Last Monday we took delivery of our new dinghy. We bought an AB ALX 11 from Guyer Boatworks in Bellingham. Center console, aluminum hull, plenty of storage…all things we did not have on our old Zodiac that will certainly make this one heavier but way more comfortable. (This particular AB ALX 11 was actually a 2017 model that Guyer Boatworks had used in boat shows over the past two years, … Read more
Kevin and I had a handful of boat projects to take care of on Airship last week, but as soon as we finished the projects that required we be at a dock (and near the hardware store and West Marine) we took off for a few days of winter cruising in the islands. We are seriously enjoying the extra space and livability this Nordic Tug 42 has over our NT34. … Read more
You may recall back in November we bought a beautiful and very clean 2006 Nordic Tug 42, and we sold our 2013 Nordic Tug 34′ “Airship”. We’d had our Nordic Tug 34 for four years, and in those four years we spent over 900 nights aboard and 2,700 hours underway, went to Alaska and back four times, around Vancouver Island three times, and spent countless days exploring Puget Sound, the … Read more
We finally did it! The new Airship is a 2006 Nordic Tug 42 flybridge model. We always said we didn’t want a flybridge (because, solar!), but she’s got one, and I’m sure we’ll eventually be totally on board with the flybridge concept, especially after the weather warms up. She’s got a Cummins QSC 8.3L 540HP common rail turbo diesel engine, an Onan 9kw generator, and SO. MUCH. ROOM! Two staterooms, … Read more
After wrapping up our last Vancouver Island flotilla, Kevin and I flew from Victoria to NY for some work and some fun, and then returned and met up with Kevin’s mom for some Gulf Island cruising. We went around from Sidney to Tod Inlet and anchored there for the night. The next day we dinghied in to Butchart Cove and spent most of the day exploring Butchart Gardens. Kevin and … Read more
September 15 – We left Port Renfrew at 6:30 a.m. for the last leg of the flotilla — the 50+ mile section from Port Renfrew to Victoria. We took advantage of the flood current we’d have for the first part of the day, with between 1 and 2 knots of current pushing us along for the first several hours. The Strait of Juan de Fuca was exceptionally calm today, with … Read more
September 14 – We’d hoped to spend a couple nights in Effingham Bay, but today looked like a great day on the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Rather than push our luck for one more night in the Broken Group, we decided to take advantage of the calm and head towards Victoria. We were spoiled again by the ocean. Light winds, decent visibility, favorable current most of the day, and … Read more
September 13 – Effingham Island is the largest island in the outermost cluster of islands in the Broken Group, and the Effingham Bay anchorage is a great base from which to explore the many surrounding rocky islets, sea caves, and driftwood-strewn beaches by dinghy. We’d crossed paths a couple times earlier in the week with friends Alison and Kevin on Red Rover, a Nordhavn 55, and today we finally managed … Read more