Archives for category: — Washington

Spotted: Cruising Boat, Aloha 32

May 20, 2013 //

We’ve been looking for a boat for our Pacific Northwest trip and spotted this one for ourselves. We put in an offer on it last week. Traveling up to the Pacific NW four times since last fall, looking for a boat to call our own was getting expensive. We saw this boat online and made an offer. We haven’t even seen it in person.

It’s an Aloha 32, a Mark Ellis design that’s similar to the Niagara 35, a capable boat that was, alas, out of our budget. Both are well-built, spacious, and do away with the ubiquitous v-berth to make room for more galley and salon space. (The berths in these boats are aft.) From what we hear, the boat does have some delamination issues in the deck. Whether they are major or minor issues, the survey will reveal.

We’re leaving to head up north in about a week, boat or no boat. I hope this one passes it’s survey. If not, at least we’ll be up there to continue our search. Good luck, Carmana!

Tags adventure, Aloha 32, Pacific NW, sailboat, WCXC

Categories - Canada, - Pictures, - Ships / Boats, - Spotted:, - Trip: Sailing the Pacific Northwest, - United States, — British Columbia, — Washington, FEATURES, MEDIA, North America, PLACES, VEHICLES

Port Townsend, Washington

May 6, 2013 //


We park next to a huge, mobile sling used for hauling boats out of the water.

If you’re into into historic towns and boats, and you find yourself in the Pacific Northwest, do yourself a favor and check out Port Townsend, Washington. It sits on peninsula that forms the entrance to Puget Sound and is one of those rare, old towns which is situated to engage the sea. A drive to the local boat yard confirms this. Everywhere vessels from from small sailboats to huge trawlers are on the hard, awaiting refits and repairs. Cape George boats are built there. It’s a nice place.

The area along the waterfront, is known as “downtown.” When we asked about a good local pub, the folks at the natural food store pointed us up the hill (toward “uptown”) to the Uptown Pub. This is a classic bar with good vibes, good food, and local beers. We happened to be there for open mic night and also saw some talented musicians. One guy even came up with his cello… and rocked, playing it traditionally and like a guitar. It was pretty amazing. We’re considering it as a home base for our upcoming Pacific Northwest Trip.

To get there, take Highway 20 north from 101as it runs along the Olympic National Forest. More photos below. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags boats, boatyard, on the hard, Port Townsend, port townsend washington, travel, trip report, WA, WCXC

Categories - Armchair Travel, - Historic Town, - Pictures, - United States, — Washington, FEATURES, FOOD & DRINK, MEDIA, North America, PLACES, PLACES TO SEE

Boat Shopping

April 23, 2013 //

We were up in Seattle searching for a boat a couple of weeks ago. We’ve been seriously looking since fall of last year for our upcoming Pacific Northwest trip this summer and fall. We saw several from Tacoma, Washington all the way up to Campbell River, BC. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags adventure, boats, WCXC

Categories - Canada, - Pictures, - Ships / Boats, - Trip: Sailing the Pacific Northwest, - United States, — British Columbia, — Washington, —- Seattle, FEATURES, MEDIA, North America, PLACES, VEHICLES

Spotted: Clean Toyota 4×4 Pickup

April 14, 2013 //

While driving around the Pacific Northwest last week, looking at boats, we spotted this nice, mid-1990s Toyota 4×4 Pickup. I don’t know anything about it except that it looks clean and stock. For a nearly 20-year-old Toyota 4×4, that’s saying something.

The other interesting thing is that it’s located in Point Roberts, an odd little little piece of Washington state that’s connected to Canada, instead of the rest of the United States. The only way to get to this 4-square-mile hamlet, with its own border crossing, is to drive through our neighbor to the north or take a boat.

If you’re interested in the truck, the number’s on the windshield. I posted another picture and a map after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags 4-wheel-drive, 4x4, 90s, for sale, mid-90s, SR5, stock, Toyota, WCXC

Categories - 4x4 / SUV, - Canada, - Pictures, - Spotted:, - United States, — Washington, FEATURES, MEDIA, North America, PLACES, VEHICLES

Trying Our Hands at a Life at Sea

April 7, 2013 //


A Pearson 32 for sale in Port Townsend, WA

First off, if you’re a regular reader of this blog, my apologies for the lack of posts in the past month. We’ve been making some life-changing plans here at WCXC and they’ve been taking some time. What sorts of plans, you ask? Well, my girlfriend and I moved in together, and we’re heading up to the Pacific Northwest for a few months and buying a sailboat.

The first seeds of this plan were sown a few years ago while some friends of mine and I were in northwestern Washington, chartering a boat in the San Juan Islands. Our first night out of Friday Harbor we anchored a few miles north in a cove at Jones Island. Early the next morning, as a thin mist hung over the cove under an orange and purple sky, I saw that we had a new neighbor. A beautiful, old, wooden sloop, lying still at anchor with smoke drifting out horizontally from its chimney lay off our beam. The owner and his black lab, appeared in the cockpit, got into their dinghy and headed for the shore. Wow, what a life, I thought.

That’s the life we’re aiming for, at least on an experimental basis. We’re going find out if it’s possible to cruise the amazingly beautiful waters of the Salish Sea, east of Vancouver Island, while working remotely from the boat and earning a living. In my day job, I’m an illustrator. With a laptop and a cell antenna on the mast, it seems feasible.

Of course, I’ll still post about off-road and overland topics, and we’ll still take trips with the truck. We’ll just be adding a seafaring component to the blog.

I’ll keep you posted on how it goes. Read the rest of this entry »