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?

Paradise is not crowded

30 June 2012 | Anchored at Raiatea, French Polynesia
Larry Nelson
We've crossed from Moorea to Raiatea, a distance of about 100nm. Winds were light so we raised the spinnaker during the day and motored at night. Light winds are nice except when there are waves, which disturb the air over the sail due to the roll of the boat. The result is an endlessly collapsing and re-inflating spinnaker. Happily, collapsing spinnakers don't make too much noise. Trouble is, we go slow when this is happening. We managed about 30 nm during the day and then took the spinnaker down and motored during the night. We arrived just before dawn, made a couple circuits around a holding pattern and at first light "shot the range" through Passe Irihu. Winds got even lighter during the night, so motoring was a good choice. It's always a question whether to continue flying the spinnaker at night. Racers do it. Cruisers....mostly not.

The first impression of Raiatea is that it looks a lot like the San Juan Islands. There are pine trees on the mountains and the temperature is 71F. Of course there are floating coconuts and also palm trees near the shore and the breaking waves on the atol to correct this "San Juan mis-impression". The mountains on Raiatea aren't as grand as those on Moorea but it looks like there is a whole lot more atol to explore. The maps match the GPS and the passages appear to be well marked. Credit to the French influence, I think.

We have a couple more days of good weather in the forecast and then the Maraamu winds come. Hopefully we will be at the dock, getting our sail repaired and enjoying "winter". For the moment, we do not have "perspiration incontinence".

We were a little surprised not to see a single boat of any kind on the passage. We had expected more yacht traffic following the end of the puddle jump rendevous. But many cruisers are parking their boats and going home. Not everyone is "living" in their floating home. Lots have to work. Of course most of them are much younger than Karen and I so I suppose this is not surprising. Also, tourism is down by 50% in French Polynesia. Vacationing in paradise appears to be a discretionary expense.

The picture is of an outrigger sailing craft sailing inside the Raiatea atol.
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