We’re officially off, having departed Port Townsend at 7 AM this morning. We expect the trip to San Francisco to take 7-10 days. Accompanying us for this leg are Mark Phillipps and Jefferson Green.

The fenders and dock lines are stowed because we won’t need them until we hit land! For us, this is a significant moment because we’ve only done it once before when we sailed from Hawaii to San Francisco.

Last night in Port Townsend, we had a chance encounter with John Bukowsky and Chase Morgan from the Poulsbo Yacht Club. They’ve been in Alaska since May and are reluctantly returning from what was a glorious trip.

Our stay in Poulsbo was delightful. I reflected regularly about the beautiful place we live in and the spectacular nature that surrounds us.

We will miss our friends dearly, which is one of the hardest parts of this journey. We look forward to having them visit and seeing them when we return.