Hi Randy,
I have your post about Al's bookmarked and I've thought about it many times. Why hasn't it sold yet? Just a quick look at the distance from the Miami area to Seward via the canal is over 8k miles. That's a hefty amount of fuel at hull speed to have the range. I can imagine that the burn rate would quadruple at higher cruise speeds. But what a great trip that would be if I had the time to do it right like I would when retired. And the world class fishing opportunities make me drool.
As for adventurous, boating in Alaska is often an adventure. Schedules aren't written in stone. I've anchored at the mouth of a passage waiting for the wind to let up or the tide to change so it would be comfortable for my guests. I've watched other boaters in smaller boats get cocky and venture out and barely get turned around and come back in. The weather can kick up a nasty blow very, very fast and it can be long distances between anchorages sometimes. You just deal with it. It wakes you up faster than coffee when a williwaw suddenly slams the boat while you're anchored and asleep in a peaceful bay surrounded by waterfalls on snow capped mountains. It feels like a hurricane with the sun shinning. I prefer fair weather boating since a day on the water in the sunshine makes up for alot of cloudy days, which are much more often the case. It can be an almost spiritual experience heading into the morning sun on a calm day with long ocean swells gently rolling the boat, porpoises dancing in the bow wave and little diamonds glittering on the water surface. Then you round a point a little later and you find yourself in a cauldron with the wind coming from three directions and the tide fighting the wind. It makes it harder to see the barely floating trees. That's why I want a Hatteras for boating here. The convertibles were designed for water like we have.
As much as I dislike having a boat in the water all winter because the harbors are so far from home, I hate not being on the water in the summer. So I'm looking on the west coast first as right now I can't take the time to make what would be a great trip.
Thom
