Southeast Alaska is among the finest cruising grounds in the world. Stretching more than 300nm from north to south and more than 100nm west to east, it’s a huge and diverse area. Most of it is protected, too, with calm water, relatively easy access to services, and no overnight cruising required. I’ve spent most summers for the last decade exploring SE Alaska and I haven’t seen it all, but Prince … Read more
A few hours after we got to Auke Bay, two more friends arrived: Erika, who we went to college with, and Josh, her partner. The next day, with six of us aboard Akeeva, we headed to Endicott Arm, Dawes Glacier, and Ford’s Terror. Even after 15-plus visits, this little section of Alaska delights. The combination of moderate travel distances, protected water, magnificent fjord scenery, wildlife, solitude, and a tidewater glacier … Read more
The flotilla might be over, but our cruising isn’t. The day after the flotilla concluded, friends arrived in Juneau, and the next day we set off for Skagway. Skagway is the first destination of what we hope will be a year of adventure on Akeeva. The plan is to explore Alaska this summer, including (hopefully) Prince William Sound, then work our way south along the Pacific Coast in the fall. … Read more
Glacier day! For most cruisers, their first visit to a tidewater glacier is both exciting and anxiety-inducing. Since Le Conte Glacier is so close to Petersburg (about 20nm away), it’s an easy day trip. Several years ago we started visiting Le Conte on just a few of the flotilla boats. This lets some people have a day off from driving their boat and allows others to make their first glacier … Read more
First of all, apologies for the looooong delay in posting. Much has happened since my last update here. After six years and more than 3500 hours on Safe Harbour, my Nordic Tug 37, I traded her for Akeeva, a Nordhavn 50. As that was happening, the coronavirus situation was rapidly deteriorating. Within days of buying Akeeva, and on the eve of Washington’s stay-at-home order, Anna (my fiancée) and I practically … Read more
Most of the content on Slowboat focuses on cruising north from Puget Sound. This is the area where we have the most experience, and where most of us from the Pacific Northwest naturally go cruising. The Pacific Northwest is undoubtedly fantastic—plentiful and diverse wildlife, thousands of miles of sheltered “inside” cruising, and magnificent scenery—but it’s also cold much of the year. And there’s a big world to explore by water! … Read more
Around Cape Caution! When we fell asleep last night, Environment Canada (Central Coast zone) was calling for “wind light” and seas one meter all day. Windy (ECMWF model) was showing this: Forecasts don’t get much better than that, but forecasts aren’t always right. So when we woke up at 4:30 a.m. we checked West Sea Otter buoy, where the wind was gusting to 4 knots and the seas were a … Read more
The Panama Canal is a crossroads of the maritime world. About 40 ships a day transit the canal, ranging from yachts to warships and everything in between. It’s a critical economic link between the West Coast and East Coast of the Americas, a monumental civil engineering project, an important political achievement, and a milestone for cruisers. The vast majority of circumnavigating yachts transit the canal, and hundreds of cruisers who … Read more