Rowena
| Vessel Name: | Rowena |
| Vessel Make/Model: | Formosa Yankee clipper 41' |
| Hailing Port: | Portland, Oregon |
| Crew: | Ray McCracken and Alicia Watkins |
| About: | After acquiring the boat last December we have been working steadily at restoring and preparing her for our voyage south and beyond! |
| Extra: | Rowena was a Top Sail Square Rig Ketch, set up by her former owner Captain William Larson (original captain of the Lady Washington). |
10 November 2017
Let’s do this
Recently we have had several friends who have left on great adventures and we have been reading sailblogs.
11 November 2013 | Portland OR
Propane Vain
One of the many amazing features of our particular boat is that back couch. Along the stern of the boat is a couch spanning the full width of the boat. When I look at it all I see is potential.
04 November 2013 | Portland OR
Current Events
With the cold rainy weather upon us Ray has upped the productivity. In the last two weeks this boat has really become a home. Below is a list of what we've done:
24 October 2013 | Mcquire Point, Columbia River
And we're stuck!
On a high from our fabulous weekend with SIYC we had a few problems....
20 October 2013 | East Dock, Government Island
SIYC Halloween Cruise
Great weekend with new friends of Sauvie Island Yacht Club. 16 Boats arrived, most of which have seen extensive cruising... inspiring us! The theme was Halloween and Alicia was extremely excited to dress us both up for the event. We carved pumpkins and donned our best 'homemade' pirate attire, arrrr.. we were ready to party! The spread what long distinguished, including a meatloaf foot with beacon bandage and onion toe nails. Overall an amazing weekend with wonderful folks. We look forward to more events with the SIYC.
Update
Since our last entry we have married off all the children, new grandchildren have arrived, and the boat has been adorned with new - and used - stuff.
We have been using the boat. The summer of 2014 we braved 'The Graveyard of the Pacific', aka Columbia River Bar, and sailed (motored) up to Barkley Sound Canada. How amazing that trip way. We learned the ocean can be a very scary and beautiful, Ray gets seasick, Radar IS important to have in the Pacific Northwest, and most importantly cutting the dock lines and just heading to the Ocean is what we truly enjoy!
Our Yacht club, SIYC, keeps us using the boat monthly for local cruising, sharpens our skills and inspires us to again cut those lines and head for the sea.
In the summer of 2015 we again headed north, via O.P.B (other peoples boat), to again cross the Columbia River Bar and head for Canada, this time Nanaimo! We learned what those 'other' boats sail like. The boat we were on was a Outbound 44' and beautifully, thoughtfully rigged for total comfort. Electric winch... what?! Amazing, that is all.
All of this cruising has just confirmed to us both that we really need to cruise. So, we are planning for a Fall of 2016 departure.
