Home - Voyage Overview

A very dry overview of my voyage is provided below. Slightly more interesting details are available in the "Log" section of this web site, or see the "Photos" for some worthy cruising images.

In November of 2000, I (Alan Anderson) located a Tayana 37 cruising cutter in the Florida Keys. In December the sailboat (which was originally named The Good Neighbor) was loaded on a truck and delivered to Portland, Oregon. After six months of spending every free minute (and dollar) improving the sailboat -- I sold my house and most possessions, my girlfriend (Katherine) and I quit our jobs, and we moved onto the sailboat with our cat "Squiz".

Departing Portland, Oregon USA on the summer solstice (June 21, 2001), we headed north to British Columbia, Canada. A two-month shakedown cruise in the lovely Discovery Islands and Gulf Islands taught me an incredible amount about the boat and cruising life. In late August,we met two friends/crew in Neah Bay and headed south for our most challenging passage - down the west coast of the USA to California. We waved good-bye to our last crew member in Monterey and slowly worked our way down to Oceanside, California. There I visited mom (Avonelle Kelsey) and prepared my sailboat for an extended voyage to the tropics.

We voyaged down the west coast of Baja California to the Sea of Cortez (a.k.a. the Gulf of California) in early November 2001. In December, nasty winter weather chased us out of the Sea of Cortez, southwest to the Bay of Bandaras on the Mexican mainland (near Puerto Vallarta).

Cruising south in Febuaray 2002 to Chamela and Tenacatita was very enjoyable. We returned to the Bay of Banderas for the March regatta and to pick up a friend/guest, Amy. Wandering north via lovely Isla Isabella, we stopped in Mazatlan for the month of April. There we reworked the bottom and refinished the exterior woodwork.

In May 2002 we returned to the Sea of Cortez and began exploring the islands and bays along the coast of Baja. It was a long, and at times exhausting, effort to reach this point; but, at long last I was doing the cruising and gunkholing that I had envisioned so long ago. These months of exploring isloated coves in the central and northern Sea, catching our food, and making friends with like-minded cruisers was one of the most worthy and memorable times of my life.

In December of 2002, Katherine departed to Auburn Washington for a three-month stint working as a traveling operating room nurse. I returned to Mazatlan and sailed single-handed south along the Mexican mainland. In February of 2003, s/v The Good Neighbor was loaded onto a yacht transport freighter and shipped to Martinique (an island in the eastern Caribbean). In March, we began cruising south along the Windward Island chain.

During the summer hurricane season, the boat was stored in a boatyard in Trinidad and we returned to the USA. Katherine earned more money working in the operating room; and I spent my money on boat parts.

Returning to Trinidad in September, I was greated with a two-month boat fix-up and maintenance binge; during which I officially renamed my boat to "Squiz" (after the cat which stayed in Mexico on a friend's sailboat). In November 2003 we cast off, sailed north, and explored the islands of the eastern Caribbean, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, the Turks & Caicos, and the Bahamas.

After three years of cruising, sushi, corrosion, and a strained relationship - it was time to return to land. So, on May 9, 2004 we headed across the gulf stream and arrived in Fort Lauderdale Florida. I put my beloved boat up for sale, and contemplated the strange concept of employment (while fantasizing about future adventures). Squiz sold shortly before two hurricanes assaulted the area in central Florida I had planned to moor her for the summer. Luckily, the new owner kept Squiz in Fort Lauderdale and she was not harmed.

Katherine returned to her old stomping grounds in Vancouver WA. I found a consulting gig in Colorado, where I hope to enjoy the mountains and ski slopes.

Additional written details of our travels are available in the 'Log' section of this web site. Cruising images of can be seen in the 'Photos' section of this web site.