Alaska Intro

So I kind of got ahead of myself on the last post, and failed to explain when I got to Alaska and where I'm going and all that.

I met the Barking Spider (the boat I was supposed to crew on in the Transpac race to Hawaii in July) in Juneau on Aug. 15. David, the skipper, and the 5 other crew (including myself) are taking the boat down to Vancouver, planning to arrive no later than Sept. 5.

A bit about everyone...

David Kory, our fearless leader. Although he has a tendency towards being a bit type-A about schedules and departure times, he's been more pleasant since he switched into "vacation mode" from "racing mode". There's less shouting in vacation mode.

Marianne, first mate, was on the race crew to Hawaii, has sailed around the world, and is the proud owner of a Cal 40. She is also a fabulous cook. And if you give her enough wine and encouragement, she'll yodel.

Steve was on the crew from Hawaii to Juneau. Whenever its REALLY flat out, he mentions how it looks just like it does in the middle of the Pacific. It was a very calm crossing. He's turning 61 tomorrow, but is in better shape than any of us, and wakes up mornings to run miles around town. He's a real character.

Mike is David's older brother. He's a stay-at-home father in IL, kite-man, and part-time programmer. His laid-back personality and sense of humor have been much appreciated, though he's the first to admit he doesn't know much about sailing. Here he is pretending to read the chart on the way out of Petersburg. Looks very convincing, eh?

Katie is David's youngest daugher, who turned 12 a couple of days ago. She's a fanatic for horses. Although we all thought we'd learn a bit more about sailing on this trip, we're also learning about horses. Whether we want to or not.

So that's the plan and the crew...