North to Alaska! This rush in on...

Hello family and friends--

Two good days of sailing in a row with Rob aboard, out of Loreto.

It's that time again (although slightly early this year... in order to accommodate a certain exciting event happening April 9th): time to swap our Baja sailing shorts and flip-flops in for our Juneau fishing bibs. Clif and I are both officially hired on as crew members for the M/V Mist Cove this summer, season beginning April 18th, starting in Port Orchard, Washington. Clif will be returning again as Lead Deckhand (fishing guide/skiff driver) and I will be coming on as the new Guest Coordinator. Part of my position will be taking and compiling photos/videos of guests and crew each week, so I'm hoping to keep this blog up throughout the summer, recounting some fun Alaskan Cruising adventures and photos as well.

The countdown has begun! Wedding time is quickly approaching! We crossed the border and drove into Phoenix on Thursday afternoon, and have already had contact with several close friends telling us of their travel plans to Alaska for the wedding-- it's very exciting, and just plane fun to hear from friends coming from across the country to join us for the celebration! (Kim, Leah, Brady!!) Also great to check in with vendors and have everything lined up. My hard work in January seems to be paying off. We have a couple musical groups that have joined the line up of events, including an amazing local group that will be playing at Louie's on Thursday night (April 7th) for our Family/Friends meet-and-greet, and a very fortunate collaboration of musicians playing at the ceremony from Seattle, and Anchorage. It's going to be a week of music and good company!

Rob and Clif take a quick bath in San Juanico after working on the engine.

Our last week on the boat we had Clif's dad, Rob, join us in Loreto, and aid in our crossing back to Guaymas. I think all of us would say the highlight of our week together was whales, whales, whales! After our trip to Lopez Mateo to see the gray whales, we happened upon a full-grown blue whale hanging outside of San Juanico, just as we started out crossing. We stopped the boat completely just to watch the blue whale surface, it's enormous blueish-gray mass just rising out of the water barely to breathe. Once the boat was off, the whale surfaced several times incredibly close to the boat, once just meters off the bow! The thing was huge!! We only saw a small portion of it's back out of the water, but were so close that we could see the white shape of the rest of the whale, including the tail, underneath the surface. Slightly startled by it's close proximity, the whale did a deep dive right under the boat, showing it's fluke as it descended-- a rare treat!

Sound Discovery leaving the free docks for haul out.

With the help of Rob, we managed to get the boat put away in three days: one day at the "free docks" outside of Guaymas, and two on the hard, in Marina Seca Guaymas. We made a long to-do list and quickly crossed off everything, even having time to kill on the last afternoon. The drive up to Phoenix was long and hot, but supplemented by some last minute Mexican food before we crossed the border. Rob flew out of Phoenix yesterday morning, back for Reno, after a short visit with my grandparents living in Surprise.

North to Alaska!

Clif and I are planning camping our way up the coast again, through LA, Big Sur and into the Bay Area. We have to stop off in Occidental for what is becoming the semi-annual switching of gear. Rob has joked about putting our names on the backyard gear shed at their home in Occidental and having it become our first primary residence as a newly married couple. All tank tops and shorts are going to be switched out out for rubber boots as rain gear. Clif has gone so far as having a "Boat Company" tote, just full of all his Alaskan outdoor gear-- so he can just swap one box out for another.

I will be arriving back home, in Juneau, on the morning of March 22nd, and it the ground running with wedding prep-- mostly fun decoration chores. Clif will be taking a fire safety class in Seattle for work, and flying into Juneau on Easter, that following weekend.

Our little month of sailing was short but sweet. Extra wind this time, which kind of held us in place, but still got time on the boat.

Adios Sound Discovery-- Until next season, when we're ready for some sunshine!

Hello Mist Cove!

Watching the sunset the night of our crossing back to Guaymas.