Since we first bought Seabiscuit in the summer of 2011, our good friends Patti and Al have been regular “guests” (not really -- we make them work). They have joined us annually since then (with two exceptions). With Patti’s joy for life and natural curiosity about other cultures and Al’s knowledge of fishing and all things boat related, we always look forward to their visits and have some great memories of the times they have spent aboard with us.
We bought Seabiscuit in July 2011 in Chesapeake Bay. In August, we picked Patti and Al up in Connecticut and visited Block Island, RI; Provincetown and Gloucester, MA and a few small anchorages along the way. Some of our best memories include: Patti and B tracing the electrical system breakers, with Patti turning switches off and on in the saloon, galley, state rooms and pilot house while B flipped breakers in the engine
room while yelling “Is that it? How about this one?”; Dave and Al carrying cases of beer through the streets of Provincetown while a local in a pink tutu followed asking where the party was; Patti and Heather, our daughter, swimming in the bracing water of Brace Cove, near Gloucester, where we anchored for a night.
The summer of 2012, Patti and Al met Dave in NH and cruised for two weeks in NH, MA and Maine. They stayed in some beautiful places including Sequin, Christmas Cove and Boothbay Harbor.
For their vacation in 2013, Patti and Al flew down to Panama and met us in Bocos Del Toro. We cruised from there to the San Blas Islands and had a great time exploring the islands, swimming, snorkeling and exploring the area. Some of the best memories are: the Sunday cookout at Rana Azul; swimming in Bluefields with local boys and girls who paddled up in their cayuca - Al taught them how to do cannonballs off the swim platform; and buying molas from the locals in the San Blas Islands. At the end of the trip, we watched Patti and Al pretzel themselves into a very small plane for the flight from Porvenir to Panama City.
2014 found us on the Pacific coast of Mexico. Patti and Al flew into Guadalajara and we started their vacation with a trip to the Tequila factories in the Mexican state of Jalisco. From there we went to Puerto Vallarta where Seabiscuit was docked. We have a fond memory of going to the Puerto Vallarta Costco, where we did some martini tasting, and getting so many supplies that Patti and B couldn’t fit into the car for the ride back to the marina; we went snorkeling, Al caught a huge marlin and to cool off some we spent a memorable weekend up in the mountains at a small town called San Sebastián.
In 2015, we spent most of the summer in San Diego doing boat maintenance. Patti and Al didn’t visit us that year.
For their 2016 vacation, Patti and Al joined us in Newport, Oregon for a trip up the Oregon coast and across the Columbia River bar. Prime memories include: the Rogue Ale brewery in Newport; a tour of the Tillamook Cheese Factory; the tuna fishing tournament in Garibaldi (we didn’t fish but watched the boats come in with their catch) and touring the Bonneville Dam. Patti’s first time in Washington State was in the small community of Cathlamet where we drank margaritas at the local Mexican restaurant.
In 2017, Patti and Al joined us in Haida Gwaii, British Columbia, Canada for the trip of a lifetime to Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and the Haida National Heritage Sites. The weather had been very rainy but was absolutely gorgeous while they were on board. We enjoyed the natural beauty of Haida Gwaii and did lots of hiking and fishing.
In 2018, Patti and Al met us in Southeast Alaska for their second trip of a lifetime. They flew into Ketchikan and we went on a flight seeing tour of Misty Fjords before setting off on our cruise north through the Inside Passage to Juneau. We did a lot of fishing, kayaking and exploring along the way.
2019 was another trip of a lifetime. Patti and Al met us in Prince William Sound, Alaska for two weeks of fun and adventure. We explored the towns of Cordova and Valdez; kayaked in sheltered bays; caught shrimp, rockfish, salmon and a 100-pound halibut; watched bears amble along the shoreline; and, after cruising past icebergs and watching glaciers calve, we collected glacier ice for our evening cocktails on monkey island.
As you can see in the photos, we have had some wonderful vacations with Patti and Al aboard Seabiscuit and look forward to seeing them again soon.
