Along the Watery Way....

On March 18th, with a ship's hold filled with food, Matt and I handed in our visas and checked out of Mexico, prepared to follow our dream to cross the Pacific Ocean. Covid-19 was only just starting to be on the radar in Mexico, and our destination of French Polynesia had no cases. Ships were still welcome, and the ocean crossing would be considered our quarantine. All seemed well (spoiler: it wasn't). As we prepared to set sail, news came over the radio that French Polynesia had its first confirmed case. French Poly closed it's borders immediately, and mandated that all arriving ships would have to depart after restocking. Otherwise, crews would be deported and flown home to their countries. The entire South Pacific closed its doors, including New Zealand and Australia. With most of the borders in Central and South America closed as well, we hurriedly checked back into Mexico, just in time. Our new plan: spend the summer in the beautiful Sea of Cortez, eating through o...

When sailing south from Alaska, you will pass the magical islands of Haida Gwaii, formerly the Queen Charlotte Islands. Home to the Haida nation, this archipelago is filled with history and rare animal species. It is also guarded by the Haida watchers, who guard the inlets and grant permission for ships to anchor and come ashore. Once ashore, these watchers will give visitors an incredible overview of the region.  As we rounded the tip of Haida Gwaii, the forested shoreline of the northernmost island lay wreathed in mist. At this point, we were becalmed for three solid days, inching our way forward with the drifter sail whenever we got a tiny breeze or nudge of current. On the second day, it was the type of calm where time stood still, and the sea looked golden and glassy. The ship was suspended at right angles to the water, but we also felt as though we were sitting on the curve of the horizon, making us feel like we were perched on the edge of the earth.  It was at th...

It's very difficult to put certain adventures into words, but here are a few that sum up this marvellous voyage for me - beautiful, wild, surreal, tough and freeing. In total, we sailed 1252 miles in 12 days from Ketchikan to Port Townsend, heading quite far offshore around the outside of Haida Gwaii and Vancouver Island to avoid some gale-force winds (spoiler alert: we dodged one gale, but hit another). The good ship Ziska is a beautiful 38 foot gaff-rigged wooden sailboat. It's over 100 years old and has been completely rebuilt.  I joined Ziska up in Ketchikan, Alaska, after the captain put out a call for crew to help sail the boat back home to Port Townsend after the Race to Alaska . While we were waiting to depart in Ketchikan, I started to hone my sailorly skills, learning how to self propel myself up the mast with rock-climbing gear (swinging around at 100 feet is terrifying, but also my favourite place to be on the boat!), how to tie reef knots in the sail and coil rop...

Well, after more than a year of not posting, I've suddenly gotten the urge to write. Maybe it's because I've had some spectacular adventures in the past year! A new job as a grant writer and communications manager at a women's shelter - it's a feminist organization, and working here has been so good for the heart. A new home with an old room-mate after going head to head with a corrupt landlord. Getting my scuba diving certification and becoming a racing crew with the Canadian Forces Sailing Association. Exploring Botanical Beach at low tide! Then this November, the spectacular 1,000-mile sail from San Diego to the Sea of Cortez. This sailing adventure was a dream come true. In the months before I even knew the trip was happening, I had the urge to put up a poster on the wall that said, "You Shall See Wonders." And we really did! More in subsequent posts....Sailing with the wonderful skipper Matt, who taught me so much about sailing and was kind, good-na...

The waves keep on coming, one after another, hour after hour. Sometimes we glided smoothly over gleaming sea hills while at other times, giant crashing waves fought around us for hours. Ups and downs! Lifting the boat high and then sending it flying back down a watery slope. Somewhat like life :) Troubles and thrills. Ups and downs. Problems and solutions. Forks in the road, and decisions to be made. Mysteries and sorting-outs. Questions and answers. It seems never-ending! When one thing passes, the next looms up. Thinking about the waves out at sea helped me realize that the trick isn't trying for there to be no problems, mysteries and questions. There's no point in being angry and frightened by the next wave. Or trying to figure out just how we're going to get over a wave that hasn't even arrived yet.  How will we make it over this monster? What is past the horizon? That's just part of it - not knowing and not being able to see, yet believing, having faith tha...

Kava is a drink that comes from a root and is commonly enjoyed in the South Pacific islands. As kava has a paralytic effect, you will often see people staggering home or collapsed in the street after a kava party. It's also known to cause vivid dreams! I was able to rustle up some kava in Tonga and bring it home. While completely legal, it unfortunately came as a powder packaged in suspicious little baggies. As I was being searching by New Zealand customs officers, they pulled out the baggies, looked at me like I was a hideous criminal, and demanded to know, "What is this ?" When I told them it was kava, they nodded and smiled and moved on. The Canadian border officials didn't know what the heck it was, but they were happy with the description of, "A ground-up root." This kava was not very strong--probably brewed for unexperienced visitors--but it numbed the lips and tongue and gave a feeling of slight light-headedness. It also tasted like the most disg...

The Torkington clan lives on a hill overlooking a tiny ocean bay, tucked away in the midst of little rolling hills that are sprinkled with (surprise!)....sheep :) I was very lucky to find these kind people to work with for a month. The grandfather, son and his wife form a bluegrass band together, and as a family of bluegrass musicians, they have musical instruments everywhere! The fiddles and guitars strewn about made me very happy) There is always great music playing or being played (see The Pipi Pickers and Hot Diggity ). From their ginormous library to their love of PG Wodehouse, and their ability to substitute popcorn for dinner, these people are great!! Also, their backyard features the best outhouse ever, the "Turdis":