Check out Irene’s wake! Is it our imagination or does that new feathering propeller really make a difference? We enjoyed a quick run down sound to do some cruising and debug systems. It was hard to leave our Port Townsend flight simulator training when we were making such good progress, but the sea called! In […]... Read More

. Varnishing occupied much our time in March and April aboard Irene. Both masts needed a few coats of varnish each. The cap rail, toe rail and grab rail were all stripped and refinished. (That thermometer is showing the inside temp. It was cold out there!) Ginger made new soft shackles for the staysail and […]... Read More

Irene and crew are underway again. Here’s a link to our position reporting map: https://share.garmin.com/PeterNiemann We expect to be at sea a couple of weeks as we cross to Dutch Harbor. Cheers, Ginger and Peter... Read More

Wintering over at a marina and boat yard where the Dude abides! Port Townsend Boat Haven was a great choice for our winter boat projects. We spent our days on the dock surrounded by wildlife in this healthy marina. Herons stalked between boats for fish and shrimp while turnstones cheerfully peeped and moved en mass […]... Read More

There were many paths available to our country this fall. No matter how people voted in November elections it seems many people feel persecuted and vulnerable, Port Townsend residents are no exception. This liberal town is closely surrounded by a vocal conservative rural community. It feels frivolous to write about travels and boat repairs at […]... Read More

The month of September found Irene leaving behind Alaska fishermen and icebergs and clearing into Canada just before Labor Day weekend. We were treated to some nice weather breaks as we spent a couple of days in Prince Rupert. Peter got the “bits” needed for his long planned fuel tank cleaning project and sucked a […]... Read More

Cap Rails The varnish on Irene’s cap rails was cracked and peeling, and the weather forecast for the last week of August in Wrangell promised a couple of rain free days. Also we had A/C power available at the dock, so we decided to strip and revarnish. Ginger removed the old varnish with a heat gun […]... Read More

Between Prince William Sound and Southeast Alaska are 350 miles of open ocean. It’s possible to hug the shore and find anchorages along the coast but much of the coast is extremely shallow with few spots protected for anchoring. So, with a weather forecast of building wind in a couple of days, we set out […]... Read More

We were looking forward to some sheltered sailing – smaller waves, less wind, hopefully an area with many quiet anchorages. Prince William Sound seemed to have promise according to everything we had read. After an easy coastwise hop across the bottom of the Kenai Peninsula, we turned left and entered the fabled sound arriving at […]... Read More

The fiords and islands near Seward seemed to need exploring, so we went at it. As we passed the end of the peninsula separating fiords and came back out on the ocean – with Irene lifting and dropping in the ever present swell – we enjoyed spotting wildlife and got some nice sailing in as […]... Read More