Author Archives: Melissa

Fall on the Way

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All is quiet on the home front this week. Fall is rolling in and we’ve had rainstorms with thunder and lightning. Weird. We’ve had a lot of that this year. After recovering from an injury to my shoulder, I’m back to re-creating the garden; getting it easier to care for in anticipation of renting out the house in a couple of years. Going through the garden it is striking how many plants I have. Some I cannot even identify anymore, like this little succulent I’ve had in this pot for about 6 years. I noticed a bloom on it for the first time today. It is pollinated by flies, I remember. If I stop trying to remember it will come to me. Some days I’d kill to get my estrogen back.

An unusual flower, to be sure. A Stapelia, perhaps? From South Africa, I’m pretty sure.

Mike and I have been talking about finding another home for my beloved koi. I bought them when they were little babies and now they are all huge and swim to the edge of the pond to be fed when people approach. Alas, a 4000 gallon pond is a liability when renting a house. Plus, no one would really know how to care for this pond since I designed the system and know all of its quirks. Mike has a vision for a pondless stream that would allow our bird friends to continue to enjoy the water without all the care a pond requires. I have a vision for a firepit next to the stream. Things have to be un-created to make room for new creations.

Migrating Cedar Waxwings

This week a flock of hundreds of migrating Cedar Waxwings descended upon our stream to bathe and play in the water. I managed to creep outside with my camera and watch for awhile. Then, in response to some silent signal, they took flight and were gone. I still remember the sound of their wings in the air, the rush of the wind as they flew past and were gone.

This lovely hardy begonia requires no care at all. It will have a place in the newly created garden. It’s in bloom right now.

Lest you think it’s all about gardens and other land based things, boat business is never far below the surface. We have our eyes on another boat and are crossing our fingers and toes that this one turns out better than the last time our hearts were sprung. This time the current owner contacted us directly to tell us about his boat. We were intrigued. We visited, and were more intrigued. So we tread slowly, carefully, and deliberately, even though we still have our Moonrise. If it works out, you’ll be the first to know.

More Boat Stuff

Here are a couple of photos from our recent trip to Friday Harbor. I’m currently working on my review of the Amazon 44 we went to see.

Leaving Seattle behind.

The Victoria Clipper took the route through Deception Pass to the San Juan Islands. Mike and I have never sailed through this way and this gave us a chance to witness the amazing currents without putting our own boat at risk. Unbelievable. And then the fog…

Deception Pass. The cracks of doom. 

Boiling water and fog at 25 knots! What could possibly go wrong?

Another foggy Deception Pass.

Stay tuned.

 

 

 

Make New Friends, and Set Your Brain on Fire

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This weekend we did the unthinkable: we went to Friday Harbor and back in one day. A trip that takes us three days on Moonrise took us 3 hours or so on the Victoria Clipper, a boat that is the marine equivalent of a South African taxi. It’s really fast,  not particularly comfortable and lots of people are crammed onto it, but it gets you where you are going and the scenery can be pretty. Plus, in the case of the Clipper, there is unlimited free coffee and tea, and the coffee is actually not bad. Bring your own food. Just saying.

Bye bye, Seattle.

We went to Friday Harbor to meet up with Steven Roberts of Nomadness fame. Steven, who refers to himself as a ‘technomad’, is the inventor of the Microship and has spent his life inventing geeky things and playing with interesting integrated systems of all kinds. He owns an Amazon 44, a steel sailboat which is a pretty dreamy boat. I’ll be writing a review of the boat for Three Sheets Northwest and he is considering putting his boat up for sale. For now, just know that this boat could take someone literally anywhere they wanted to sail in safety and in style.

I’ve been a fan of Steven’s website for a couple of years now. He has many cool ‘boat hacking’ kinds of ideas that he shares with people, such as holding curtains to your boat ports with earth magnets for a clean and easy look, and a portable boat seat that attaches to the steps of the companionway. I’m saving those posts for later because, hey, the rain is here which means that boat season is pretty much over and I’m going to be scrounging for copy.

S/V Nomadness at her great dock location in Friday Harbor.

But I know that you are dying to find out how our brains got set on fire; why we could literally feel the heat as our neurons made new connections in uncharted territory. It all happened because of our new friend Steven’s forward rowing system on his sailing dinghy. You know how it’s impossible to see where you are going when you row a little boat the normal way? I hate that and many is the time that I turn around and row backwards, bow first, which is not a particularly efficient way to row. (Plus, people look at you like you don’t know what you are doing, and certain types of men try to correct you.)

I managed to NOT hit the pilings behind me. This was encouraging.

So Steven just couldn’t let us get away without letting us try rowing his sailing dinghy with the special forward rowing system. We’re game to be laughed at, so we both said , ‘Sure! We will set our brains on fire for other people’s amusement! No problem!’. And so it came to pass. I went first, managing to get the boat out from the dock, row around, and come back without actually crashing into anything. Oh, the hilarity! Then it was Mike’s turn. He is left handed in a big way. I don’t know if that matters, but perhaps it does. All I know is that if you think it is easy, you try it.  He may have taken photos of me, but I VIDEO taped him! Enjoy! (And just ignore that conversation Steven and I are having. I don’t know how to remove it.)

[vsw id=”IFRqAlhvkic&feature” source=”youtube” width=”425″ height=”344″ autoplay=”no”]

After a great visit with Steven and Nomadness, we had a couple of hours to ‘do’ Friday Harbor. What we ‘did’ was eat lunch at Pablito’s Taqueria: Mexican food meets Pacific Northwest.  I’m not particularly a ‘foodie’, but the Coffee Braised Pork Taco made a party in my mouth. Yum and Yum! I would take the Clipper back to Friday Harbor just so I could order those tacos again. Forget the rice and beans and whatever else was on my plate.  Give me the taco and a good beer and I’ll be happy. If you go to Friday Harbor, go get some of these pork tacos. You won’t be disappointed.

I care nothing about any of these other foods. I am all over those coffee braised pork tacos.

 

What’s Happening?

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We are in the transitional time of year here in the Pacific Northwest. Actually, it feels a little bit early for the grey skies but they descended upon us with a vengeance last week, dumping buckets of heavy rain, causing us to close the ports and hatches on Moonrise. Have to say it’s good to have a dry boat. The sun takes longer to burn off the clouds in the morning, the world begins to feel small; womb like. Apparently we are in for an early fall this year, more’s the pity. So all the more reason to seize the day as often as possible and get out on the boat. Just going down to the marina improves our mood. We breathe audible sighs of relief at the open space and the water.

Unseasonably good wind!

On the boat sales front, things are looking up. We feel movement in the air and it’s not just wind on the water. We showed Moonrise to a very nice man who is a knowledgeable buyer, knows what he wants, and is looking for a boat to sail to Alaska with his son. We would love to think that Moonrise would find a home with a family! That would make us feel very good. The same day we received another call from someone looking for a boat for himself and his wife, also a good candidate for Moonrise as we know how comfortable she is for a couple who just wants to spend time alone. The level of interest in our girl is picking up, giving us hope that she will find the right new home soon and we will not actually have to sail her to Mexico and beyond, a trip that would be sure to cause anxiety in my family (and myself, to be brutally honest).

These folks were just drifting around in the light wind, reading a book on deck, enjoying the warm sunshine.

Meanwhile our ad is getting interest from people who might like to work out a trade with us. Wouldn’t it be something if everything kind of fell together all at the same time? Keep your fingers crossed for us and do whatever other little rituals to the Gods of fortune feel right to you. We’re doing our best to just kind of stand back and observe this whole thing, doing our part to allow things to happen without forcing them. And we’re also doing our best to keep all of our options open. It’s a delicate balance, to be sure.

To continue our education about all things boating, Mike and I are excited to go up to Friday Harbor next weekend via the Victoria Clipper. (That’s right, any excuse to get away.) A trip that would take us 2-3 days on Moonrise can be had for a little over an hour on the Clipper. We’ll be meeting up with Steven Roberts of Nomadness.com and taking a look at his Amazon 44, probably just about the dreamiest boat I can imagine. If you are an engineering geek or any kind of inventor person, you owe it to yourself to explore his website in depth. If you are not particularly geeky, I warn you that Steven speaks in a foreign tongue but the photos are pretty. Put on your Star Trek outfits and beam yourself up to his site. I cannot wait to meet him and see his boat.

Meanwhile, we are enjoying Moonrise so much right now. We realize that when we do get that bigger and heavier boat, we’re going to be giving up for awhile the kind of sailing we can get on Moonrise; ghosting along at 4 knots in about 7 knots of wind, sails completely balanced. We’re willing to give that up for the comfort afforded by a bigger boat, but we do plan to enjoy it while we have it.

My sailor man. He’s a keeper. Damn! I am one lucky woman.