Cruise of the Ketch Julia

[J.Madison]

I am happy to see the James Craig looking so good. I bummed a day sail on her back in 2003. That adventure taught me a lot about the wonderful generosity of Australians. I was in Sidney for the first day of a business trip and wandered down to the waterfront to see what was under the stately masts I could see from my hotel room. When I arrived at the gangplank I saw that this beautifully restored vessel was swarming with folks, looking like they were preparing to cast off. I asked if I could come along and their response was, "I don't know why not?" It was an unforgettable day. By the way, the beautiful woodwork on that iron vessel probably outweighs most wooden boats.

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Australians are certainly some of the nicest, most easy going people we have met. We've noticed that while they have gotten around to making rules about things, they are very nonchelant about actually following any of them. Everywhere we go people go out of their way to say hi and offer us help or advice. Compared to the US or UK, it seems their 150 years in the sun have collectively relaxed everbody. As they say "she'll be right."

Also, a boat that needs a pallet for it's dock line is a big boat!

[Mike.Higgins.94301]

By the way, like all of your other readers I have greatly enjoyed the wonderful story you two have told about doing something the rest of us only dream about. Thanks.

[J.Madison]

Whit's sister returned home, and it was time to buckle down and face the music.

When we set sail our goal was to reach Mexico, and spend the winter in the Sea of Cortez. There was really no plan after that, except the vague idea of then returning the boat back home or at least getting it as far north as San Francisco before selling it, if bashing north was too difficult. Whit told her job that she would be gone "six months to a year." That was 21 months ago. The fact that we have crossed the entire Pacific and ended up in Australia still boggles our minds, we never thought we could make it this far.

Unfortunately the cruising fund is running low, and it isn't realistic for us to push on for another year into the Indian Ocean.

An experienced old sailor once told us a story of being alone somewhere in the vast south pacific, sitting at the top of his mast as the boat sailed on, and all he could think about was apple trees. The truth is, we've started to think of apple trees. He told us, that whenever a sailor is on land, all he thinks of is going to sea. But, when he is at sea, he constantly thinks of the farm at home. This is especially apt for us, as we have our forty acres on an island in the San Juans, just sitting there waiting for us. It's empty land, but it has a few apple trees, and we plan to build a small farm.

We had a serious talk, laid out the possibilities, and seriously considered sailing on for one more year. We could see Vanuatu and Indonesia, up through Malaysia and to SE Asia eventually reaching Thailand. That would be amazing, for sure. But there isn't really money for that right now.



There is also the consideration of the boat's future. Softwood boats do not survive long in the tropics. We could not hope to reasonably sell the boat in Thailand, or really anywhere else between Brisbane and Suez, and expect it to have a reasonable life. The wooden boat festival in Hobart really made us feel better about Tasmania as the right place to find the boat a new home. The waters are cool, rainfall is not excessive, there is still a strong culture of wooden boats, and the necessary timber still exists when needed. We've decided it is the right place for Julia. It has been heart wrenching getting to this point, and it has involved months of second guesses and wistful conversations. Whitney in particular is very sad about it, Julia has been such an integral part of the biggest adventure of our lives. We are not the same people we were when we left the dock in Seattle, we've been forever changed by this experience, and the boat was right there for all of it.

So we sadly set about getting the boat fully imported and sprucing things up to hopefully sell before winter sets in here in the southern hemisphere. After extensive cleaning, painting, and decluttering, the boat was looking much better.

[J.Madison]

We also celebrated our anniversary. Nine years have managed to pass since we got married. It somehow seems both so recent, and another lifetime ago.





We sailed down to Kettering, which is a great little place to settle in for a while as a home base. It is a small bay on the mainland Tasmania side of the channel, protected from ocean swell by Bruny Island. The marina is very relaxed, with a huge guest dock and reasonable rates. The hills surrounding the bay are populated by many long-time cruisers. Their ocean going boats swing on moorings where they can keep an eye on them, and they have been extremely friendly and helpful to us. We have been invited over for dinner twice, offered moorings, vehicles, showers, and more.



Furthermore, it seems that half the boats from the wooden boat festival are based here, in Kettering.

[J.Madison]

The marina let us use their awesome van. The showers cost $2, but the van is free to borrow.



We headed up over the hill to Cygnet for groceries. The countryside is rolling forested hills, punctuated by apple orchards and vinyards. It is very beautiful, with water all around.



In Cygnet, we stopped by the shop of a friend we had made, local boat builder Jeremy of Cygnet Wooden Boats. His place is the real deal, tucked into an old sawmill building at the edge of the bay.





A wooden Ingrid is in for a restoration.



This is the mast for the triple skin kauri racer from the late 1800's I posted a picture of a few posts back. It is going to be one heck of a big gaff rig.

[J.Madison]

The Ingrid was getting some deck framing while we were there.



I loved his setup. Everywhere you looked there were old molds hanging in the rafters, boats in various stages of rebuilding, massive tools and caches of fine timber. If you need a wooden boat in Tas, I would talk to Jeremy.

We tried to get a broker to list our boat for us, but he brushed me off one to many times so we decided to list Julia ourselves. It was a difficult thing, but once it went live the phone was ringing off the hook. People were trying to book plane tickets from all over Australia to come see it the next day, several people said they would buy it sight unseen, it was nuts. I don't know if I priced it too low, but I was looking at a bunch of boats at similar price that had been sitting for months.

Twenty-four hours after making the ad, a local buyer had already been through the boat once with his partner, and again with a surveyor. We agreed on a price and scheduled a haul out for an out of water survey.

We were a bit shocked, I had kind of assumed it would take weeks or months to get to this point. We were planning on sailing around the bottom of Tas to Port Davey and beyond. Maybe I shouldn't have been surprised, she is a damn photogenic boat.

We set sail on one last mini cruise, using up the time before the survey was scheduled.







We sailed down the D'Entrecasteaux channel on a close reach, heading for South Bruny.



The clouds racing in over the mountains give a very dramatic backdrop over the gusty waters.

[J.Madison]

We anchored at an old sandstone quarry as the evening breeze fell calm.



The next day poured rain and the breeze was strong, so we didn't make it to shore to explore the quarry pits. When the rain eased we pointed the bow toward the entrance to the Huon River.



The river entrance is wide and had several large bays off of it.







The water is dark with tannins from the forests upstream.

[J.Madison]

We worked up the side bay off the main river channel to see Cygnet again, this time from the water.



We spent a few days anchored in the well protected bay, enjoying the artsy little town and dealing with some last minute boat issues. When the time was out we pulled our chain out of the extremely muddy bottom. This is why we have a washdown pump installed!





We had a beautiful sail the 20 miles or so back to Kettering. Julia seemed happy enough in her new home waters. We tried to pick out exactly which bay has the swing mooring where she will ride within view of her new owners windows.





It's a good place, that's what we keep telling ourselves. It's the right place and she will be happy.

At kettering we backed into the travelift slings and they pulled her up for a short hang so her bottom could be inspected.



They say the two happiest days for a boat owner are the day you buy the boat, and the day you sell it. That is certainly not the case for us. There have been so many amazing days in between, and selling has been extremely hard and sad for us. In the end we are happy that she will now give a whole new set of adventures to another family, and frankly a new infusion of cash and energy would be great for her. The new owner plans to put a brand new engine in, which she desperately needs. The old Perkins runs like a champ, but has been getting progressively rustier and it hemmorrhages so much of its internal fluids that I can hardly keep enough stocked to top it off. The last straw was a week ago when the transmission decided to join the fun and add a significant red tint (ATF) to the ever cycling progression of bilge daipers.

Anyway if it sounds like I'm still trying to process all of this, I am. This voyage has been the biggest thing we have ever done. We have been terrified and uncomfortable and in awe and exhilarated. The feeling of accomplishment after each new longest passage has shaped the way we think. We now have a mental picture of exactly how big the world is, and have seen the beauty of the vast open ocean. It has been amazing to realize that we can live in less than 200 sqare feet, and that we can ride the wind all over this planet without burning fuel or having a mortgage or sitting in traffic. We have seen some of the most remote people on earth, and learned so much from them.

Perhaps the most significant impact for us is that we have learned what it feels like to take a big risk and actually succeed.

Who knows where that might lead....

[Thad]

You have don't very well by JULIA and she by you! Cheers! Thank you.

[Garret]

Wow. I knew it would eventually come to an end, but didn't know it'd be now. It sounds as though you've thought it through & are ready for the next adventure - which a farm on an island certainly will be!

I am most grateful for how you've shared your journey & you've done it beautifully. Best of luck in the future & drop in on occasion to let us know how it's going. Projects on the farm would hold interest to many here!

[johngsandusky]

You had the cruise that most can only dream about. There will be other boats. Thanks for sharing your adventure here.

[Bruce Brown]

So many bogs are self-aggrandizing. Your story was like Robert Frost's The Pasture- "You come too." Thanks.

[Mike.Higgins.94301]

Beautiful ending. Thanks again.

[Dryfeet]

Outstanding in every respect. Story, boat, pictures, videos, ending. The epitome of every man's dream, done in a classicly tasteful way. Thank you for bringing us along.

[WI-Tom]

Wow! A surprise ending for sure (maybe I wasn't paying attention and it wasn't a surprise), but sounds like a good one. Thanks for posting this thread. I still need to watch the YouTube videos--I've kind of been saving them. Well done. Very very cool. I can only imagine what you learn about yourself doing something like that. Good luck in whatever follows!

Tom

[AJZimm]

A surprise ending, to this part of the story, at least, but fitting, perhaps.

I am not a religious person at all, but what immediately came to mind was a couple of lines from the first part of chapter 3 of Ecclesiastes:
“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven”
and further on:
“A time to gain that which is to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away”

My generation will remember it as a song, either from when Pete Seeger first set it to music or later on when it was recorded by The Byrds.

Great last little cruise, by the way.

I look forward to running into you when you are back in this neck of the woods, buying you a beer and saying congratulations in person on a very successful enterprise well planned, well executed and generously shared!

[The Jeff]

I highly doubt I'll ever make the sacrifices required for a trip like this, but it's been so fun vicariously following along. Thanks for putting in the effort with all the pictures and commentary!

[rhagenstein]

Ummm....You guys

Did you ever stop to consider the implications for those of us who open the forum and click on "What's New" every morning hoping to find the next installment of the cruise of the ketch Julia??? Those of us who followed every wrap of your served dyneema rigging? Who breathlessly followed every bronze pour for your custom hardware. Who were eager to follow your journey through the Indian Ocean, the Med, the Atlantic, around the Cape, and back north?

What are we going to do now to live vicariously through the journeys of more adventurous souls?

Seriously, though, your restoration and preparation and grand voyage have been so so inspiring. Thank you for sharing it all so generously with all of us. Good luck with your transition back to land, to processing all of it, and to landing well on your farm.

We have very dear friends farming on SJI who are about the best people in the world and very knowledgeable about San Juan farming and food systems in general. We regularly visit from our home in Alaska to help with lambing, moving sheep, processing, fence building etc. they even let me store my Ostkust 24 there last winter before trailering it to Alaska. Feel free to message me if you want to make contact with them when you return and settle in. And perhaps someday we will get a chance to meet so I can thank you in person for sharing so much through the forum.

And again,
Thank you,

Rand

[Woxbox]

Best wishes to you on your future endeavors. I've really enjoyed virtually tagging along on your journey. Thanks again for sharing it with all of us.

[Rich Jones]

I was wondering how this voyage would end but never imagined you selling the boat.
I once spent four years (decades ago) building a 20' gaff rigged sloop and it was hard enough when it came time to sell it a few years later, but I didn't have the bonding experience of sailing it halfway around the world like you did.
But, times change and so do our priorities in life.
Hopefully you will keep us informed on the next adventure as you tame that piece of land and start a new dream.
Congratulations on completing a voyage that most of us can't even dream of.

[WX]

Well, that caught me by surprise. Thank you for a wonderful story, and best wishes for whatever comes next.

[Mark0]

Hi,

Congratulations on all your amazing achievements and sailing adventures. The things you do with the most impact will always involve excitement and fear, they go hand in hand naturally. The best part about apple trees is making apple cider, fermenting it for a bit allows for longer storage and you can have an apple a day all year long Your property sounds wonderful, and will lead to many more different adventures. Once the homestead is complete, you'll need that sweet little lugger built to go out fishing !

We are on the other side, dreaming about the oceans. We are busy preparing our old farmhouse for sale (which has many apple trees) this spring and heading downstream to the ocean.

Thanks for the great write up, photos and videos.

Cheers,
Mark

[Hwyl]

I'm literally in tears here. As I mull over the decisions you've made, I reluctantly agree they are the best ones. Good luck with your farm. Please extend my best wishes to Whitney too, just for allowing this glimpse into your lives.

[Wine47]

Jonathon and Whitney thank you for taking all off us who have followed you on this incredible journey. You two are sincerely unique, passionate, driven with a heart of Gold. Jonathon, love that you were able to share it with your Mom and Dad. I am familiar with the San Juan Islands - was married in Friday Harbor. Looking forward to the next adventure. Julia I am sure will be well cared for in a sailing and wooden boat community. Carry on Good Souls!

[Hugh MacD]

Thank you both for taking us along on the ride. From making the rigging through the cruising adventure this has been an unfulfilled dream of mine since I was 8. I'm 75 now and not likely to be able to live that life, so THANK YOU! From what I've seen of the Tassie wooden boat establishment, Julia will be well cared for and loved for several more generations and, while I know it's painful now, I'll be looking forward to "Julia II...the next adventure"!

[Rich Jones]

After so many months at sea, it's going to be a surreal experience to fly home and cover that same distance in a matter of hours.

[auscruisertom]

Amazing to think a vessel I was very familiar with when she was being used as a livaboard at Newcastle Marina in Nanaimo ended up in Australia.
Thanks for sharing your journey and enjoy your flight.

[Marty J]

My employer might start expecting more work out of me now that I won't have your updates to read through. Would it be too much to hope for that we might start seeing Maid of Endor posts again?

[webishop14]

Thank you.

[Paul Pless]

wow

[John B]

I was wondering what would be next , but didn't expect this.

[Yeadon]

I really thought this thread was headed to New Zealand, and then across the Indian Ocean. Nice job all around. Good show.

[John B]

I really thought this thread was headed to New Zealand, and then across the Indian Ocean. Nice job all around. Good show.

Without question THE worst summer cruising season in my lifetime , I would have been embarrassed if they'd come and had to weather it.

[DavidS]

This has been great... and I was hoping you would go up through Indonesia and explore a bit.

So... OK.... now what am I going to read?

If you're gonna start a blog about farming, can you at least get a wooden boat in there somewhere?

Thanks!

[Alan71]

Hello,

"We have seen some of the most remote people on earth, and learned so much from them. "

What a wonderful thing to be able to say.
When you get home I hope you find that you are both forever changed.

Thank You.

Regards,
Alan