Picture: Pam in full rain gear back from shopping

It was raining and windy as we pulled out of Air Marine Harbor; we wondered at the time if we were going to make it down to the marina, eight nautical miles away. Somehow the wind dropped a little as we came closer to midtown Ketchikan and we were able to make it into the marina without being blown onto other boats. There is another marina next to the tourism district and cruise ship dock downtown, but we preferred the convenience of the shopping, laundry facilities and so forth. The next six days were like wet clay stuck together; hard to separate one day from the next. Waiting requires patience and we were exercising it well.

The most memorable part about Ketchikan for us was the rain; it rained and rained. We thought that where we live in Washington State was rainy, but in comparison to Ketchikan, it is relatively dry. One day we did not leave the boat all day because it rained non-stop and hard. The next day was just the same but we had to get out of the boat so we donned our rain gear and toured the town. We saw a sign aimed at tourists that made a comparison between the size of rain drops in Ketchikan and elsewhere. It showed that Ketchikan rain drops are like large grapes while rain drops from elsewhere are like shelled pumpkin seeds. That was a bit exaggerated of course. Apart from the rain we could not sail south because the wind and sea at the East Dixon Entrance, on the way to Prince Rupert, B.C., were high and it would be foolish for us to challenge it. Since we can't change the weather, we waited and enjoyed the coziness of our boat.

While we waited, Dave, the marine surveyor who inspected the bottom of "Shuang Yu" on the hard, completed the survey for the rest of the boat, including inside and on deck. Before he came Ted and I did major cleaning and polishing inside and out. He spent about three hours writing down notes, examining various parts of the boat and taking numerous of pictures. He completed the document a few days later. All in all it was a very comprehensive survey but required us to do some minor repairs, which Ted did in a few hours. Overall he rated her "Above Average", which is splendid for the twenty year old girl! Every few years we are required to complete a survey for the insurance company before they will cover us. Also, sadly, we are examining the possibility of selling "Shuang Yu" and a survey is useful for that. She has served us extremely well for the seven years around the Pacific Ocean and we love and cherish her deeply but it may be time for us to let her go and allow someone else to have a chance to appreciate her safe and excellent sailing ability and enjoy a luxurious home on the water. We will never forget the many times in foreign ports that we have been so grateful to step into our clean, quiet, floating home away from the dusty, dirty, noisy streets bustling with people. As we step inside, ready to prepare a home cooked, healthy meal, we experience immediate tranquility and contentment. This feeling will always remain with us.

This summer, on our way south, we will visit a broker in Vancouver to investigate the possibility of selling her here in Canada. If not, we will sail her back to her home port of San Diego, California. We cannot sail the boat into Washington waters because we are residents and would be required to pay a one-time "Use Tax" of about $10,000 unless we list her with a broker and do not use her, which we are not prepared to do at this stage. Meanwhile we will take pleasure in sailing around this beautiful area of British Columbia!