Shake-Down Cruise - Prince William Sound

We experienced a little of everything this weekend. On Saturday, we headed down to Whittier to launch the sailboat. The weather was absolutely beautiful and we were in tee shirts rigging the boat. The boys stayed busy looking for hermit crabs and starfish on the low tide line. The ocean was so calm we had to motor out of Passage Canal just to find wind. After dropping our shrimp pot, which is a new experiment for us this year, we found enough of a breeze to raise the sail. Bryant and I put our new found sailing knowledge to use and in the process, enjoyed spectacular views of 12,000 foot mountain peaks. Meanwhile, the boys were on the bow of the boat taking it all in.

It wasn't long before our stomachs were growling, so we decided to head over to Ziegler's Cove to anchor for the night. We were able to set the anchor on the second try, and I took to starting dinner, while Bryant pumped up the dingy. It wasn't long before the Bryant, the boys and Ollie were rowing around the little cove. Wyatt learned how to row the dingy and he spent quite a bit of time over the next 12 hours messing around on that little boat. He brought Gus and I to shore later in the evening so I could walk on land a little bit.

As soon as the sun set over the horizon, the cold started to settle in, and it started to feel like mid-May in Alaska. When we woke up in the morning, it definitely looked like Prince William Sound, Alaska. The sky was cloudy and gray. Shortly after breakfast, it started to drizzle. As soon as we pulled anchor and motored to the open ocean there was full on rain and it was coming at us sideways. We were now experiencing the Whittier, Alaska that receives over 150 inches of rain each year. While rolling about on 3-4 foot waves, we worked our way back toward our shrimp pot with the hope of actually being able to retrieve it and maybe even find some shrimp inside. Using our winch system on the sailboat and Bryant's muscle, the shrimp pot was pulled from 350 feet of water. To everyone's excitement, there were 7 whole shrimp, one half-eaten shrimp and a rock fish, which we assumed was responsible for the half-eaten shrimp.

The ride in was a little rough, but the boat seemed to handle it quite well. The derigging at the dock was downright painful as rain and wind blasted us through the entire process. The entire time, each of us was thinking that Whittier, AK is no where near the top of the list of places to go, but I suspect that feeling will fade with time.

If you would like to see more pictures from the trip click on: http://picasaweb.google.com/jillcaho/SailingPrinceWilliamSound

Spring has Sprung

Spring has sprung . . . at least for today and we enjoyed it. First thing after breakfast, Bryant and I took the 4-wheeler and the dogs (yes I did mean plural dogs as we are babysitting Jonathon's dog this weekend) for a run in the Knik River gravel bar. Early in the spring, the water doesn't run very high, so we can take the trail from our backyard, cross the road, and enter the gravel bar on the river. Our goal was to wear Jonathon's dog, Bobo, out so he won't be AWOL all day long. I hadn't been on the river bar at all this spring and while I was out there, I was once again taken by the interesting geography, a receding glacier 17 miles away, sharp jagged mountains, and a couple of buttes sticking out of the flat river bottom. On this particular day, at that particular moment, I really didn't think there was a cooler place to be. About 45 minutes later and two tired canines, we made our way back to the house to start on the chores for the day.

Earlier this year, we took down our fence to fell a few dead trees. We had been patiently waiting for the ground to unfreeze to put the fence back together, but the combination of a nice day and a dog sitting position, the fence became chore number one. With the resistant help of two young boys, I figured I could manage the job, and that freed Bryant to do his job of . . . you guessed it . . . fixing the boat. As the day progressed, I managed to get the fence back together, Gus dropped off at his friend's house, and the new grill burner put on. The day was still beautiful, so I decided to drag Wyatt off the couch to join me on another river run with the 4-wheeler. I had forgotten my camera earlier and wanted to snap a few pictures. Reluctantly, Wyatt put down his book, complained, and then joined me by the 4-wheeler. I thought I had secured the dogs before my departure; Ollie inside, Bobo inside the fence, but I wasn't far down the trail before Bobo joined us. It obviously didn't take him long to find the weak link in my fence, and that the sound of the 4-wheeler meant excitement.

I didn't bother sending him back and we continued down the trail. I had intended to take the same trail on the river bed that Bryant and I did earlier, but instead found myself drawn a little more upstream toward the glacier. When we hit a side small side channel in the river, Wyatt asked to get off the 4-wheeler. I watched him wade around in his boots and explore the little nooks and crannies in the river. I checked the bottom of the river for soft spots and seeing none, determined that I could cross. Wyatt got back on the 4-wheeler and we continued. Before long, another channel stopped us. Wyatt pointed out yet another channel close to the river bank that had a lot of ice. He wanted to play on it. It didn't take long for me to get drawn into the game of test, test, stomp, and crack the ice. Shallow water and the big logs in the middle of the water provided safe landings, so we could continue this little game of ice destruction. Wyatt remarked, "now this is what Moms and sons should be doing." Something in his tone indicated that stomping ice was much, much, more interesting than listening to lectures on how to get along with the neighborhood kids, which he'd been hearing a lot of lately or holding the end of the board while I fix the fence. I didn't think it was the right time to remind him that I did have to drag him off the couch grumbling. Instead, I let him bask in his glory that good parenting really is only about stomping on ice in the Knik River gravel bar on a sunny day in April.

April in Alaska

April in Alaska, not enough snow for snowmachining (at least nearby) and who wants to go searching for snow in the April. And it is too cold for boating, so there the toys sit. However, whenever you have a boat, there is always something on it that needs working on. Bryant, outfitted in his insulated Carharts, is installing a bilge pump and my job is to figure out curtains. Those tinted windows are only teasers; they give the illusion of privacy. However, if you turn on a tiny light to use the head, the whole harbor can look in. Given the amount of daylight in the summer months, curtains will also help keep the sun out. So I climbed into the boat, measured windows, and shortly thereafter felt the chill sink in. Before long snowflakes were falling, and I decided to head back inside, grab another log for the fire, and continue the job of thinking about curtains. Hopefully, these April snow showers turn into May flowers and we truly can start enjoying the boat that's been parked in the backyard all winter.

Hawaii - 2008

I am no longer the last Alaskan to visit Hawaii. For 10 days, Bryant and I sailed, surfed, hiked, snorkeled, and drove our way around the islands of Oahu and Hawaii. We arrived into Honolulu, Oahu late Friday evening. After renting our car, we criss-crossed our way through the city to find our 4 night accommodations on Waikiki Beach, The Beachside Hostel. Figuring we were young at heart and not wanting to spend excessive amounts on hotel rooms, the semi-private room with kitchen facilities, shared bathroom, and $5.00 a night parking seemed to be a good choice 2,500 miles away. And I've come to think that the only reason it did work was because we didn't spend much time in our room, or in the kitchen either for that matter because that turned out to be the bedroom of our "roommates." In my preplanning research, I was sure to ask if our room was separate and locked, and I was assured, "Yes, it is a semi-private room." Needless to say, it never crossed my mind to question whether or not I'd need to ask a friendly tall English student to curl his feet up before leaving the room each morning on my way to sailing lessons.

Oahu is busy, but friendly, and more than once, we were appreciative of the patient drivers who allowed us to cut into the heavy traffic. Our reason for being on Oahu for 4 days was tied into the sailing lessons. Last August, we bought a 26' MacGregor sailboat and after trying to sail a few times, with mixed success it became apparent that a little "expert" advice might point us in the right direction. With the trip to Hawaii already booked and The Honolulu Sailing Company offering the American Sailing Association Basic Keelboat Sailing and Basic Coastal Cruising Courses, we decided going to school was a good way to spend our vacation.

At sailing school, I figured if I could master the vocabulary, the sailing would be a breeze. I may be seeing rope everywhere, but it is no longer called rope and nor should it ever be referred to as rope. If what looks like rope is holding the boat to the dock it is a line, an anchor it is rode, or if it is at all near a sail, it can be a halyard, a sheet, a downhaul, or an outhaul. Words like left, right, front, and back are replaced with the proper boating terminology like port, starboard, bow, and stern. The wire supporting the mast is a stay. However to confuse the common land lubber, the one up near the bow isn't a bow stay, but a forestay and the one in the stern is a backstay, and the two on the sides aren't stays at all but shrouds. Step inside the sailboat and the kitchen magically turns into a galley and the toilet a head. Under sail, the boat can tack or jibe. The direction it moves (or points of sail) is always in relationship to the wind and gets called fancy terms such as a close haul, close reach, beam reach, broad reach, or running with the wind. The sails themselves are no longer the big, small, and pretty one. They get names like the main, jib, genoa, and the spinnaker. Oh yeah, and one more thing, if you're heaving when sailing hopefully you're heaving to and it isn't happening in the head.

On our last day of sailing school and the day before our departure to Hawaii, the Big Island, we were aloha'd by Aloha Airlines as they declared bankruptcy and planned to discontinue passenger service.



To be continued as time permits . . . .

For more pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/jillcaho/Hawaii2008

Snowmachining to Rainy Pass

In 4 days, we traveled 305 miles on snowmachines, pulling a sled with winter camping gear. We started in Big Lake, AK and turned around just shy of Rainy Pass in the Alaska Range. The weather cooperated and of course the views were breathtaking.






If your interested in viewing more photos, click on the following link: http://picasaweb.google.com/jillcaho/RainyPassTrip