NEREID V LYING AT HER HOME BERTH IN LACONNERNereid V is a 45 foot trawler style cruiser that was built in Taiwan in 1981. She is powered by twin diesel engines that provide a very comfortable cruise speed of ten knots. The tri-cabin design features a guest cabin and head as well as galley forward. The salon including a helm station is located amidships with the engine room below. The owner's cabin and head are located aft. A second helm station is located on the flying bridge.
Nereid V is the center of our retirement lifestyle. She came into our lives during our first year of retirement in 1995. She was the answer to several of our desires, to travel upon the beautiful waters of the northwest, to meet the wonderful people of this area and to enjoy views of the wildlife and scenery. Also Nereid V provides us a never ending outlet for our energies, both mental and physical, in improving and maintaining this vessel.
CHART OF LACONNERHer home port is LaConner, Washington, USA, a historic port on the Swinomish Channel. This channel is an alternate passage to transiting the sometimes turbulent waters of Deception Pass. LaConner is about 80 miles north of Seattle and just east of the San Juan Islands. These waters offer great cruising opportunities and are the gateway to the passage north via the inside passage of British Columbia and Alaska. Beautiful Puget Sound lies to the south.
Cyber-space provides us a new way to share our experiences with those interested in boating. These experiences have ranged from an emotional high of watching a humpback whale with youngster in Greenway Sound, B.C. to an emotional low of learning we needed new fuel tanks. Our goal is to share our cruising experiences as well as the day to day reality of improving and maintaining the vessel. An extensive equipment list is provided for those having an interest in the vessel's details. Please contact us if you have interest in our experience with any specific piece of equipment.
We first posted this site in November 1998. Continuous improvement is anticipated with a major goal of providing a log which is updated daily while cruising starting in May 1999. Another goal is to provide a real time chart display of the vessel's position.
THOR AND MISTY ASHORE AT CLAYDON BAY, B.C.Through the many years we have had six dachshunds who have served as deck crew. They all have been excellent boat dogs and have added to our fun of cruising. They must have enjoyed as well, we have found it impossible to get out of the house if the dogs detected any sign of boat gear in our hands. We have a pair of small standard wire-haired dachshunds as our current crew, they have been with us through eight years of cruising. Misty is a wheat colored female and Thor is a wild boar coat (black and tan with a brown undercoat) male. They are ready to repel all boarders until they have been suitably introduced. Thor loves to swim from a beach and he remembers his favorite coves for swimming even though he only may visit a given spot once a year.
I wish I could say that we had trained them to use a suitable place on deck to attend to their business. This has meant many a trip ashore via a dinghy through the years. We have two major concerns about these shore trips, eagles and bears. Misty is small enough that we believe that an eagle could spirit her away so we keep a watch aloft before releasing her leash. We have encountered numerous black bear so we are careful to look for signs of bear before going ashore. I don't know how fast we could launch and reboard the dinghy as a bear approaches but I question that we could outpace a bear. All our bear sightings have been north of Desolation Sound, B.C.