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?

Leaving for Opua

01 November 2012 | Anchored at North Minerva Reef
Larry Nelson
The weather forecast now supports our travel plan to Opua so we are "going while the going is good". We hope the forecast stays good for the whole trip this time! We are leaving with mixed emotions though. The snorkeling here is exceptional and yes we still were hopeful for a lobster hunt. We were looking forward to a few days with calm wind and some great swimming and reef walking.

The wind has died. It is now 5 knots in the anchorage. We'll be motoring for another couple of days. We just need to load the dinghy back aboard the boat and get our passage plan downloaded from Bob McDavitt. That's tougher than it sounds. Every boat in the anchorage wants their weather before they leave. Only one ssb transmitter can operate at a time in this close proximity, no matter the frequency offset. The AGC just gets overwhelmed and shuts down the receiver sensitivity. So I have to wait until ALL the channels are clear. It's a little frustrating and it is one of the problems that an Irridium link would resolve.

Another problem is that all the cruisers have discovered that the fuel we got in Nukulofa was dirty. I've drained my fuel sediment bowl, but the fuel itself is very cloudy. How much longer before the fuel filter is plugged? Other cruisers report that theirs plugged several times on the passage to N Minerva. My sediment bowl is pretty large considering the low fuel flow rate so gravity helps me out. I've run 2 whole days on this filter and it still is working. I have a "hot spare" in my fuel system and I can change out a plugged filter underway if necessary. I don't like it though.

We are down to 14 eggs. Karen is fixing me oatmeal for breakfast. Yes,...when I look into the refrigerator it is getting very empty. So is the freezer. I take comfort in the canned food that we have aboard though I'll take more comfort when we are in New Zealand and can get food without having it taken away by customs. Really I'm not complaining about this. It's a good thing that New Zealand takes their rules seriously and it really is also a good thing for us to "eat the freezer". It's just a change, so I get my opportunity to whine.

For those of you that are concerned,...we will take particular pains to avoid South Minerva Reef on our departure. It is just not even a dot on the map at large scale so you could miss knowing that it was there and hit it. It has happened because it lies on the direct course to Opua. Hopefully, it doesn't happen to us.
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