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How did we get here?
I had the privilege of growing up with my grandfather’s and was introduced to the boating life early, at the age of 6. I spent many summers commercial fishing with him and my grandmother in the Pacific NW and SE Alaska, in the late 60s through the 70s. [...]
Throughout the years we had many adventures, experiences, playing and working on boats. It quickly became what I did. A 14 ft. -Hobie was my first taste of sailing.
In 1978 this vessel was purchased, in Seattle, by my grandfather “Dusty”, shortly after my grandmother passed. Since he was a widower and I didn’t have a girlfriend we could not name the boat after a woman, as is traditional. Naturally the boat had a name “Sumac” but that didn’t appeal to either of us. So after some thought the name “Double D” (Dusty and David) came and so she was christened.
We sail the summer of 79 in the Pacific NW and British Colombia’s Vancouver Island. During the off season he remarried and I joined the USCG the summer of 1980, crew change. He and Pat sailed several seasons around the Pacific NW an SE Alaska, twice visiting me in Ketchikan. He eventually moved the boat to property he had on Lake Pend Oreille, in Idaho. There she sat for a cpl seasons because he got back into flying. This was “his passion” since his career was a pilot in the USAF. I at one point, during the first few months we sailed together I knew this is what I wanted to do and told him I wanted first shot if he was ever going to get rid of the boat.
In 1988 I got stationed on the Columbia River in Portland. I was able to spend more time with my grandfather as he and Pat were living in central WA. During one of those visits he informed me that he was done sailing and it was my turn. Finally the opportunity I’d been waiting for happened. Holy crap, now what am I going to do? I now have a 33 ft. sailboat, 3 kids a wife and not half way through my 20 year career with the USCG. To top it off he told me that he’d hooked up the batteries wrong and the engine electrical system had burned, including the alternator and who knew what else. All this needed repaired before getting underway. It wasn’t enough the boat was in Idaho sitting in a lake several hundred miles from the ocean. This was the worst news. I had become pretty handy with engines, glassing etc., but electrical. NOPE. In school I learned that electricity can kill you and you can’t see it. So I gave it the respect I thought it deserved. Don’t mess with it! It didn’t matter this was 12V at that time, electricity it was all the same to confusing! Well now I needed to learn and understanding electricity.
Fortunately, over the years I had increased my seamanship and boat handling skills, with 2 tours on a 95’ WPB in SE Alaska, and running 41’ UTR’s in SF bay. I’d also gotten into delivering boats up and down the west coast and made a few contacts. One in particular was a chief electrician in the Navy. Good recourse. Long and story short of the story, I educated and then repaired the damage. In the spring of 89 I got her operational. I waited for spring and the lake level came up and float the boat. Then I motored to the south end of the lake and prepared for trucking.
We trucked it to the Tri-cities in south central Washington on the Columbia River, only 329 river miles from the Pacific. Again through my USCG connections, I’d made arrangements local CG station and was able to moor the boat with them for a couple weeks before heading down river.
7 locks later and with the help of my dad and a friend of his from work, as crew, we motored several hundred miles down the Columbia River to the USCG pier in Portland, not a problem.
We spent several years, cruising the Columbia, and coastal waters of Oregon and Washington and BC. In 1994 the USCG transferred me to the San Francisco bay area, again. I brought on 4 crew members for the passage, we headed down the Colombia River to San Francisco Bay.
The bay did not disappoint me then and most likely will not disappoint us when our mast passes under for the last time heading west, out the Golden Gate later this summer.
In the past 22 years sailing SF bay this boat has been shared with so many friends and family it's hard to count. I do know we’ve have had a lot of amazing times.
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Lori’s story is unique as well. Primarily land based but roots deep into outdoors and the love for being on or around the water. She made a few trips aboard while the boat was on the Columbia River and was always eager to come aboard anytime the call/s came to go sailing. In the past couple of years she has taken to the boating, sailing and living aboard like a duck to water.
Since I was already in the process of getting this boat ready to cruise when she signed aboard, the big projects were just beginning. Build the small boat davits and design them to incorporate the placement of 2 or 3 – 100 watt solar panels. Install radar antenna and mount 30 feet up the mast and run wire down inside. Figure out what kind of refrigeration we wanted. Installed 4.5 cuft 12v frig built for sailboats in warm climate. Build cabinets for more storage. Now the most exciting one, completely remove 1970s vintage type III MSD, pluming and head then install new. That was the shittiest job, not really shitty but it fits. Install new 3 burner propane stove/oven. I’m sure there are more that we’ve done but you get the picture. This was not an easy time to sign aboard. She knew I was making this trip and if she was signing onboard this was not to be taken lightly. By my timeline this adventure to leave SF bay should have been under way a few years earlier.
On top of the upgrade projects we’ve been spending a lot of time underway. Teaching her; the language, terminology, sailing, systems, listening to the boat (that’s no BS either), handling it, etc. Yes the one and only time the engine died and we had to sail 4 fingers deep into the marina. We only missed our slip by 3 slips, no gel-coat was exchanged and Lori had the helm while I controlled the head-sail. Yes, we could have landed at an easier spot in the marina, like the pump out station but that’s not our slip now is it, plus nothing would have been learned. She also knows that when the small boat has engine trouble and stops while we are a mile from the boat “DOWN wind”. Her job is to sit very very silent while David rows to a shallow point so we can anchor to he can fix or jury rig so we can get back to the boat.
There is not one aspect she has flinched at. I’m been very impressed with how quickly she’s gotten with this. To the point I can throw a cushion overboard and yell, “Man overboard” even in tight quarters and she’s gets the boat around and back to my favorite MOB cushion. I’ve always maintained, give me a person with the desire to learn and I’ll teach them to be a good sailor. Anyone that thinks this woman is just cute and adorable, well yes you are right, but there is a whole lot more behind that smile than you’d realize.
We are so blessed to have had the experiences and are very excited to be,
“Setting a new course…”
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