Polar Concepts

The moon, The Sun, and Humming Birds

2024-11-19T08:09:00.001-08:00

Comet over Seattle

2024-10-26T12:59:00.001-07:00

I was able to capture the comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) on October 13, 2024 shortly after sunset before it fell below the cloud drifts.

Seattle George Town

2024-10-26T12:50:00.001-07:00

A short walk through the South Seattle neighborhood of George Town, under the noise of jumbo jets, is comforted by friendly games of billiards at the pub, emotional hugs on the street, and a train engineer on lunch break.

Peaceful Bay

2022-08-08T21:27:00.000-07:00

Empty Message

The Gateway

2022-07-18T08:49:00.001-07:00

Empty Message

Trip to Lexington

2013-12-02T16:00:00.001-08:00

Upon arriving at the farmhouse outside Lexington, KY Rachel's dad pulled out his huge jar of home made pickles and began making his famous bourbon balls.

Out the window above the kitchen sink, one looks out at the barn and the acres of rolling fields covered in white snow contrasting with the black fences that trace the contour of the land.

Out front, the bare trees cast long shadows over the frosted lawn and across the house.

Sunset at Shilshole

2013-10-11T07:43:00.001-07:00

Sunset after racing in the Puget Sound Sailing Championship (PSSC) outside of Shilshole.

Sketch of Bremerton's Harborside Fountain Park

2013-10-10T18:00:00.000-07:00

A crisp Autumn morning above the Harborside Fountain Park in Bremerton, WA. My fingers were frigid despite the glaring sun over head. The fountains take turns erupting violently with water, shooting fifteen feet into the air, and then collapsing over the top of the fountain. The ferry to Seattle pulls in every hour or so and the small foot ferries to Port Orchard depart more often, taking passengers on the short dash across the bay.

Sketch of Manette Bridge

2013-10-10T17:30:00.001-07:00

Twice a day the Manette bridge, east of downtown Bremerton, WA, has millions of gallons of sea water rush under its arches. Filling and draining Dyes Inlet with the rising and falling of the tides caused by the gravity of our orbiting moon. Don't get caught up in the current as you do not have a choice in where it will take you.

Morning fog in Bremerton

2013-10-09T11:28:00.001-07:00

Not only is the sky still, noise travels softly, and people walk more slowly. The fog brings a light that is not often seen.

Lunch on a boat

2013-10-09T11:22:00.001-07:00

Home made pizza sauce with cheddar and mozzarella on bread with sliced potatoes.

Stir fry dinner

2013-10-09T11:16:00.001-07:00

Onion, red cabbage, garlic, cashews, green beans, and carrots. Sizzle until it looks delicious.

Pre-toasted bread

2013-09-23T13:33:00.000-07:00

People can't even toast bread anymore.

Labor day leisure

2013-09-02T15:59:00.001-07:00

What a beautiful day this Labor day. I sat and enjoyed my monkey legs and the accomplishments of the labor movement for which this fine day we celebrate. Cheers to the struggle of the humanities.

2013-08-18T18:40:00.000-07:00

What once was is now remembered in paint on the backside of a building, in the alley. We've lost something.

Old growth trees to burn

2013-06-26T21:36:00.001-07:00

What better way to heat your home with than burning thousand year old trees.

Rain again

2012-12-22T20:35:00.001-08:00

It finally felt like we were making good progress on the boat. The bottom paint was completed, the fresh water tanks were cleaned, and the the floor was put back in. We had been hopping from port to starboard with a two foot gap in the floor. The bilge was filled decomposing shower muck. For thirty years, the shower had drained into the bilge – dead skin cells, hair, and all. Rachel was kind enough to stick her head down there and shovel it out. I did the hoses for the head after all.

Yes, we were finally making progress. Almost finished it seemed. Then came the rain. Not a little bit of rain - but two weeks of rain. It almost set a record. The four windows in the main cabin were each leaking. The hatch in the main cabin was leaking. The two windows in the head - leaking. The forward cabin window - leaking. The v-birth was leaking from a badly sealed chain locker. All the spirit I had built up from completed projects was now dripping in cold Seattle rain. Literally, dark clouds hung above my head - and we can't live on a leaky boat.

We pulled out some sheets of plastic and covered everything up. Pulled the windows off and sent them in to get replacements. The replacements came back an eighth of an inch too small. We had to send them back, get a refund, and find a new vendor. Weeks went by with huge holes in the cabin covered with only a thin sheets of plastic. That's the way things go on a boat rebuild.

My new saying is that "nothing is done a boat until you do it twice." It's been proven itself true, time and time again. With it, I've learned to stopped expecting that things will be completed on the first attempt. It just doesn't happen that way - whether you expect it to or not. Those expectations can lead to disappointment.

If there's one thing this boat has taught me, it is that the wind will not always blow where you wanted to go. You can fight it, resist it, or be upset by it - but the wind is going to keep doing what it does. Instead, of cursing the wind, trim your sails, take a few tacks, and soon you will arrive at your destination.

The swap meet

2012-05-15T14:30:00.002-07:00

The annual Fisheries Supply Swap meet is over. Sellers will setup the night before and camp out. Buyers will wake up before the sun rises, 4:00am or earlier, so they can grab the best deals. Rachel and I tried to get there around 7:00am - late enough to get some good sleep, but early enough to find some deals. It was a bright morning. One of those early Spring mornings where the sky is all blue, and the wind is still. The dew had yet to evaporate and the glare from the sun blinded us whichever way we looked. I love those mornings. I love the sun. I love the stillness.

We found some deals too. The first stand that we stopped at had some brand new marine speakers that I snagged for $15. Those will be great in the cockpit this summer. We found some recessed LED lights - regularly priced as "too expensive for me." For $40 I bought an old baby blue folding bicycle. The rubber tires were cracking a bit, it needed a new chain, and the gear shifting cable was stuck - but a new one can cost $1,000. A folding bike will allow me to through it below on the boat and easily bring it ashore to go exploring. Other things I bought: dehumidifier ($25), sewing palm for repairing sails ($5), a tether to keep me tied to the boat ($5), some tubes to re-plumb my manual bilge pump, and a half broken Autopilot for $20 (I have another half broken one that I'm hoping to Frankenstein into working).

Catch phrases like "the more I buy, the more I save" ran through my head. To balance that, the realization that the more I buy, the more boat projects that I acquire - meaning more work. If only you could buy more time at a swap meet. Fixing up the bike will take several hours.

Back a Rachel's Jeep, we stuffed everything in the back - and I mean stuffed. Mixed in with all the swap meet deals was the freshly cut foam that we had picked up a few days before. A whole Jeep full of projects for me. Even when I'm being careful the work piles up.

Take off

2012-03-10T13:02:00.000-08:00

Saturday morning, we wake up early to catch our sea plane flight to Victoria where we are picking up the boat. We took off from Lake Union right downtown Seattle. We flew over the Space Needle, we flew over Discover Park, and we flew over all my racing buddies down in Shilshole Bay. We flew over the Stait of Juan de Fuca - which we are planning to sail across after we land. The Strait is the source to the ocean which all the water in Puget Sound floods from.

As we step off the plane, the pilot says "I've never seen that kind of wind before." "Oh shit," crosses my mind. We have to sail in that. Still, we call a cab who drives us around for all the errands we have - like grocery shopping and getting lunch!

Jerry, the guy I had to paid to drive the boat down from Sidney, about 20 miles away, told me that's the worst weather he's ever seen as he steps off my new boat. The sail is torn apart, the flapping lines broke a vinyl window, and he said the bow rose up ten feet in the air and crashed down. "Um... Rachel?" crosses my mind. As Jerry sipped his tea from a thermos that he brought, he says, "my goal is to die computer illiterate." I laughed and told him that was one of my goals too.

There is some truth to that joke though. People seem think that we are more connected now than ever before - because of technology. I believe that we have actually become less connected to each other. What does it mean to be connected to a person than? I don't think an SMS message counts as a connection. If I open myself up the to everyone I pass on the street, I become the most truly connected person in the world.

It's decided. We are staying in Victoria for the night. I'm not going out in that wind! I haven't been to Victoria since the 5th grade so it will be nice to walk around. Our first dinner on the boat is lasagna that we picked up from the grocery store. As I wash up with Doctor Bronner's, a thick, slowly resonating, vapor came off my hands. Steam. It is either really cold, or I was really hot. I giggled - it was pretty amazing and even fun to play with.

The next morning we were up early listening to the weather on the radio. Light winds today so we slowly danced out of our first moorage and started our navigation East. As we pulled out of the harbor and I saw the huge vastness of the sea, I realized this is only the first step in a long voyage that has a known cause but an unknown destination.

Gearing up

2012-03-02T12:06:00.000-08:00

The sea plane only allows 24 pounds of luggage in a 10x16x24 inch bag. The size of a small duffel bag. Rachel and I laid out all of the stuff we need for a nearly 100 nautical mile trip on a boat that doesn't have much on it. Toilet paper, charts, GPS, cameras, foul weather gear, sleeping bags, and food - all in 24 pounds?

It happened. Amazingly, both our bags fit the size and weight limit. We will buy some food in Victoria once we get there. We're hoping that our friends will drive up and meet us in Port Angeles for the night and can bring some extra gear for us. It would be fun to have some extra celebrating crew aboard. I've been saving this gallon size champagne bottle - maybe they could bring that up too. It's not a party until the
cork pops.

The big plan

2012-03-01T21:05:00.000-08:00

We're picking up the boat this weekend. It's been so crazy trying to figure out all the tides, titles, currents, customs, marinas, and money. Yikes!

The plan... We're having the boat delivered to Victoria, then 10am sea plane flight, hop on the boat, sail 20 miles to Port Angeles, check into customs, and stay for the night. Then we'll scurry as far down into the Sound as we can. A strong ebb tide will be gently tugging us back the way we came, slowing us down. I'm doubtful we can make it to my new marina in Bremerton before dark. Plan B is to stop in Edmonds if it gets dark and hitch a ride home - some how.

I checked out the marina that I'll keep the boat at today. I took my bike onto the ferry and rode about a mile to the marina. The lady that works there is super nice. She told me where to get really cheap boat insurance! I'm getting a killer deal over there too.

Getting the boat

2012-02-29T12:07:00.000-08:00

Here is the boat out of the water. We pulled it out for the inspection survey. Everything looked good - she should keep me safe.

The interior needs a bit of updating. It still has the 1970s style fabric - and smell. All the work that needs to be done should be pretty easy.

I'm excited to get out on the water, feel the wind, and drift into a snug cove, drop a hook, and listen to the rain hit the deck before a restful slumber.