Meet the Crew
Meet Jim and Rosy
It seems we have always lived in the PNW. We met in college (WWU in Bellingham) and have been together ever since. We married in 1983, had two great kids, and now that they are both out of school and married, we are empty nesters. We wrapped up the yawn inspiring work thing, (Jim in insurance, Rosy in finance) and now we get to put our minimal talents to the test with fun stuff like cruising around and video editing.
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Meet Blake and Barkley
Blake and Barkley are the two newest crew members on Sea Venture. They were born on May 28, 2019 in Eastern Washington. They were adopted in February, 2020, at about 8 months of age and started learning about living aboard. They are a great duo. They have very unique personalities and because they are so different, you would not think that they are brothers.
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Barkley is the wild, energetic one, weighing in at about 13 pounds, He is very talkative, and always ready to play. He goes and goes and goes, and when he is done, he is out. He does not like to be scooped or held. He likes to keep his distance, just out of arms reach and meow asking you to play with him. Barkley is not shy around boat guests, he will play with you too! Barkley is the more skittish cat, and lets Blake lead the way to new adventures.
Blake is the sensitive one, a bit larger than his brother, at about 14.5 pounds, He is a quiet, lap cat who loves to jump up and sit on your lap or sleep with us. He plays with Barkley, but often his ‘playing’ is watching Barkley play. Blake is the braver cat when it comes to exploring new places—swimstep, dock etc. Blake does not appreciate rough water or fireworks—both give him a good scare. Blake loves to visit with our boat guests, and he has the softest fur. We love to sit and just pet him. Actually, he loves it too!
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Who is the big white fluffy cat? Trooper was a stray cat our daughter adopted when he was abandoned. He came to live with us when she traveled. He was aptly named—he was a trooper. He joined us at our home for a while, then moved aboard Sea Venture with us. He actually did really well living aboard. He found his safe spot for cruising and otherwise was a typical cat. When he wanted to cuddle, he would let you know. It was an honor to have him sit in your lap! (That’s why you see the big smiles when he is filmed on a lap). He joined us for our first series of adventures and loved to stress us out by lying on the deck railings! (No, He never fell!). Sadly, he passed away in 2017.
So how did the boating thing get started, anyway?
Glad you asked…..
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We started our boating experience with a 17’ family runabout that we occasionally used for fishing and waterplay.
In 1993, Jim went on a ‘Boys trip’ to Alaska on a liveaboard fishing charter. That changed everything. He discovered what it was like to fish with a coffeepot AND a bathroom! There was a heater to stay warm and you slept near the fishing site. What could be better? A boat of your own, of course!
So, that led to our first boat kept in a marina, a 30’ Carver Mariner we called “Johann III”. She was already repowered with a Volvo diesel engine, slept 4, and had all the comforts of camping on the water. She served our growing family well for 7 years and many adventures, some not so well thought out! (Read: Calendars, no radar and big water—we have learned a few things :) )We cruised her to Barkley Sound on the West Coast of Vancouver Island and to Broughton Islands at the north end of Vancouver Island. We experienced ocean swells for the first time and exposed our young kids, ages 2&4 at the time, to the joys of boating—fishing, whales and lots of islands to explore. Then we outgrew her…
In 2000 we decided to purchase a 45’ Puget Trawler, “Rejoice”. She was a beautiful trawler, very economical and trustworthy. She was a single screw, powered with a Ford Lehman 120. We traveled at about 6 knots. We cruised throughout Puget Sound, British Columbia and the inland waterways. In 2006 we made our first journey all the way to Alaska, exploring Ketchikan, Wrangell, Petersburg, glaciers of Tracy Arm and Sitka. We even caught an epic halibut. It was a 12 week trip jammed between the end of one high school session and before the start of the fall session. We had 14 years with Rejoice and continually made updates to her. We never expected the day would come that we would part ways with our girl, but then…
In the spring of 2014 we came upon “Sea Venture”. She was a vessel that could do something our little Rejoice could not do—she could cross oceans. That opened up a whole new world of possibilities. We could go down the coast to Mexico. We could cruise to Hawaii. We could cruise to the South Pacific. We could cruise to New Zealand! Oh my.
With the excitement of what we could do with this vessel, (and not break the bank), we decided to make Sea Venture ours. She has proven herself to be a trustworthy old girl. She was in good shape when we got her, and we have continued to make upgrades. One of the first things we did was take her to Barkley Sound to see how she handled the ocean swells. The next year we visited the West Coast of British Columbia, (our first YouTube year) and explored the coastal waters along with the memorable trip across Hecate Strait to the offshore Islands of Haida Gwaii. (This is the fateful trip that cemented our desire to add stabilization to Sea venture – aka – “The Great Refit”!) In 2019 we had commitments that kept us land based but we made up for it in 2020. We relinquished our liveaboard slip in the Everett marina and casted off the lines. We would forever be “slip free”! Now we are cruising the beautiful waters of SE Alaska, and we are excited about so much more to come!