The Beautiful Pacific North West

Returning to the Pacific North West

From where I am standing this winter has been the longest winter of record. It took two summer seasons to completed the refit on my 1977 Formosa 51 we have named Houdini. Completed enough that is, to go back into the water after over six years on the hard in Anacortes Washington. For those of you that have been following along on the Youtube Channel, you know that I was sidelined by an accident after our very first sail and chose to leave the boat to escape the winter in Washington.

Finally I’m back, and it feels oh so good. I haven’t been at the helm of Houdini in over seven months, but the moment I began to pull out of the slip at Lopez Island, WA it all seemed so very real. I am back. We are moving again, on my dream boat. There have been so many people that have come together to make this dream a reality, from the wonderful followers that have donated on Patreon to the many others that have come out to help us work on the boat. Thank you, form the bottom of our hearts!

Our first night back on the hook made me feel like I had never left her. The diesel heater chugged away and the gentle roll on the Hunter bay quietly rocked Houdini. We were joined by a beautiful classic schooner that sat peacefully under a rainbow (I am not even joking, a rainbow) Being back on my boat has quite literally been a dream come true.

The Pacific North West has been chilly even in early June, which has defiantly taken some adjustment especially after being so warm and bathed each day everyday in sunshine in Baja Mexico for the last season. To combat the cold we have or very reliable (and very messy) Dickinson diesel heater. We also just purchased mattress pads that have heating coils built in which feels like the most luxurious thing I could think of to have on a sailboat besides a bathtub. Now we have both!

There has been a big part of me that has been in a rush to just get out of here and head to warmer waters. But when I look up from and away from my anxious goals and see how truly beautiful it is, I feel a little guilty that I have not been truly present. The goal has always been to see the world, but lately I feel that the goal has been to just get this boat out of the cold before the season changes. Honestly I think I need to change the way I have been looking at things. Maybe we weren’t stuck up here for the winter. Maybe we were given the opportunity to really experience one of the most beautiful landscapes and sailing grounds in the world.

Blue tape makes up the hailing port for now until we can have her properly outfitted…

The Pacific North West is full of old salts and wooden boat enthusiasts. Port Townsend has an annual wooden boat festival to celebrate the traditions of wooden boat building. Many people here even keep their old classics in their driveway in front of there house eagerly waiting for the snow to melt.

NorSea 27

The owner of the little vessel came out to tell us about the small but stout sailboat. She was particularly proud of the construction of the homemade lift that her husband built to launch the boat each spring. They have owned her for 33 years. Prior to that, the old girl had circumnavigated the world through Japan, before the currently family purchased her and raised their three children and large golden retriever on board.

I could relate to her, after the three years spent living on Little Miss My 1976 2-29 Cal with my German Shepherd and two small children. It’s a tight squeeze but there is something special about having your family so close as to be able to hear them all sleeping soundly at night.

I can say now that I am going to do my best to look at this beautiful yet chilly Pacific North West with a heart full of gratitude, and try to soak up all of the fresh cool air and misty mornings while I can. After all, once we leave here it is going to be a very long time until we return.

Houdini is just about ready for the sail from Washington State to Mexico thanks to Searle’s efforts and hard work over the winter spent on Lopez Island, Washington. It was a difficult decision for me to leave, and go to Mexico for the winter, but in the end it was the right one. At least 24,000 miles as the crow flies.

Searle, happy to be on the move again…