Summer Close Out

–posted by Caitlin + Jason, with photos from the whole crew

Our little dog Moby is glad to have us home again, and we are adjusting well enough to life back ashore. But at first it has seemed odd to have so much space and strange to be around so many people.

Since we posted in Seward, a couple of months ago, we’ve only been to a few towns: first, there was Whittier (population 400, stay of 6 hours), then Yakutat (population 600, stay of 2 days), and Pelican (population 100, stay of 1 hour). Finally , we arrived in Sitka (population 8,000, stay a few days), where we’d planned to leave Debonair for the winter. On finding that the available slips wouldn’t work for Debonair, we pushed on to Petersburg (population 4,000, stay, for Debonair, all winter long). Here she is, covered in her slip in Petersburg, awaiting our return.

So if our last couple months were less town, they were certainly more ice, sky, and mountain, more sea, wood and rock. Back in smoky Alameda (population 80,000, stay for us is all winter), we are feeling thankful for the abundance of those elements in our lives this summer.

We leave you with a few more photos to close out the summer. Thank you for reading and connecting over the past few months of our voyage. We hope you are well wherever you are.

–with love, Caitlin, Jason, Arlo & Alma

In the South Pacific we learned to swim with sharks, and this summer we learned to hike with bears.

We loved hiking–and talking and fishing and eating and adventuring and so much more–with the crew of S/V Dogbark, whom we first met way back in Hawaii.

We swam only a couple of times, here in the coldest, most perfect swimming hole we found up an unnamed creek.

The bears were swimming too. We were surprised enough seeing a couple black bear cruising past Debonair where we lay at anchor in Prince William Sound.

But then we saw this grizzly bear. In this picture Griz pauses, a mile from shore, to check us out as we motor along down a fjord.

Here’s the requisite dead fish picture–a halibut Arlo caught right after we arrived in Southeast Alaska.

And then there’s this lake outside of Yakutat, where it was too foggy to even see the glacier that spills into it.

The glacial lake empties into a river that empties into the sea.

The coast of the Gulf of Alaska is all mountain and glacier. In fact the second and third highest mountains in North America (behind only Denali) rise here from the sea.

There’s not always a lot of wind in Southeast Alaska (although sometimes there’s too much). Here we are fueling up in Pelican.

We sail whenever there is wind.

And when we do sail, it is glorious.

But no matter how good the sailing, standing watch is always better with homemade pizza.

12 thoughts on “Summer Close Out”

  3. So glad you’re all home safe and sound. I’ve loved following your adventure, and picturing you there in Alaska in my mind. You bring it all alive with your updates. It has been a magical experience. Thanks for sharing it all with us.

    Keep me posted on what’s next and when you’re going back for your precious sailboat!

    With love from Kansas,
    Lou Anne

  4. good to know you are back. Believe it or not, your return to alameda was. topic of dinner discussion this week…It wasn’t a complex discussion, more just a “are they back yet?” from interested parties (Jamie and Bernadette). I will let them know you are and will keep watch for you in the neighborhood. We like traveling on your slow street.

  5. First of all I really enjoyed your stories, and the photos of your travels are amazing too. Welcome home and as you said your little dog is happy to see you again. This reminds me of when you, your sister and parents were sailing for a year also and we had your dog Muffin staying with us. The sailing must be genetic I think. Glad you all had such an amazing time. Now back to “normal” smoky life with lots of memories to cherish until the next trip. Thanks for sharing your adventures.

  6. I love reading these! Glad you all are back home safe and hopefully we’ll bump into each other at TJ’s!

  8. I can’t begin to express how much I have loved everything you have written. Not only because of the stories but also because of the way you all write. When I read your messages I can almost see what you are writing about. I don’t know how many people I have told about your adventures and of the time you had a problem with flying fish landing on your boat deck. I’ll miss your e-mails.
    Love from Harriet and your great and great-great uncle Bill

  9. While van (and ferry) camping down the coast, we stopped in Petersburg for a few days. Really liked it there- A commercial fisherman was proud that the town decided against cruse ships by not building the facilities for them (docks and dredging). He also told a funny story about a guy out on the docks cleaning fish. His buddy had his butt handing over the edge of a small boat and a sea lion took a bite of it..

  10. What an adventure Arlo and Alma you are so lucky to have these moments to look back on .

  12. We love reading along on your sailing adventures! Such gorgeous writing and photos! Especially as we begin a sailing chapter of our lives – small trips, close to home, but gearing up for something bigger in the future!

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