Monterey…for days and days
Monterey for days Monterey was an unexpected stop for us. Initially, we had hoped to sail roughly 300 miles directly from San Francisco to Santa Barbara, but we are learning quickly that Mother Nature will play just as large a part in voyage planning as we will. A large storm rolled in, which prevented us […]
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Night cruising: San Francisco to Monterey
After five nights beneath the glimmer of Ghirardelli Square, we weighed anchor and departed the Aquatic Park at 8 pm. As we motored west toward the Golden Gate Bridge, we watched our first major port of call fade under the glitter of an unexpected fireworks display. Since we knew not the cause for the celebration, […]
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Sittin’ on the dock of the bay
From Bridge to Berkeley San Francisco lived up to its reputation of great food, consistent [if not a bit ferocious] afternoon winds, and beautiful cityscapes. After a foggy welcome by the Golden Gate Bridge, we made our way across the bay to Berkeley Marina. We docked next to our sailing friends from Port Ludlow, WA, […]
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Ready, set, sail: Medical kit and health readiness
One of aims of our journey is to travel off the beaten path and to sail to remote locations. As much as my nature is to focus on what could go right, rather than on what could go wrong, there is a very real possibility that one or both of us could become ill or […]
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Our first ocean passage: Neah Bay to San Francisco
At this moment, we are nearly 40 miles off the coast of Washington, and I am standing my first night watch on the ocean. The glow of city lights has been replaced by the glimmer of stars. The Space Needle, a beloved Seattle icon for me, no longer lights the sky. Instead, a three-quarter moon […]
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It takes a village + Ep. 1 VIDEO
Preparation for an extended sabbatical from work to sail the big blue has been intense these last months. We’ve had to do everything from prepare our boat; wind down careers; sell, recycle, or give away many of our belongings; sell our car; and somewhere between all of this try to emotionally come to grips with […]
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Ready, set, sail: Stocking our ditchbag
Our list of things to do is dwindling, as it should be given that we set sail in just three days. Today, we finished stocking our ditchbag. If we ever have to launch our life raft and abandon ship, this will be the first, and potentially only bag, we will grab. During our prior excursions, […]
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Countdown to cruising: Emotional to-dos
September 18, 2014: It’s dark out still. The rains returned yesterday, and drops continued to fall through the night. My breath feels caught in my chest, making this airplane feel much smaller than it really is. I feel a single tear stream down my cheek and for a moment feel a bit startled. I didn’t […]
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Gettin’ Liebster lovin’
THANK YOU! We are still new kids on the block when it comes to blogging, so imagine our excitement when we discovered that we had been nominated for the Liebster Award! The Liebster Award is an honor bestowed from blogger-to-blogger, recognizing a fellow writer’s work. It works like a chain letter (remember those…?). We were nominated by […]
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Ready, set, sail: San Juan Islands shakedown
On August 5th, we kicked off our mini, get-ready-to-cruise shakedown with our first overnight sail. We arrived in Roche Harbor on San Juan Island exhausted and proud, knowing that if we could do one, by hell we could do many. After a quick breakfast nibble, we dinghied into town, docking Miss Sassy Strings alongside the fleet of […]
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Anniversary of our journey to Brigadoon
BRIGADOON: A place that is idyllic, unaffected by time, or remote from reality; a place where a person finds pure happiness; a place to which one can never truly return. Three hundred sixty-five days ago, at The Captain Whidbey Inn, Neil and I shared vows, exchanged rings, and sang and danced in our very own […]
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Night sailing beneath a million stars
We were reeling from a few hectic days of preparation, as we set off from Seattle for an extended weekend, a getaway for which plans had materialized quickly and unexpectedly. Thankful for long summer days, we departed Elliott Bay Marina at 6 pm, bound for the heralded cruising grounds of the San Juan Islands. Weather […]
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Ready, set, sail: Building a sail repair kit
One of the things on our behemoth Ready, Set, Sail To-Do List was building a sail repair kit. We’re approaching many tasks with a divide-and-conquer mentality these days, and I was tasked with this particular item. Sail repair is something that Neil and I have absolutely no experience doing, so we attended a sail repair […]
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Ready, set, sail: Countdown to cruising
Today is Friday, August 1st. It is 8:29 pm and the sun is slowly ducking behind the Olympic Mountains. Miss Sassy Strings, our trusty dinghy, is happily bobbing between the dock and our hull, leaving the bow of The Red Thread open and welcoming; a perfect seat. The Grand Banks trawler in our neighbor slip […]
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Kombucha: Adventures in home brewing
What the heck is kombucha? Kombucha is a fermented tea drink that is created by introducing a SCOBY (symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast) to a combination of black or green tea, sugar, and water. Kombucha is amber-colored and mildly effervescent, with a flavor that is slightly sweet and tangy. Please note that not all people […]
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s/v The Red Thread 