Writing this post is difficult for me. Putting things in writing always has a way of making you face the reality.

As Cindy and I discussed our future cruising plans, it began to become clear that her primary goal is to be close to our kids and grandkids, and the move back across the Pacific was the first part of achieving that goal. While she wants to continue doing coastal cruising, she has no interest in doing any more long-distant voyaging. As we explored ways that we could meet her needs we talked through various scenarios. The one that seemed to most match with what she is comfortable doing is to return to the Pacific NorthWest. The cruising there is predominantly day sails in protected waters. The summer cruising season there matches our situation well - avoiding the hot summer in Texas. While Mexico is another option (we enjoyed our short time there), the issue of avoiding hurricanes has to be addressed (moving the boat back and forth), and the cruising season (winter - summers are just as hot as Texas) is not as good of a match for us.

Our experience in the PNW and SE Alaska was wonderful - although a good heater and a dry boat are a must to enjoy it! We also realized after talking with folks that had been cruising there for 5-15years, that there were enough anchorages that we could enjoy exploring the area, seeing new sites, and meeting new people for quite some time. That said, it isn’t a great match for a sailboat (often referred to as “Stick boats” or “Cave boats” in that area). We seldom sailed when we were there and only occasionally motor-sailed, but mostly we motored. With the tidal currents and the winds that can come down the channels (always seems to be on your nose), being able to motor at 8-12kts is more of a priority than sailing. As we talked through things it became clear that if the PNW is where we will spend out time, we would enjoy it more on a motor yacht (trawler, etc) than SV FullCircle. I believe that one of the reasons Cindy enjoys cruising and stuck with it for as long as she did is that SV FullCircle was built to do what we were doing. She is at home on the ocean and is outfitted to make it enjoyable. For that reason, if we are going to go back to the Pacific NW, it makes sense to get a boat that is made for those conditions.

And so, that brings us to our present day decision to sell SV FullCircle. It is my hope that there is someone out there that wants a proven boat to go ocean voyaging and that will find her as perfect a match as we have over the past 6 years!