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.
And we're stuck!
First, we decided to wander downstream and enjoy the day on the boat. Our plan was to wait for the wind to pick up and then have a long sail home. What really happened is... Alicia was at the helm and when the wind picked up on the east side of government island, she got so excited she turned the boat around the wrong way and slid her into sand!
We decided to have lunch while the tide came in and we could gently float off the sand. 30 minutes goes by, nothing... and hour goes by, nothing... time to call Captain Ron! He arrived with a smile and camera in hand to document the moment. "What the hell are you doing here in 4.5' of water?" Ray pointed at Alicia, that was all that needed to be said.
Within minutes we were free!!! Glorious!!! However, looks like we missed the wind window, not enough to sail home now. We motored home quickly only to encounter our next obstacle, the dock!
After three attempts with no wind and no current we were literally doing cookies in the N. Portland Harbor. Our dear friend Peter of S/V Penelope must have seen a few of our awesome moves and came to our rescue.
Ok, have you ever seen a big tanker being pushed sideways by a tug... keep that image, and now think of Rowena and a dingy. Thanks Peter, you are right, we do need bow thrusters!
