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?

The rest of the trip to Eden story

31 March 2015 | Eden, New South Wales, Australia
Larry Nelson
We tried, but we just couldn't find a time when the weather was good, the bridge was opened, and the tide was sufficiently high. So, we didn't transit the Denison Canal. Instead we motored around the south end of the Tasman Pennisula. That's a beautiful route and the weather was good, although Storm Bay is never really an easy transit.

We had a three day weather window, which is the duration of a normal passage (for Panta Rhei). But there was a gale waiting on the north east tip of the Tasman main island. After the first 12 hours, it began making itself known. That's also when darkness began. When is the trip toughest? It's always when your body is playing with seasickness at the beginning of the voyage, when it gets dark, really really dark, and your whole crew is tired. And the wind is a headwind so boat motion is at its worst. At first it was just unpleasant. Then in the middle of the night we shortened sail. No main sail and a double Reefed jib. Almost enough, until the wind gusted to 38 knots. For that, we need just a staysail. We had that all rigged, but it's luff needed to be unsecured and the halyard raised. That is foredeck work. And at that point in the voyage, the foredeck was very very wet. In fact the whole front of the boat was breaking waves. As a last ditch measure, we noticed the wind had clocked toward the beam where it had been substantially forward of the beam. So we eased the sheets on the jib and got just enough relief to keep going without changing sails. All night we sailed fast, 8.5 - 10 knots. The motion was rough, but considering the seas, not nearly as bad as you would think. And Panta Rhei was dry inside! That makes such a difference. We hugged the sleeping bag tightly around us when we were off watch. Karen can read books in these conditions. I cannot. Even so I threw up. This small gale lasted 12 hours with the wind steadily above 32 knots most of the time. Then it eased to 25 knots. You would not believe what a difference that makes. After about a day the wind eased more and eventually died all together. We motored into Eden, arriving at 10 pm local time. That is well after dark, but we've been here before in daylight hours. We had no difficulty entering the harbor and coming to anchor.

Now we start picking weather for the trip further north. We are still pretty close to the southern ocean. I do notice that it is slightly warmer though.

The picture is on the walk into Hastings cave which is logged but still has some old growth that is spectacular.
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