| Dear Friends:
First it was Christian and Gina Saleries, stopping
by to drop off some books we'd loaned them and share
one last dinner before they set sail for Tonga. A week
later it was Kurt and Katie Braun, making a pit stop
to say farewell so they could latch on to the southerly
breeze and beat the northerly gales predicted to hit
our area. They were headed towards the Solomon Islands,
away from the wet and cold of the southern winter. For
the first time I can remember, neither Larry nor I were
in a hurry to join them. The weather at our home base
was still wonderful, with almost no rain at all and
temperatures that made us remind ourselves that it was
actually late autumn, not summer. We had Thelma upgraded
enough so we did not feel we had to do anything but
enjoy owning her and learning to sail her better by
going for day sails and overnight excursions to the
local rivers. Besides, we were busy with several interesting
projects, filming new footage for the 2 DVD's that will
be ready soon, gathering information and writing the
new edition of Care and Feeding of Sailing Crew which
won't be ready for five or six months, making new oars
and new galley fiddles for Taleisin. We also became
deeply involved in working with some of the other 200
property owners on our island to keep the regional government
from increasing our taxes by over 300%. (Our first foray
into local politics, an interesting look at New Zealand's
consultative government processes too). I even got caught
up with trying to be a bit of a gardener and, with the
encouragement of local gardeners I improved my kill
rate from two out of three plants to about one out of
five. Because of the family concerns that happen when
you have aging parents, we'd known before hand that
for the first time in 20 years, voyaging was not going
to be the main focus of our year.
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Thelma is still a learning experience for me; I
am so spoiled by Taleisin's 8-inch bulwarks and
strong lifelines. But I am getting more and more
comfortable with going forward as I learn where
to grab, where to put my feet. |
Then the rains began, the nights turned chilly and
the tower of firewood behind the cottage began shrinking.
My Mom, in California, confirmed the date of her knee
replacement surgery and Larry and I booked our flights
north at the end of May to be with her. As we closed
up the cottage, sorted banking, utilities, mail handling,
made sure our fleet of boats was all secured, called
to say good by to our NZ friends then packed up the
bits and pieces we'd gathered for Taleisin, I thought
a lot about the difficulties potential cruisers face,
making the break from their shore bound lives to go
off voyaging, balancing family cares and responsibilities.
It was so easy for us when we set off 40 years ago as
we owned nothing but the boat we'd just finished building,
our families were young and healthy, we had no concerns
about careers - just the bold confidence of youth and
$5,000 in the bank. For those of you contemplating the
break, persevere, it sure is worthwhile.
 |
Thelma fits in nicely at Mickey Mouse Marine. She
is on the tidal grid here, getting a quick scrub
before she went out for a local race. |
So now we are in sunny, over crowded southern California,
surrounded by welcoming family and a mother who feels
the build-up to her surgery was a lot more painful than
the reality. Brownie, our 1986 Ford ¾ ton pickup
with 9 foot camper is our rolling home for the next
few weeks and once Mom is truly on her feet we will
head north to rejoin Taleisin and spend the summer meandering
through the islands of the Pacific Northwest.
Now cruising so close to reality I am having the "I
can't waits", with my mind plotting how I am going
to get the dinghy in the water as soon as we arrive
at the marina in Victoria where I can row out and set
my crab trap and begin feasting on Dungeness crabs.
I want my bicycle out of the lazzarette so I can ride
around the harbour from where Taleisin lies, to savour
the buskers and waterfront festivities of downtown Victoria.
Then there are the favorite anchorages and people from
last summers meander, and an ever growing list of ideas
for spots to explore people add to each time we mention
having three months among the gulf islands and Puget
Sound.
 |
Jackie and Doug Truscott took this photo of us sitting
at the end of our Jetty at Kawau Island
|
What a wonderful sense of freedom we have, a lovely
cruising boat waiting for us, the only date on our calendar
Mid-September when we are going to sail Taleisin to
Seattle. We'll get her through the locks and into Lake
Union for the Boats Afloat show to help raise some money
for Footloose, the local sailors with disabilities group.
Their members will be showing folks on board Taleisin
for us all during the show. We'll be doing seminars
and look forward to meeting any of you who are in the
area.
With this destination shaping the last part of our
summer I might actually be able to visit some of the
places I've wanted to see in the Puget sound, but I
won't list them here because I don't want to talk my
self into a schedule. Better to wake up each morning
and see where the wind will blow us, or what kewl party
lies just a short sail away, or what good book, or inviting
walk ashore or freshly met friend makes us feel like
staying anchored right were we are for yet another day.
 |
We are looking forward to some casual meandering
on board Taleisin this summer, but I know we'll
be lured into a few of the classic boat races that
flourish around the end of the summer. Taleisin
is reaching past downtown Vancouver in this photo.
|
Fair winds,
Lin and Larry
P.S. Our two DVD's, Get
Ready To CRUISE and Get
Ready To CROSS OCEANS, will be ready for shipping
in mid-July. The folks at Wind and Sea Radio
have also made a CD of the 70 minute interview we did
with them in which we talk about how The two of us met,
how we got involved in voyaging and about the adventure
of sailing around Cape Horn. Our partners at Paradise
Cay who distribute our books and DVD's have made the
following offer: Order either DVD for $29.95 before
July 30th and receive the Wind and Sea CD at
no cost, order both DVD's together for $49.95 and the
CD is also included.
[
Click here for more information about the new Pardey
DVDs ]
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