The Crew

Crew: Heavy, stationary objects used on shipboard to hold down corners of charts, anchor cushions in place, and dampen sudden movements of the boom... (Sailing Pocket Dictionary by Henry Beard & Roy McKie)

Bill has been sailing since the 1970's and has amassed many blue-water miles in several different sailing vessels over the years. When landlocked, Bill played at mechanical engineering either designing machinery and processes, or dabbling as an information technology professional. In another life, he was a wildlife biologist.  He has since decided what he wants to do (not to be confused with having 'grown-up' or with what he wants to be...) and Denali Rose is integral to that.

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I'm Donna. I grew up in Alaska with an "air" family.  My father worked for the FAA, and we traveled outside, (Alaskans say this when they are traveling to the rest of the US.) every two years. I had been in about 40 states by the time I was 12. Then I went to work for Alaska Airlines, and traveled internationally as well.

My earliest memory is falling off the dock at Big Lake, Alaska, and seeing the weed covered dock pilings under water. My young brothers hauled me out of the water, and my avoidance of all things water had begun.  After I met Bill, I knew water was in my future, and he started me out easy with sea kayaking, which I grew to love.  As soon as I boarded Denali Rose, I knew she was "the one", and I haven't looked back... [This photo notwithstanding...]

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2001– 2020

I'm Elsie, the matriarch of the family, which I adopted in 2004 as part of a personal pilgrimage to mingle with my subjects and experience how the proletariates live… I'm pretty easy going as long as you extend me the courtesy of genuflecting in my presence. That is, unless you resemble a canid, in which case I will instantly swell to three times my normal size and morph into an angry black wolverine...

And yes, since you asked, if I grant you permission you may approach and kiss... my... ring...

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My name is Gus and I'm not much fuss- which, as you may already know, is quite unusual for an animal Super Hero... I've been watching over this family since 2012. My favorite pastime is reducing the rodent population and playing 'vole'[yball] on the beach- unless of course I'm on watch making sure the perimeter is secure, which is most of the time- as these photos affirm. 

The rest of my time is occupied with planning and leading a variety of covert very important top secret cat missions... That's all I can say about that...

When asked about my pedigree by those who haven't met me in person, I tell them my Dad says I'm a Blabby Tabby... [because I talk a lot... or so I'm told...]

But enough about me...