Day 105, 3200 miles later, and end of the road

Wow, we did it!

In the last few months, we have been so priviledged to see many wonderful things and share them with friends and family. The beauty of Alaska that one sees from a boat is very, very special. The memories created are unforgetful and will fill a large chapter in our book "This is your life". The experience is much more than one could ever expect. You do come away from this experience a different person. You have a better sense of "self", your strengths and limitations (warts and all).

All this to say, we had an amazingly wonderful time and we thank all of you who followed our blog and participated with comments of your own along the way. We always looked forward to seeing comments from everyone.

We are currently at anchor almost in front of our new home, which is yet to be completed. Hopefully in a month or two, we will be in our new home.

Some of you have asked to see some more of our pictures and we will try to put together a short presentation and have it available online in the near future. Unfornuately, not having a fast internet access and being in our home will preclude for a while. Check back on this blog and we will post the web addresses to see them.

Again, thanks for sharing this experience with us. It has been grand!!

Day 102, Some 3,000 miles later and time to ponder

It has been 102 days since we left Port Ludlow and we have now traveled over 3,000 miles this trip.

Here we sit at beautiful Gangees, on Saltspring Island, BC. We spent last night in Nanaimo anchored in the harbor with at least 150 other boats. Then, in Gangees, boats all over the place. We are finding ourselves in some kind of culture shock as we get closer to home.

Now might also be a good time to formally let everyone know that we have decided to put SpiritQuest on the market and give someone else the opportunity to experience a truly remarkable boat.

Time aboard the boat this summer has allowed both of us to consider where we have been, and more importantly, where we are going.

While SpiritQuest has provided us countless new experiences that we will never forget, we have fulfilled our dream to cruise Alaska on our own bottom. There is also a growing list of other things that we want to do that owning SpiritQuest precludes.

So, if you have heard the rumor, it is officially true.

We plan on staying here another day and then spend a couple of days at Sidney celebrating our 17th anniversay and then head over to Victoria to celebrate Anns BD. After that, we head for home.

Port Ludlow Connection

First thing this morning, we got a call from Don and Pat Edwards who just happened to be very close to Port McNeil. We had called them yesterday and left a message not knowing that they were just a few miles away. Well, they came over and anchored just outside the marina and spent part of the day with us catching up on stuff. We went to dinner with them just a little while ago and had a great time with some good friends. Tommorow, they head for Blind Channel and we have decided to head to Kwatsi Bay and check it out. After that, we will probably head to Port Neville and then to Campbell River and Naniamo. Thats about all the news from Port McNeil.

Port McNeil Again

Well, here we sit in Port McNeil again after a smooth uneventul crossing of the Queen Charlotte Straits. We ran about 65 miles today over a 10 hour period, but it was sunny and almost FAC (Flat Ass Calm).

Yesterday, we had an escort of 10 Pacific White Sided Dolpins ride in the wake of our boat. They went over 30 miles with us for at least a 4 hour period of time. We had no idea that they had that kind of ability. They only left us when we had to turn to go into our anchorage.

We have also been seing whales on a regular basis and we just never get tired of seeing them.

Tommorow is a layover day when we will reprovision, do laundry, fill water tanks, etc.

This is day 95 and we have a pretty good routine going. It will be interesting to see how we adapt to living on land once we return to Port Ludlow.

Well, I had better get back to the boat before Ann comes looking for me.

See ya later.

Ketchikan again!

Well, here we are in Ketchikan again on our way home. Got here this afternoon and took on 600 gallons of diesel and left our wallets a lot lighter. Didn't realize how much fuel we would go through as we waundered around. So far, some 2,200 miles and around 800 to go. Caught up with some old friends on Kingfisher, a Krogen 48, who are here as well with somne other folks. Rather windy here today and leaving could be interesting tommorow as we are tucked into a small slip in a fairly small fairway. Didn't see any whales today which is a sign that we are getting farther and farther away from their feeding grounds. Well, thats about all to report this evening. On the move again; Dave and Ann

Petersburg, AK

Well, here we are in Petersburg, Alaska and it has quickly become our favorite town. No big cruise ships with thousands of people. Just an ordinary town with lots of character. Petersburg is about 128 miles south of Juneau and we are on our way home! Tomorrow, we go through a 20 mile channel called the Wrangell narrows and we have to wait until slack tide as the currents here are faster than the hull speed of the boat, which translates into steering problems if you go at the wrong time. Yesterday and today have been beautiful sunny days and the trip here yesterday was great. Ann is at the local bookstore as I type this at the local library. While on the back deck of our boat this morning, three deer decided to cross the channel which must be 1/2 mile wide with strong currents. They made it fine and were later seen and the local park. Well, thats about all the news from here, so will say goodbye. Will keep changing pictures as we get the chance. We have many, many to choose from. See Ya