Here you will find tales of voyages past and present on our trusty Pacific Seacraft Dana 24, "Sockdolager," and our Bigfoot29 powerboat, "Raven," from Port Townsend, Washington, USA. In 2009 we sailed north from Puget Sound up the west coast of Vancouver Island to the Queen Charlotte Islands (now called Haida Gwaii.) In 2010 we went back to the west coast of Vancouver Island. In July 2011 we left the Northwest, sailed to Mexico, and in March 2012 we crossed the Pacific to French Polynesia, then on to the Cooks, Niue and Tonga. We spent several months in New Zealand, and in May 2013 loaded Sockdolager (and ourselves) on a container ship for San Francisco. In June and July 2013 we sailed north along the California, Oregon and Washington coasts, and in August we arrived home. In October 2016, Sockdolager found new owners, and we began cruising on Raven, a unique wooden 29' powerboat. In 2018 we cruised up to Glacier Bay, Alaska, and back. But in 2024 we had the chance to buy Sockdolager back (we missed her), so we sold Raven. We hope you enjoy reading about our adventures as much as we enjoy having them. (And there will be more.)



Tuesday, April 2, 2013

What is Sailing?


We're on our way to Tauranga in New Zealand's Bay of Plenty.  The weather has been great, but the wind will turn against us tomorrow, so we have been making tracks.  Just left the hair-raising entrance to Whangamata Harbor behind, whew.  Surf, rocks, heavy current, the woiks.  Now we are at sea in a nice long ground swell.  Will post more about Great Mercury Island and this part of the journey later, but meanwhile, a belated April Fool's theme post:

 The array of perceptions that people have about sailing is a rather burning issue, that is, if you know someone who is out there or are out there yourself.  Our friend Cap'n Fatty Goodlander posted a meme on his Facebook page about perceptions of sailing, and we thought it would be a good time to address this topic ourselves.  There are so many perceptions; where does one start?

What brand-new boat owners think sailing is:


What brand-new boat owners after their first outing probably think sailing is:


What yacht brokers would like you to think sailing is:


What sailors outfitting their boats think sailing is:


What a few of our jollier blog readers think sailing is:


What some of our non-sailing friends think sailing is:


What some of our family members back home think sailing is:


What sailing occasionally feels like:


What we would love to think more of sailing is:


What sailing really is:



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2 comments:

  1. san blas islandsApril 19, 2013 at 1:08 PM

    In most countries sailing is enjoyed as a recreational activity or as a sport. Recreational sailing or yachting can be divided into racing and cruising.

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  2. Karen Sullivan and Jim HeumannApril 19, 2013 at 3:24 PM

    Karen here. I can't speak for racing, but cruising can be further divided into daysailing, coastal passagemaking, and voyaging, and perhaps further depending on how far one wants to go. The beauty of sailing is that it's so endlessly challenging, so egalatarian, and so full of that satisfying admixture of peace, excitement and accomplishment. In most countries there is also plenty of yarn-spinning and story-swapping, which is a big part of what makes it so worthwhile.

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