[Rhodes22-list] Seattle or Bust
Wally Buck
tnrhodey@hotmail.com
Sun, 23 Mar 2003 20:21:34 -0500
Rik,
It helps dealing with nice people, I purchased my boat unseen as well and
have no regrets.
Wally
>From: Rik Sandberg <sanderico@earthlink.net>
>Reply-To: sanderico@earthlink.net,The Rhodes 22 mail list
><rhodes22-list@rhodes22.org>
>To: The Rhodes 22 mail list <rhodes22-list@rhodes22.org>
>Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Seattle or Bust
>Date: Sun, 23 Mar 2003 12:07:39 -0600
>
>Wally,
>
>No, our first "in person" visit with her was on last Sunday afernoon. The
>closest we had been up to that point was through the pictures that the
>surveyor took and sent to us. I don't know, maybe I'm just lucky, but
>everything about the boat was "as advertised" and she seems to be in
>beautiful shape. This might say something about the integrity of the lady
>that was selling her, I think. I hope she knows how much I appreciate it.
>
>I am hoping to get a pic or two today of her sitting on the trailer. It's
>amazing how big she looks up there. I climbed up last night to put in some
>antifreeze and needed an 8 foot ladder to get even with the gunnels. She
>just seems a lot bigger than her 20 foot size suggests. With the R22 I can
>step on the tail light bracket and swing my leg over the gunnel to get in.
>With this boat, stepping on the tail light bracket would barely get you to
>the water line.
>
>Rik
>
>On Sun, 23 Mar 2003 12:36:09 -0500, Wally Buck <tnrhodey@hotmail.com>
>wrote:
>
>>Rik,
>>
>>Glad it all worked out. I am curious; had you acutally seen the boat prior
>>to this? I hope she met or exceeded all of your expectations!!
>>
>>Wally
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>>From: Rik Sandberg <sanderico@earthlink.net>
>>>Reply-To: sanderico@earthlink.net,The Rhodes 22 mail list <rhodes22-
>>>list@rhodes22.org>
>>>To: The Rhodes 22 mail list <rhodes22-list@rhodes22.org>
>>>Subject: [Rhodes22-list] Seattle or Bust
>>>Date: Sun, 23 Mar 2003 11:44:20 -0600
>>>
>>>Hello All,
>>>
>>>Well, the official sensus of the sailboat population in Long Prairie, MN
>>>shows that it has doubled, as recently as yesterday. No, there aren't any
>>>more sailors than there were 2 days ago, but there are twice as many
>>>boats. :-)
>>>
>>>Sandy and I left a week ago Friday, bound for Seattle to pick up our new
>>>(old) Pacific Seacraft, Flicka. Arrived in Seattle about noon (Seattle
>>>time) on Sunday. The weather on the trip out was mostly beautiful and the
>>>scenery, once you get about 3/4 of the way across North Dakota, was
>>>mostly awe inspiring. Sandy's eyes were like saucers for most of the trip
>>>as she tried to take it all in. She'd never been further west than Butte,
>>>Montana before and was pretty much spellbound by the beauty and just
>>>plain hugeness (new word here?) of it all. For those who have never been
>>>there, I would certainly recommend a road trip through the upper
>>>Northwest. You will get a whole new perspective on your size versus the
>>>size of the world around you. It's true, they don't call Montana "Big Sky
>>>Country" for nothing. This pretty much fits Idaho and Washington as well.
>>>
>>>Anyway, We saw the folks at Seacraft Yacht Sales on Sunday afternoon and
>>>got the keys for the boat. They were very nice and told us to make our
>>>self at home and use their facilities for as long as it took to make the
>>>arrangement for our haulout and to get ready for the trip back to
>>>Minnesota. They made us the loan of an electric heater and offered the
>>>use of shorepower so that we could stay aboard during our stay there. We
>>>were very pleased to accept this hospitality, since we were to learn
>>>that, while the food and especially the coffee are excellent and
>>>plentiful in Seattle and the choices of national origins are almost
>>>limitless, inexpensive is not a word that seems to be part of their
>>>vocabulary. Having to pay for motel rooms as well would have rubbed this
>>>old cheapskate, quite harshly, the wrong way. :-) Besides, there are not
>>>really many places to stay right along the waterfront in that area and
>>>commuting back and forth would have been a real PITA. You can't believe
>>>the traffic out there. Makes Chicago seem quite tame.
>>>
>>>We hiked down, a couple miles around the point, to CSR Yacht Services on
>>>Monday morning to make arrangement with them for taking down our mast and
>>>lifting our new child onto her newly built (built it mysef)
>>>cradle/trailer. We found that it would be Thusday morning before this
>>>would happen. We didn't mind, as neither of us had ever been to Seattle
>>>before and we sorta wanted to take a couple days to look around a little.
>>>So, on Tuesday we made arrangements to take a bus tour of the city. We
>>>had an excellent time on this tour and saw Seattle from almost every
>>>angle and height. We also saw that we will not be able to afford to live
>>>there soon, if ever. :-) But the tour guide was very nice and very
>>>knowledgable and he showed us some things we could do and even explained
>>>how we could get around quite easily on the city buses. Believe me, you
>>>don't want to drive your car there if you don't have to. The traffic is
>>>just crazy and the parking is even worse. And, with all the hills and
>>>water, nothing is layed out straight, so it's kinda hard to get a feel
>>>for the "lay of the land". The tour got done about 1 pm so we spent the
>>>afternoon walking around a thing called Pike's Place Market which is just
>>>chock full of restaurants, an open fish market and different artsy and
>>>craftsy type places. Had lunch there in a tiny little bistro named
>>>Matt's. Matt is a pretty good chef, by the way. He was able to turn a
>>>turkey sandwich into a culinary event. Then we wandered around a little
>>>more and bought an extra blanket (it was cold at night), then used our
>>>new found knowledge to ride the bus back to our marina on the other side
>>>of town. Then, on Wednesday, it rained, and rained and just about the
>>>time the sky would lighten and we thought it might stop. You guessed it,
>>>it rained some more. It wasn't a hard rain, just that kind of rain that
>>>is enough to keep you soaked and shivering, if you're out in it. So we
>>>just pretty much stayed in the boat and listened to a "book on tape". We
>>>did go out to a restaurant in the evening called Chinook's. This is
>>>located next to the commercial fishing wharfs and while you are eating
>>>you can sit and look over the hundreds of fishing vessels that are docked
>>>there. We both had Dungeness Crab. Sandy had a whole crab, and I had crab
>>>cakes. Lord, it was good, not inexpensive, but way good. I would
>>>recommend a visit to this place if you are ever in Seattle.
>>>
>>>So, to get to the end of this thing. We drove the pickup and trailer over
>>>to CSR on Thursday morning and walked back to the marina to get the boat.
>>>We then drove the boat over to CSR and were just a tick early for our 10
>>>am appointment. The guys at CSR were quite efficient and had the boat
>>>ready to pull, lifted by crane and set on the trailer in about an hour.
>>>Then we spent another couple hours tying her down and trussing her up for
>>>the 1600 mile jaunt back to Minnesota. By 3 pm (Seattle time) we were
>>>ready to go, just in time to beat rush hour.
>>>
>>>The trip back went very well and I am happy to report no shortage of
>>>tongue weight, so the trailer towed amazingly well at any speed I chose
>>>to tow (up to 80 mph a couple of times when I wasn't watching close
>>>enough). I was a little nervous about the snowstorms that had hit
>>>Colorado so hard, but it seemed to have all stayed to the south of our
>>>route and all the passes were clear and ice free. The only weather we
>>>encountered in the high country was a little bit of rain and fog as we
>>>went up the west side of Snoqualmie Pass. Again, we ooo'd and aaahhh'd as
>>>we rolled though this breathtaking terrain. It is truly hard to describe
>>>the beauty and ruggedness of this area. It inspired a much greater
>>>respect for the bravery and tenacity of the folks who first settled these
>>>areas with nothing but a horse and wagon. It is just hard to imagine how
>>>they ever did it. Tough people, to put it mildly.
>>>
>>>Drove pretty much straight through until I got to Jametown, North Dakota
>>>and decided I wanted a nice hot shower and a good nights sleep. Got up on
>>>Saturday morning, partook of the "continental" breakfast (I think we are
>>>becoming fans of Holiday Inn Express) and ran the last couple hundred
>>>miles in to the house. Got home about 12:30 pm. It was a really fun trip,
>>>but it's good to be back home again. The round trip was 3217 miles.
>>>
>>>Rik
>>>
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>>
>>
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