Sometime years ago, I became interested in exploring the wild coats left to us. I'd spent time in the mountains, but imperceptibly at first, my life began turning towards the sea. I experimented with sailing and kayaking, but neither of those became a passion for me. Artwork in my home tended to the sea, and I became more interested in the creatures in tide pools, and the larger ones that are at home in the water. Finally, professionally I began to work in shoreline restoration, and to understand some of the dynamics between the land and the water.
In looking back, I realize that this fascination had always been there. I've lived within twenty miles of a coast my whole life. The defining experience of my growth has been on a student conservation association (SCA) high school work crew in Arcadia National Park. We repaired an island forest and wandered on the Beach for a month. For recreation I'd swim in every cove on the island. I also worked for the Youth Conservation Corps on the Hudson River, (no swimming that summer), and grew up on my dad's stories about being in the Coast Guard.
As often is the case, it was a book that first inspired me to row. Sue and I had both had read Rowing to Latitude by Jill Fredston, and it resounded with her love of the water. I loved the way her life wrapped
around the seasons, and how she had a center to her life that included adventure. You just don't know what event might change the course of your life.
After reading Jill's book, I began to learn to row at Green Lake in Seattle. Sue also began to row, and became a serious competitor in the sculling world. We first met after we discovered the Sound Rowers group, and began doing races on the waters of of Puget Sound. Eventually we brought our own racing shells, and our flat water days gave way to riding in the chop and swell. Sue and I began to get to know each other when she began to train at Green Lake in the Spring of 2006. We started having
coffee together, and then traveling to Sound Rower races. One morning she said that we ought to row the Inside Passage, and I asked when, and the
decision was made.
After researching the different boats available, we decided on Ron Mueller's Merry Sea. It is a stitch and glue kit and I set up a vinyl shed next to my house wrapped in plastic sheeting and in January, we started building. Every spare minute we spent working on the boat, Friends came and helped and after 200 hours of work, we christened her in May. We put together everything we needed for the trip and did some test runs with her and now were off.
