SV Panta Rhei Retirement Trip

Vessel Name: Panta Rhei
Vessel Make/Model: Able Apogee 50
Hailing Port: Seattle
Crew: Larry and Karen
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18 September 2017 | Seattle
23 August 2017 | Prince Rupert
15 August 2017 | Anan Bear Observatory
19 July 2017 | Petersburg, AK
17 June 2017 | Hoonah, AK
03 June 2017 | Seward AK
03 June 2017 | Denali
25 April 2017 | Seward AK
23 March 2017 | Seward, AK
11 March 2017 | Seward, AK
23 January 2017 | Seward AK
06 December 2016 | Seward AK
12 November 2016 | Seward Alaska
14 October 2016 | Valdez, AK
21 September 2016
05 August 2016 | Seward, AK
26 July 2016 | Whittier, AK
19 July 2016 | Valdez, Alaska
05 July 2016 | Seward, Alaska
Recent Blog Posts
18 September 2017 | Seattle

We are back in Seattle

It feels like home. Of course we are not in Silshole. Maybe we will be, someday, but there is a list and we are on it. In the meantime we are at Bainbridge Island Marina.

23 August 2017 | Prince Rupert

The dinghy holds air again

It wasn't very nice of the bear to tear the fabric across a seam. We were worried that we couldn't patch it but tried anyway. The glue had a job to do and it did it!

15 August 2017 | Anan Bear Observatory

A Grizzly Bear damaged our dinghy

We were visiting the Anan Bear Observatory south of Wrangell. It is one of the best places to visit in all of SE Alaska BECAUSE it has bears. But (as we learned) there is a dark side to this bear concentration. And of course, there is a story to tell.

19 July 2017 | Petersburg, AK

Moving On

"No matter where you go, there you are" (unknown reference). By now we have been there and done that. Most recently that included Cannery Cove on Admiralty Island. The photo shows the quiet grandeur of the setting with Ron and Suzie's boat SV Tango in the foreground. It has been like that for the last [...]

17 June 2017 | Hoonah, AK

We are in Hoonah, SE Alaska now

We got something resembling a high pressure ridge so we moved expeditously across the Gulf of Alaska. The crossing took three days and weather stayed as forecast. That was a very good thing. The weather changes in the far north far more rapidly and dramatically than we ever experienced in the more southern [...]

03 June 2017 | Seward AK

Crossing the Gulf of Alaska

We are still in Seward, AK. Now that spring has come, why not start south?

Yielding to temptation

05 May 2012 | Enroute to Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia from Galapagos
Larry Nelson
I came on watch this morning only about half conscious. I exchanged notes with Katie and she headed to bed. Actually, she headed to bed FAST. She does this. She likes her sleep in the early morning! I stumbled to the bathroom, checked the wind and for traffic outside. I found the moon, nothing else but squalls. Then I turned on the computer and the gen set and settled into my comfy nav chair where I can see the radar and the AIS screen. It's time to do the position report and to write the blog post. But what to say? Today is pretty much like yesterday. Same sail configuration. Same slow speed. Same squalls. Same moon. Same slatting sails. But there are changes and as they come to me, the day is distinguished from all the others.

Today's special change is a bag of pastachio nuts placed on top of the refrigerator (where basically EVERYTHING loose gets placed). It hasn't been opened but on one of the night watches, someone was tempted. I remember buying these nuts, but I have no idea where they were put on the boat. Karen stuffed food EVERYWHERE. These might have been found while you were looking for your shoes. Should I open them? Actually the real question was: Should I eat them all? After all, this is my watch. Basically anything goes as long as you don't disturb the sleep of the rest of the crew. There are a lot of leftovers that never make it back to the table at another meal.

The squalls are messing up the heading. They change the prevailing wind back and forth behind our stern and that change causes either the headsail or the main to begin to slat. So we adjust the heading a few degrees to fix it for a while. Right now I'm headed a little too far south. I'm thinking that before too long I'll be headed a little too far north and it will all work out. First you sail the boat, then you tend to course. Sailboats leave wiggly snail trails on the map.

We've received email from friends who have done this part of the ocean. Apparently reading the blog brings back memories of their crossing. These emails are the highlight of our day and, as I note above, they distinguish the days one from another. May it always be so.

Trip log: 14344 Distance to go: 178 nm Solar power: 65 Ahr (1.7 kWHr)
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