Thursday, May 31, 2012

Ready, set....

...go.  Well, almost.  My departure is set for tomorrow morning.  The boat is loaded with food, safety gear, spare parts, clothing, and everything else that one needs for four months of living.  Gas and water tanks are full and the boat is floating in the water (albeit a bit low on her lines) ready for an early morning departure.

Ready to go

Just about every compartment is full

The plan is to leave Twin Bridges around 7:00 AM, clear Canadian customs at Bedwell Harbour, and then head up to Nanaimo.  Depending on how the conditions are on the Strait of Georgia we may head across and up to Powell River, or we may overnight in Nanaimo.

A friend from high school, Sam Magaram, will be along for the trip up to Ketchikan.  He's spent time on the boat before and is familiar with the difficulties that one encounters when living in a small place in constant motion.

Here's a schedule of the trip with dates that I need to be in various places.  While I would hate to miss any of these visits, I refuse to jeopardize my safety because of airline schedules.

6/1-Depart Anacortes
6/15-Sam M. departs Ketchikan
6/20-Ben (my older brother) arrives in Petersburg
6/27-Ben departs Juneau
6/29-7/5-Glacier Bay National Park permit
7/3-Peter (twin brother) and Grandma fly to Gustavus
7/6-Peter and Grandma fly out of Gustavus
7/11-Jeff (uncle) arrives in Sitka
7/15-Dad arrives in Sitka
7/16-Jeff departs Sitka
7/23-Dad departs Wrangell

After that I'll head back through British Columbia, hopefully completing a trip down the West Coast of Vancouver Island in the process.  Without any guests flying in or out, it should be a more relaxed trip.

The next post should be after we're underway!  I'll switch the SPOT on when we get underway tomorrow so take a look here if you want to see my current location at any time.