A Little About Cygnus

Greetings to the Blogosphere, During the spring of 2005 I read the book "Cruising in Seraffyn" by Lynn and Larry Pardey. That is really when the dream began. For the past 10 years I have been planning and preparing for a blue-water adventure. An adventure that Pete and I are now ready to begin. There is a constellation in the northern sky representing a swan flying south. As the idea of a graceful bird flying south fit my dream of sailing south so well, I decided to name my new sailboat after this constellation; Cygnus. She came into my life, and I into hers, in October, 2008. She is a Westsail 32 that was moored at Eagle Harbor (Bainbridge Island), WA. Her mainsail was shot; her galley a gaping, empty hole in the cabin; her auxiliary engine an ancient, smoking, wheezing, rusty mess; ... Her hull was sound though, and her interior woodwork quite beautiful. She was the perfect boat to rebuild and equip for my blue-water dream. The owner was eager to sell and soon I was motoring Cygnus to her new homeport of Olympia, WA. The past 7 years have been a blur of boat projects and adventures. I have replaced the engine, standing rigging, running rigging, bow sprit (old growth, straight grained stainless steel :)), sails, head, holding tank, water tanks, and probably other things I am not remembering right now. I have added a dodger, wind vane steering, tiller pilot, wind generator, radar, chart plotter, and more. Cygnus and I have been to Desolation Sound (twice); Barkley Sound; Glacier Bay, AK; and San Francisco (not to mention all the stops along the way). Yesterday I finished by academic career (for now anyway) by putting in final grades for spring quarter classes. My career at the Washington Geological Survey is winding down. My last day on the job will be June 30th. Pete and I are now putting the finishing touches on Cygnus preparing for departure the evening of June 30th. Our plan is to sail around Vancouver Island this summer, down the coast this fall, winter in Mexico, and then figure out where to go next. (Can you say French Polynesia? I like the way you say that.) Thanks for reading, Dave