Poulsbo Viking Fest

Tracked route from Shilsole to Poulsbo and back.

After some back and forth about the weather we decided to shove off and sail to Poulsbo for the Viking Fest.

Ballard does its own festival but we thought we’d up the ante by sailing from one Norwegian festival to another.

We left the dock just before noon and arrived in Poulsbo at 14:05.

To guarantee we’d arrive for the festivities we motored the whole way there. In the channels Nirvana goes just over 6 knots with the 9.9hp motor opened up. We had the current at our stern as we entered Agate Pass and reached 10.2 knots over ground.

We all watched the parade as it marched through the main street of Poulsbo. From what I can tell it’s a town proud if its Viking heritage, outdoors kids clubs, high school marching bands, and beauty pageant winners.

On the return trip I hoisted the sails at Point Bolin and got a couple tacks in before motoring back through Agate pass. We were leaving Madison Bay as the sun was setting so we dropped the sails and motored back to help keep the passengers from being out in too cold of an evening.

The winds really picked up as we crossed the Puget Sound and would have made for a fun crossing under sail.

Well over 4 hours on the water to log towards the captain’s license!

Screen Time

I am living proof that a childhood filled with hours in front of a screen can still lead to being a successful adult.

The last doctor visit I went to with my then 4 year-old child one of the important medical advices she bestowed to me was to limit screen time. Ideally to zero.

I bet she could feel the shockwaves of my imaginary eye-roll.

I think my only concern is that if my kid is in front of a screen I’d rather they were playing a video game and not watching a TV show.

The only thing better than letting your kid play video games is to play video games with them.

Date2018-12-27
Departure Time12:15
LocationShilshole Bay
CrewDavid, Markus, Oliver and Beau
A sailboat with sails up with a faint rainbow behind it.

Oliver and I arrived early to prep the boat. The deck and hardware had gotten a bit green so we did a bit of scrubbing.

When David and Mark arrived we dropped the outboard in and warmed it up. Took two starts to idle from cold.

Once out in Shilshole Bay we started hunting for some wind but there wasn’t much to be found at first. A boat off West Point had full sail up as well as another off of Bainbridge directly across so we motored west to get out of Magnolia’s wind shadow.

There was some weather coming in from the north around the convergent zone and once it arrived we were off.

Mark was on the tiller and I was trimming the sails. We made a few tacks and made our way windward until the winds finally passed. The knot meters were still not functioning so no info on speed in the water. My guess is close to four knots.

We ended up on a beam reach heading south with a gentle wind coming from the east. David set up the stove and boiled some water while I cut up some bread and cheese and we all enjoyed a warm lunch in the middle of the bay.

After bobbing around a bit more we motored back in just before 15:00.

David and Mark left, Oliver and I spent some more time scrubbing. Then we buttoned Nirvana up and headed home.

59º North Sailing // One Humongous Iceberg // Svalbard-Iceland Part 3

I think I have just one thing on my bucket list and it’s going on a high latitude sailing expedition. 59º North and the operation behind it is the reason the internet exists.

We’ve sailed almost 1,000 miles south from Svalbard and yet the temperature and the weather remains much the same. Grey, overcast skies, light drizzle, patchy fog and cold. Feels like we’ve gone sideways. I said to Mia earlier that when you leave the Chesapeake in November to sail south, you get a d

Source: 59º North Sailing // One Humongous Iceberg // Svalbard-Iceland Part 3

PS: Enable your RSS feeds Andy!

Sunrise at the Cathedral

When I got engaged my father-in-law to be took it upon himself to introduce me his favorite pastime.

He bought me a pair of boots, threw a pack on my back, then drove a group of us into the Olympics for a multi-night adventure over mountain passes and into valleys where the black bears and mountain goats outnumbered the humans.

After a decade and a half of multi-day trips with the guys we decided it was time to get the next generation up the mountain.

We took the boy to the favorite spot. Some snow field crossings with ice axes, fly fishing, alpine lake swimming, and bouldering would be the perfect introduction.

Other than the “oops I left the stove at the house I’ll hike back and drive all the way back home and get it” faux pas the expedition went off without a hitch.

The boy is addicted. Next year maybe we’ll get his brother up too.