Sailing Alaska to Washington Offshore 6 Days Non-Stop (Episode 58)

[@haydenrhoads6617]

The outside passage was the scariest thing to get mentally prepared for after cruising the inside passage and puget sound for many calm years. I’ve been in small craft advisory gales in the straight of Juan de Fuca but There’s nothing quite like being tens of miles off shore. Amazing trips you guys have done and I’m excited to see what’s in store for you next after you sell Maya!

[@dennis6325]

Having grown up in S.E. Alaska...I'm fairly confident the area west of Vancouver Island can be some of the nastiest weather in the entire Pacific Ocean! You two have truly accomplished an epic journey and you explored so much. I remember how far you went up into the Misty Fjords area. It blew me away, being new to the area, how adventurous you two have been. I grew up on those waters and have not seen as much as you have. Then to top it off with a return around the outside. Are you kidding me!!!? My, oh my, what an undertaking. You two have been on a crash course to become "salty dogs" at a record setting pace! Thank you for answering so many of my questions along the way and for sharing your journey with this dreamer. I am truly humbled and in awe of what you have accomplished in such a short time. My wife and I hope to be cruising around the San Juans this summer in our 1985 22 ft Starwind (Looks like a fancy Catalina 22). I'll keep an eye out for the good ship, Maya. Cheers! Any thoughts on your next big adventure? Mexico or Hawaii perhaps?

[@CruisingMaya]

Thank you so much for the wonderful comment! Alaska was an amazing experience- I wish we could have spent more time there. Our videos are very behind at the moment, but after Alaska we headed down the coast and have been in Mexico since November. Wonderful country and people! Plan is for us to leave the boat in Mexico for the summer while we go work, then return for another winter. After that, it's a big mystery! Thank you again for the great comment and for following along- we really appreciate it!

[@tomfraley1431]

Another adventure in the books.

[@CruisingMaya]

Yes indeed! On to warmer adventures!!! 🏝

[@SailingLilith]

Amazing! Some of those breaking waves and swell, like a Jack London novel! That lightning was awesome! Loved this episode!

[@CruisingMaya]

Thanks so much! We're excited to share the next episode- the Alaska series finale!

[@rahul271]

Wow, can't even begin to imagine how you guys felt taking on a superb adventure like this. Am living this vicariously through these amazing records 😊 keep 'em coming!

[@CruisingMaya]

Rahul!!! Dude, thank you for following along the adventure.... this offshore passage was probably the craziest thing we've ever done. Thankfully we haven't needed to do any longer passages than this one.... yet. Hope you're doing well- tell Moto peeps hello for me! Cheers buddy!

[@rimasmeleshyus9486]

Congratulations beautiful episode filming about Alaska . Greetings from the garden island 🏝of Kauai

[@CruisingMaya]

Appreciate you watching- cheers!

[@marksimons7199]

First offshore passage, super exciting and nerve racking I'm sure. Hope it finishes well. Great video guys!

[@CruisingMaya]

It was a big bite for our first one.... stay tuned! Thanks so much for watching! Cheers!

[@titusmoz]

Another great video. A pretty decent passage and one you should be proud of doing. Cheers T

[@CruisingMaya]

We learned a lot out there! Thanks for watching!

[@brookswatson5798]

Nice job!

[@CruisingMaya]

Thanks so much! 😀

[@sailingnomad4963]

I would reconsider your short watch rotation. I think this is a holdover from fully crewed race/delivery voyages. In fair Wx, I would go for longer stretches, letting the off watch get deep REM sleep. It’s a lot easier to be up for 6hrs when you’ve had 6 off! But you have to have the boat set up for single handing, which I would recommend anyway as you never know when someone could throw their back out and then you really need to be able to hand reef and steer the boat solo. As the Wx gets nastier and the watch needs to come in to warm up, shorten the watches. But this also depends a lot on how you heat the boat underway. Have fun and I’m looking forward to your next trip!

[@CruisingMaya]

Thanks for your comment! Unfortunately, our boat is not set up for singlehanding. We have to go forward to reef the main. The three hour schedule was rough! We got used to it, but it took like 2 days.... I think next time we do a big passage we will bring crew- 6 hours off between shifts would be AMAZING. Thanks again for your comment and for watching. 🍻

[@billhutton9185]

Even your Autohelm squeaks and clacks like ours (lol). Why not the windvane? Thanks for the honest video.

[@CruisingMaya]

We aren't that comfortable with the windvane so we just used our electrical autopilot. That trip was totally exhausting so we did anything and everything to make the passage less work. Thanks for watching!

[@norml.hugh-mann]

Cant wait to do that in my 24'

[@CruisingMaya]

It's a heck of a trip- that's for sure!

[@michaelvenenga4491]

Loving the videos! What an amazing adventure. It's really funny to watch these then see the nice sunny photos on your Facebook 😂 Looking forward to the Mexico edition merch!

[@CruisingMaya]

Thank you so much! Haha, yes alaska and mexico could not be more different! We are LOVING our time in Mexico and look forward to putting those videos together.... as well as some Mexico Merch! We are open to suggestions for the new merch so let us know if you've got an idea. Also, thank you much for the donation! The support means so much to us and really does helps the cause, so thank you again! Cheers from the crew!!

[@AfterDeath1986]

Loved it guys, watching those seas on the first day.. quite impressive. To be honest we are still planning on circumnavigating Vancouver Island in the near future and.. yeah.. those seas and the weather :S gotta make sure we know what we are doing first lol

[@CruisingMaya]

Thank you! Van isle is way more doable because you can pick your weather windows and scoot around peninsulas when the time is right- just make sure you dont have a time crunch and you'll be fine. Plus the Canadian Coast Guard is top notch so you're in good hands out there. Thanks again for watching- cheers!

[@AfterDeath1986]

@@CruisingMaya ♥️♥️♥️♥️

[@WaywardLifeSailing]

You guys are badass doing that passage as your first offshore! West of Haida Gwaii! That’s sketchy waters any time of year

[@CruisingMaya]

What. were. we. thinking.... right?! Haha- it was a doosey of a trip, but it all worked out. It's a big confidence booster, but damn we were so frickin scared before we launched. I didnt sleep for a few days leading up to the launch. Appreciate you guys watching the video and commenting! Cheers!

[@DreamerSailing]

Can’t wait for next episode, great job you two!

[@CruisingMaya]

Thanks so much! New episode will be out soon!

[@tednottodd]

What is your philosophy about motoring vs sailing / motor sailing?

[@CruisingMaya]

We are not diehard sailors. We typically use the motor if we aren't making more than 3.5 knots, or in situations where we want to get to where we are going- this passage is an example of that. We didn't want to spend more time than necessary out in this unpredictable area of the ocean. We also use the motor to help steady the boat if the sea state is bad. We've gotten a number of comments from people complaining how little we seem to sail. Don't know why people seem to care how much we use our sails vs motor- cruising can be whatever you want it to be. We happen to enjoy sitting in quiet anchorages more than we enjoy bobbing around in 3 knots of wind. Kind of a long winded answer- hopefully this answers your question. Thanks for watching!

[@dennis6325]

How are you getting your weather updates?

[@CruisingMaya]

We had a garmin inreach device that gave us the ability for text communication. We had a sailor friend who would relay wind forecasts to us via text message. We also listened to US and Canadian VHF weather broadcasts. Those broadcasts are super helpful. Thanks for another good question!

[@scottanderson3406]

When you guy's headed for shore did you enter Canada and have to clear customs ? I'm entertaining the idea of sailing the outside coast to Alaska from Washington and not entering Canada at all , but if I was forced to head for shore was trying to figure out how that would work. Thanks.

[@CruisingMaya]

We did not contact customs or coast guard or any authorities. If we were going to drop anchor we probably would have tried to contact someone. When we were headed into shore we were near Nootka Sound, which has a coast guard station at the lighthouse- we probably would have pleaded our case there if we needed to find shelter... thankfully we didn't need to.

[@scottanderson3406]

Hey thanks for the reply just saw it .😆 I work remote in Alaska and am planning my trip for next early summer. Best wishes.

[@svneverforever]

Sounds like the motor was always running?

[@CruisingMaya]

We ran it a lot on that passage- when the wind was under 10knots and over 20. When it was blowing over 20 the seastate was a mess- motoring helps combat the swell and motion.

[@WaterTrails]

Excellent episode! One thing I've always wondered... if you skip Canada, do you still have to check out of the US in AK and then check back-in in WA ? or is it treated just like any other state-to-state border crossing ?

[@williamturner1517]

Exactly. Don't touch Canada, don't anchor, don't dock. USA to USA.

[@CruisingMaya]

We treated Alaska to Washington just like a state to state jump- no customs, no checking in/out. Nice to not have to worry about all that cross border business! Thanks for watching!

[@WaterTrails]

@@CruisingMaya Thank You, for that info. I'm a bit blown away that you guys completed your AK trip and were already headed south by late June !!! I'm in the planning stages of a similar trip and this seems really ambitious.

[@CruisingMaya]

@@WaterTrails ambitious is a good word to describe our path 😀. Alaska really requires a whole cruising season for the amount of travel it takes to get up there from Washington. Plus Alaska is giant. In an ideal situation, leave Washington early April and then be south of Dixon Entrance returning south by September 1. The only reason we had such an abbreviated trip to AK was due to our planned voyage to mexico for the winter- otherwise we would have spent a lot more time up North.

[@WaterTrails]

@@CruisingMaya Well you pulled it off, hats off salute !!! a new "possible". 👍

[@dennis6325]

Why did you go around on the outside? Was Canadian customs being a PITA? or is this something you wanted to do anyway?

[@CruisingMaya]

We chose to take the outside route because it so much faster- like 10 days faster than the inside. We basically chose to spend the extra time enjoying Alaska instead of stuck on our boat in quarantine motoring through BC's Inside Passage. The outside was a serious undertaking- for the next trip I think we would take the inside both ways and bring crew to help with all travel. Thanks for your question!

[@dr.stevenherting6462]

Such a great adventure! We’re a couple of years behind you (although a few decades older than you🤪) and a total off the topic question - what cell carrier do you use that works for Washington, Canada and Alaska (and now Mexico!) - the exact plan for our next few years.😁

[@CruisingMaya]

Alaska is made for adventure! Great to hear you have a trip coming up. We each had different carries, ATT and Verizon, and ATT coverage was far better than Verizon.

[@tednottodd]

We are in the south sound of Washington. We have Verizon, which seems to work pretty well, but we also have T-mobile hotspot which seems to work in the places that Verizon doesn't . Most people in the San Juan's seem to use T-mobile. Can't say anything about Canada and Alaska

[@dennis6325]

My parents summer in Ketchikan. Verizon dropped far too many calls. ATT much better coverage.

[@lyncocklin2355]

Have enjoyed watching your adventures on your cruise to and from Alaska. Being a boat and dog owner, I have to ask how you handled Disco's potty chores while on your 6 day non stop cruise on the outside of Vancouver Island?

[@CruisingMaya]

Good question! We trained her to go potty on the boat during our cruise north through BC (as we were not allowed to go to shore). She normally likes to go potty up forward, but at times on this passage it was too rough, so we would have her go on the aft deck- we've pretty much have her trained to go on command which makes it easy. After she's done we wash the deck with salt water and give her lots of treats for being such a little rockstar. Thanks for watching and your question!

[@william6526]

You guys are either crazy or you have a lot more guts then I've got. I fished the water off Oregon and Washington for over 40 years and there's no way I'd try what you've done. I've seen that ocean go from flat to 20 foot seas in minutes . No way ,you got really lucky with the weather . I wouldn't reccomend doing this to offer. I couldn't believe it when I heard you were taking the outside passage this time of year. When you said you were going straight in to shore I cringed, it can get a lot worse the closer to shore you get.

[@CruisingMaya]

Taking the outside was not a decision we took lightly. We didn't touch on it in the video, but we hired a professional weather router to find the perfect window for the passage. We also spoke with several other cruisers who have made the same trip. And we won't be recommending this route to others- the inside route is far more comfortable. Lastly, we made this trip end of June- I'm not sure if you thought we made this trip during the winter.... we would never make that passage during winter.

[@william6526]

@@CruisingMaya knowing that ocean only someone with a death wish would try it after September.

[@jeffvw1994]

An under cockpit autopilot could be in your future, so much better.

[@CruisingMaya]

Omg you are so right. We went the cheap route with our autopilot and I wish we would have spent the extra money on an under cockpit hydraulic autopilot.... live and learn! Thanks for the comment and for watching- cheers!

[@jeffmariajenson9751]

I don't really understand all the motoring.

[@CruisingMaya]

Wanted to get from Point A to Point B as fast as we could.