There’s a saying in the boating world, “Plans are written in sand at low tide” which is a well-known expression about remaining flexible as your plans will likely change. There is also a scripture about not being promised tomorrow, so we always follow up our plans with “God willing.”
I’ll catch you up on our plans for the near future and how all this unfolded. We originally thought that we were going to cruise year-round and be liveaboards. (Our 5-10 year plan – or until we were tired of boating or could no longer safely do it because of our age) We planned on hanging out in Washington until March of 2024 and then for the following two years we would spend summers in Alaska and winters in Canada, about the same latitude (or lower) than Anacortes.
At the same time, we also thought we would be cruising around this area in the winter. As the weather got progressively worse, we felt uneasy. We checked in with Cap Sante Marina and they had a winter moorage spot. Yuss! The pros were that we were safe and that we also had the time and access to materials to do all our winter projects. (those wouldn’t have gotten done if we were traveling) The cons were that this was not the goal – to live in a marina all winter.
As this was all happening, I contacted a LOT of Canadian marinas requesting winter moorage. The few I heard back from were less than encouraging. We decided to take a ferry to Vancouver Island and explore marinas and visit them in person. Come to find out, there are years-long waiting lists, and getting winter moorage in Canada was not happening. We found that out in about the first few hours so instead of checking out marinas we checked out Tofino. That is on the west side of Vancouver. Big open scary water. The only way we will ever see that side is to drive there. Well worth the trip. Thanks for the tip, Stabby! We decided to not liveaboard year round, we would live on the boat from April through September and then travel the other six months. We felt at peace about this decision.
from left to right: 1) VW van made entirely from driftwood 2) obligatory gorgeous sunset 3) Our drive to Tofino 4) Our favorite hangout in Tofino. Chesterman Beach.
The winter flew by. We knew we were leaving in March and going to Canada for a bit and then heading up to Alaska. I stumbled upon a Waggoner Flotilla to Alaska. PERFECT! We signed up for that. Now we know when and how we are getting to Alaska. I made arrangements to have the boat winterized and put on the hard in Wrangell, Alaska from October through March. We also hired a vessel watch service. And we found an insurance company that would cover all these plans! This is coming together!
So, God willing, we are going to spend this summer and next in Alaska. Then explore our options after that. We are wrestling with winter plans.
March is coming in like a lion! We have had the WIND! Fresh snow is dusting the mountains nearby. Below is a wind map. Dark Blue is the color we are looking for – green is pretty much a no-go and orange is getting to be unpleasant. Red is gale force. Are you starting to recognize the area yet? Anacortes is the farthest to the right, in the middle near a sailboat icon. We will be heading to the top left marker near Sidney.
Looking forward to the “out like a lamb”.
Talk Soon.