | Deep Bay
Susan
Nice sail up the Strait but not near enough wind to really get going so it was a bit of a motor. Good to see Roger and hear the turmoil of the America's Cup and Oracle caught cheating. They'll be in for more turmoil when those crazy Kiwis make landfall in San Fran! We continued North and couldn't help but offer up some assistance for a little boat over their head and a pretty weak radio. We were the only ones that could pick him up. Doug said something to the effect of, "Can't take the CG out of the girl..."

Our former neighbours have a nice little cottage on a spit of land jutting into the ocean. It's the most amazing playland with every floatable object or craft you can think of and lots of kids as well. Jericho is Charlie's best buddy and he was celebrating his 14th birthday with family and friends, 10 kids in all and 8 adults (Doug says it sucks when they outnumber you). The highlight of his birthday had to be the Killer Whale display. Thanks to Jericho's quick thinking, he managed to catch most of it on film. The whales came into Deep Bay to feed on the abundance of seals. There were 3 adult whales and 1 baby, and they were circling around a seal about 100ft off the beach. It looked like one caught the seal, then two adults turned towards the beach where we were standing. Lola, the crazy chocolate Lab, was not scared of these whales and she stood in the water barking. The whales came right up to her and turned when they were 20 ft away. If you listen to the screaming on the video you can sure tell how excited everyone was. It was absolutely the most incredible wildlife display and it would be interesting to know what made the whale turn away as I've seen how a Killer Whale will beach themselves trying to eat a seal, however Lola wasn't in a seal suit. Mark said he had never seen Killer Whales in the Bay in all his 46 years. They must have followed Long Shot II.

We are playing water taxi again like we did in Penrhyn, this time taking the entire gang over to a beautiful sandy beach perfect for skimboarding. Hope we don't bring the beach home with us to!

At Sea Again

28 August 2013 | Salish Sea
Susan
Hard to break the habit of blogging once we are out on the water so had to post something even if no one is reading anymore. We have fit right back in to life ashore although both Doug & I haven't started work yet. We've been busy getting the house back in order which should have been easy except I decided to do some decorating first. Doug has given up rolling his eyes at me and just helps as required. The house looks even better than before and I was able to get rid of some of the many boring brown walls. We still have about 20 boxes in the crawl space to drag out but I figure I'll do that when we start realizing we are missing things - haven't yet.

The kids have rang up many of their friends or they have shown up unannounced on their doorsteps. Lots of whooping and hollering so I guess their friends haven't forgotten them. Doug & I are no different, seeing many friendly faces and so appreciative of the big hugs too. It's been the absolute best getting reunited again!

We are one week left to go before school starts and I think everyone, even the kids, are excited. We had sent a request for Charlie's courses (Gr 9) before we left NZ and sure enough, we didn't get one of the 6 courses we requested. We were dreading the year ahead if we couldn't get them changed, but with good Karma on our side and even better support staff at the school, we found out today that he got everything he wanted. Life is good!

Riley is back on the ice and a little slower than usual but he's an absolute monster out there compared to the other kids. Can't figure out what's causing his continued growth but I'm sure it'll be a plus with hockey. He's all smiles when he comes home and usually his best buddy Ben is there waiting for him.

Saylor is anxious to see ALL her friends EVERY day and she's driving us crazy. She has a new Princess room and she continues to dress for dinner and go through 5 wardrobe changes a day. At least we have a washing machine now.

We are off to Hornby Island area for Jericho's birthday party - should be fun but looks like we have to pull an all nighter to get there on time. 90 miles? Piece of cake!

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