Preparing for my adventure – Shakedown Cruise

First of all I am so thankful to be able to participate in an awesome Alaskan adventure!!!  I feel so lucky that I was asked to come along.  What a privilege I am being given in this stage of my life.  Thanks so much to Natalie Winslow for suggesting it last summer and to Vaughn for allowing me to tag along.  A special thanks to my husband Mark for allowing me to spend the time traveling without him.  He is hoping I learn enough to be be an equal partner in sailing so we can venture to Alaska by ourselves.  I am hoping for the same thing!


We are scheduled to leave on Tuesday, May 3rd.  The “we” is Vaughn Winslow, the owner of the S/V (Sailing Vessel) Our Tern, Mary Ross, a retired women’s sailing instructor, and myself.  I have been sailing with my husband Mark for five years.  Up until now, I’ve taken a very minor role in the sailing duties.  My goal on this adventure is to learn everything I can about sailing from the two knowledgeable people I will be sailing with.  I hope to come back from Alaska close to an equal partner to my husband when sailing our own sailboat.
I am embarking on this new adventure with excitement and but also trepidation.  Okay, sometimes I am filled with terror!  Most of the time the excitement outweighs the terror.  This is, after all, an adventure of a lifetime!!!
Lucky for me, a little of the apprehension was eased a couple of weekends ago when Vaughn took my husband and I out for a three day shakedown cruise.  It was really a test to find out how I would handle the rough seas and if I could sleep while the sailboat was moving.  There might have been other things I was being tested on too but they were the ones I was told about!  Good news is even during six to eight foot waves I didn’t get seasick.  No problem sleeping either.  The sleep was probably because I had been up since 5:30am and didn’t lie down until around 1:00am.  It’s not hard to fall asleep when you are exhausted.

Mark, Vaughn, and I before leaving Everett

We left Everett, Washington about 4:30 pm on Friday afternoon.  We made our way south towards Mukilteo, past Possession Point (the southern tip of Whidbey Island), and headed north and west toward the Straits of Juan de Fuca.  As we sailed we were rewarded by beautiful views of Mt. Baker, Mt. Ranier, and the Olympics in the distance.  We are so blessed to live in such a scenic part of the country.

Possession Point

Vaughn wanted all three of us to stand watches but I told him I wasn’t comfortable standing watch by myself.  I stayed up with Mark for part of his watch and then got some sleep.  Early in the morning I was up with Vaughn on his watch.  I never stood a watch by myself.  I will be doing my share on the Alaskan trip and this is where my fear is stemming from.  I do not want to make any mistakes.

Sunset prior to entering the Straits of Juan de Fuca

The first evening hours that led into the next morning is when we made it into the Straits of Juan de Fuca.  This is also when we encountered the 6 – 8 foot waves.  The S/V Our Tern handled the waves like a pro.  If we were in our sailboat, the Jeanne Marie, I don’t think I would have felt quite as safe.  The Our Tern weighs a lot more, by several tons, and is made for ocean voyages,
The skies were filled with more stars than I had seen in years due to the fact we were away from the the city lights.  The last time I saw so many twinkling stars was years ago camping in the National Parks.  The next morning however, we were enveloped in heavy fog.  The water was calm though.  After we had entered the straits and I had proven I wouldn’t get seasick Vaughn had decided we should change course and head towards the San Juan Islands.  We might even get to see whales! The fog dissipated around noon and revealed the glorious Olympic Mountains.  

Fog on Saturday morning

Close to Friday Harbor

Charting our way through the San Juan Islands

It took us all day Saturday to travel through the San Juan Islands.  We arrived in the early morning hours and departed just after dusk.  We then sailed/motored down the western side of Whidbey Island all through the night.  We arrived back at Port Gardner about 10:00am Sunday morning where we anchored for a few hours.
After anchoring, breakfast, and discovering the windlass didn’t work (yikes!), we conducted man overboard drills and knot tying demos.  Vaughn then had me drive the sailboat into the Everett Marina where I did a 360 degree powerturn, I was scared witless but I did it!!!  After, I was so glad he made me do it!  At the time, not so much, lol!  I cannot wait to learn more and broaden my horizons.  I truly want to be a competent sailor.  I passed Vaughn’s initiation tests so now it’s North to Alaska aboard a 40 foot sailboat.  I couldn’t be happier.  🙂