January 26, 2018

Friday Funny 01-26/18 (Earthquake and Tsunami)

Is it possible?
I'm sure you saw the news about the 7.9 earthquake that occurred Monday, Jan 23, just off the coast of Kodiak Alaska. Here in Anchorage, we felt the quake, and then cell phones started to buzz with a Tsunami warning. The first thing I did, was to text Bill, who is still on Denali Rose in Petersburg AK. I wanted to make sure he was awake, and could make reasonable decisions about what to do. He was awake.....

As strange as it may seem, I turned to Facebook for updates, the Police Dept of Kodiak, KTUU, and friends were posting information, and links to information that were very helpful. One gentleman in Kodiak used his phone on Facebook Live, and kept it running for hours. He had over 3000 viewers from all over the world.

A message I got from Facebook.

The authorities turned on the tsunami warning sirens in many coastal communities, like Sitka, Homer, and Seward. I had friends who live aboard their sailboats in Sitka, and Seward, and were posting that they had left their marinas, and had evacuated to higher ground. Bill said that Petersburg marina personnel came around knocking on boats to let everyone know about the situation.

As it turned out, we didn't have a tsunami, due to the type of earthquake. It was called a "strike-slip", versus a "subduction", and didn't create the vertical movement to the seabed that would cause a tsunami. Read more about it here: Powerful earthquake didn't cause a tsunami.

It didn't take long for us to get cheeky about the experience.



Lower 48 is what we call the contiguous US.

This guy actually posted this as a joke, but folks took him seriously.

and



We lived through another one. It's amazing, I haven't heard of any damage to any community. My sister-in-law has many beautiful glass items on display, and nothing fell off of it's shelf. 

We're cheeky, but also grateful that we can joke about it now.

A post from the Denali Rose Sailboat facebook page

Have you ever been in a earthquake, tornado, tsunami, hurricane? Were you able to joke about it later? Have you selected your location, keeping in mind what natural disasters occur in the area?  

As always, we enjoy hearing from you, either here in comments or on our Facebook Denali Rose Sailboat page.


January 19, 2018

Friday Funny 01-19/18 (Living Vicariously)


I'm rethinking my strategy.

This blog is supposed to be about our cruising life, and living on Denali Rose. Since my recent accident, I haven't been writing about anything else. I'm (at the moment), not living the cruising life, or living on the boat.

I'm missing Bill, the cats, my Southeast friends, Denali Rose, and living in a small space, while having big adventures. However, I love my family, and even with the current circumstances, I have enjoyed my extended stay with them. They have been so gracious, supportive, and encouraging in the process of my recovery.  To make up for the longings in my life, I have been voraciously, and vicariously following the Facebook posts, and favorite blogs of other cruisers online. I thought I would share a few of them with you. (In no particular order) I also didn't think ahead to get permission to download, and post photos of their boats, or adventures. If you want to see either, you'll have to open their blogs. So in order to break up the narrative, I have inserted random photos of our last year aboard Denali Rose instead. 

Melissa and Mike are out, and about on their 47ft Olympic Adventure ketch, named Galapagos. They both retired about a year ago, and have sailed their boat from Washington to Mexico. Melissa, a psychotherapist, writes  funny, but very honest posts about their life, and one of my favorites is the A to Z month challenge she took on a little over a year ago. It was about Anxiety. I benefited by reading it, and laughed out loud while I was learning. Totally worth the read, if you have anxiety, or know someone who does. Mike, who retired from Boeing, has all knowledge computer/mechanical, a great combination for keeping their boat in top shape. I love Melissa's wide-eyed wonder, (and photographs), of all things crawling, swimming, walking, and she goes to museums! How could I not like someone who goes to museums like I do?
Facebook: Little Cunning Plan


Zimovia Strait, west side of Wrangell Island

Ellen is a writer, a real one. You can tell, because she consistently puts out multiple posts a week, answers every comment, is a published author, and is in the process of writing a book. I'm envious of her grammatical correctness, which is something I struggle with. Ellen and her husband, Scott,  live on their 34.5ft Moody 346 named Tickety Boo, if you want to find out about the unusual name, click here. They have a slip in Florida, and transit the Gulf Stream to the Bahamas, and other Caribbean destinations. She publishes a monthly budget, which is awesome in it's detail, and has a quirky "Wordless Wednesday", with fun photos. There are a few words published, along with the photo, but Ellen freely admits to being a rule breaker. She also loves cookies, and baking. My mouth waters every time she bakes or cooks, I would love to visit whenever she does.
Facebook: Cynical Sailor & His Salty Sidekick


Sunset while anchored in St Johns Harbor, looking west towards Sumner Strait

Viki and Andrew live in New Zealand. That fact alone, is enough to pique my interest. They have a Young 88, named Wildwood, which is 8.94meters. Yes, I had to look that up, 29.3ft. It isn't their "forever" boat, but it suits their needs for now. Viki is one smart lady, she has been studying for her "Ocean Yachtmaster", which includes astronavigation, (with sextant), meteorology, and ocean passage-making with route planning, provisioning, and crew rotation. This is what wikipedia says; "Due to the level of competence required, the Yachtmaster Ocean exam is a particularly tough and demanding test of a skipper's ability."  Go Viki! I love how she allows us to follow along with her studies, and breaks down the explanations so that those of us with less experience can understand. They vacation in beautiful locations, and her photography is spectacular.
Facebook: Astrolabe Sailing


Bears in North Sandy Cove, Glacier Bay.

Totem is a Stephens 47, which was designed by the same team that designed our Denali Rose, Sparkman, and Stephens. Behan, and Jamie, with their 3 children, Niall, Mairen, and Siobhan, have almost circumnavigated the world, with plans to complete it sometime in 2018. When they departed Washington, August 2008, the children were 4,6, and 9, and now they are, 13, 15, and 18. Their website is a huge resource for wanna-be cruisers, cruisers, and especially those cruisers with families. Behan has even written a book,  "Voyaging with Kids". They both will consult with you about life aboard, and Jaime is a expert sailmaker, who will help you refit your boat with a new set. The Totem blog will open your eyes to everyday family life around the world, as experienced by a competent family aboard a cruising boat.  This is what Behan says in their values statement, "Because inspiring people to live more adventurously nourishes my spirit.
Facebook: Sailing Totem

Tenekee Springs

Rollin' With Yahtzee blog
Andy, and Jill, with their two young sons, Magnus, and Porter, live aboard their Grand Soleil 39. On their blog, under the description of the boat, "Stuff that Matters", as they list the features of the boat, the last entry is: Lots of Love. Doesn't that melt your heart? This family has mainly sailed in the Pacific Northwest, and in March of last year, they took the plunge, and headed north to Alaska. Their photos, and descriptions of their voyage north are inspiring. You just have to smile at the antics of two little boys onboard, as well as in the kayak, and on the paddle board. They came up the Inside Passage, and across the Gulf of Alaska to Kodiak, and then Prince William Sound. The stopover in Seward pulled at them enough, to purchase a slip for Yahtzee, and they are living in a cabin for the winter while they work on upgrades, and maintenance for the boat. It's fun to look at the adventure of Alaska through fresh eyes.
Facebook: SY Yahtzee

Glacier Bay


Sailing Yacht Sauvage Expedition website
Sophie, and Didier are  friends of Bill from his Valdez days. Sauvage is a 60ft steel yacht that was built in Brazil by Didier and his crew. The boat has three guest cabins, each with it's own head, (bathroom), and can accommodate up to nine passengers onboard. They charter all over the world, truly! Antarctica, Greenland, Panama Canal, Japan, Northwest Passage, Alaska, anyone? If you want to travel the world with an excellent, well qualified captain, (and crew), a gourmet cook, and a comfortable vessel, this is the adventure for you. The descriptions of the coming year's itinerary are on the website, and you sign up for available slots that occur at the places you want to visit, or you can charter them for exclusive destinations or activities. Sophie, and Didier are fun people, with great stories, excellent food, and a sense of adventure.
Facebook: Sailing Yacht Sauvage Expedition


Look! I CAN actually walk down stairs, and not end up in a heap at the bottom. (Warm Springs)

There are many more that I like to read, and we list some of them on the right sidebar under "Boating blogs/sites we enjoy".  The friends we have made in Petersburg also have fun blogs, but I'm saving them for another blog post. I gotta save some things to write about later...

Next post in the saga.

What about you, what are your favorite blogs, sailing or otherwise? Do you live vicariously through someone else's exploits? What is your favorite destination?

As always, we enjoy hearing from you, either here in comments or on our Facebook Denali Rose Sailboat page.

January 12, 2018

Friday Funny 01-12/18 (Convalescing In Comfort)


Huh?

Yum or Yuck?

Noooooo

Due to my accident, I've been housebound for a very long time, (or so it seems), and I've determined Cable TV has 1000's of channels of nothing. Seriously, how many episodes of House Hunters, Love It or List It,  Say Yes to the Dress, Hoarders, Antique Pickers, Let's Make a Deal, Judge Judy, or old series reruns can I watch? How about the Home Shopping Network, surely there's something I should buy?

A Roomba for Denali Rose?

I have my Kindle with hundreds of books, so I read some, I have my new Ipad, (Christmas present, thanks Bill), I'm getting it set up for boat use, and I'm waiting on Amazon to get cracking with mailing my new card supplies. I have quite a few thank you cards to write, and I wanted to make them, versus using a standard store-bought card. 

Note to all out there who have graciously helped me, I appreciate you, and I will get that card in the mail, as soon as Amazon delivers the supplies to me. I want it to be special!

To you. (I love Minions)
A big plus for spending so much time in Anchorage, (I grew up here), is that I get to visit with all of my friends that I haven't seen in many years. They are coming over to catch up on the news, and laugh about "old times". I'm loving it, I guess this qualifies as a silver lining.

Trivia, (what else do I have to do), silver lining is a metaphor for optimism in the common English-language which means every negative occurrence has a positive aspect to it. Origin[edit]. The origin of the phrase is most likely traced to John Milton's "Comus" (1634) with the lines,. Was I deceiv'd, or did a sable cloud. Turn forth her silver liningon the nightWikipedia

I'm also having fun with the coloring books that were gifted to me.

What to color next?

I"m enjoying my extended visit with my family, and they have been so supportive, I highly recommend their B&B, but not everyone qualifies for guest privileges. 😀

The most comfortable spot for movie night, even the dog, and cat are nestled in there.

Denali Rose doesn't have a TV, or TV reception, and since we mostly live on cell data for our internet, we rarely watch netflix, or amazon streaming. I have learned that I am totally okay with that, no need to spend time or money on:
  • You're the father!
  • Buy this!
  • Do you love this dress?
  • This house is you!
  • You're guilty!
  • I'm innocent!
  • We're going to get you some help for ____ (-add neurosis here).
  • Any 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's, 2000's sitcom.
If you had unlimited TV, and time, what would you watch? Do you have hobbies that fill up your free time? Is your family as special as mine?

As always, we enjoy hearing from you, either here in comments or on our Facebook Denali Rose Sailboat page.


January 5, 2018

Friday Funny 01--5/18 (Moving Forward)

Yes, thank you very much.

Are you tired of the leg updates? I am, sort of, (livin' the life 😎).  Just for you, here's a link to a previous post, it's one of my favorites, and it consistently still gets readership. It's all about Gus, and as you may know, he's pretty cute.  Click here: A Day in the Life.  Don't read further.

The leg update: I had gracious boating friends take care of me for a couple of days at their "land" condo, and they made my New Years celebration, (such that I could), really fun. Here's what we did to my boot/brace.

Glitter tape
Tasteful Bling
They also loaned me a new walker, which gives me more mobility, and lets me carry things, as well as sit down when I get tired. And crutches, notice the custom color on both of them. Susie knows how to do things right! She's also a retired physical therapist, and helped me with circulation in my leg. Dan, her husband is an excellent chef, and we had many delicious meals. I can't thank them enough for their kindness, generosity, and hospitality.


Bronze, not plain silver

How about a mauve walker?

My niece doesn't have to be my chief fetch, and carry gal anymore.

Rachel

Bonus shot of Rachel's cute, but kind of clueless dog, Sparki.

I found this sweatshirt online, and of course I'm ordering it! I'll wear it to my next doctor appointment.

How appropriate is this? A sense of humor about the situation is important for good morale.
Next post in the story here.
What do you think, more bling? Have you ever had someone fetch, and carry for you? Did they like it?

As always, we enjoy hearing from you, either here in comments or on our Facebook Denali Rose Sailboat page.