Traveler’s Journal
When: 7 p.m., Thursday, March 7
Where: Guy Cole Event Center, 202 N. Blake Ave.
Cost: Suggested $5 donation (adults); 18 and younger, free
Presenters: Chris Duff and Lisa Markli
Presentation: ‘A Tale of Two Captains’
A couple — no longer young — set out in a 24-foot sailboat for two-and-a-half months, sailing almost 2,000 miles of British Columbia’s Inside Passage. The only plan is to be back home before the fall storms set in.
The couple has a total of four days sailing experience … three of which are on board a boat of a friend, who did most of the sailing.
Doing the math, that means they have had one day of sailing together on their own. Their vessel, Ouzel, is a seasoned little ship whose previous owners sailed her all the way to New Zealand. There is no doubt the boat is up to the task. But is the crew?
Lisa Markli and Chris Duff are no strangers to adventure but they normally travel by kayak, bikes or with backpacks. An 8,000-pound sailboat is a very different story. Aside from the actual setting and managing of the sails, they will have to deal with route finding, navigation, currents, winds and tides as well as tugboats, barges, and cruise ships.
There is also a diesel engine to be employed when the winds blow straight from the direction the couple wish to travel. The carpenter on board knows nothing about diesel engines other than they smell foul. Ouzel is equipped with VHF and short wave radios, a high-tech radar system and a chart plotter that shows her position on an electronic chart.
There are operation manuals on board for every system but neither the captain or the crew member (the captain will be the one on the tiller, the crew member will be making sandwiches until it is their turn to be captain) has had a chance to read them all.
The only system on board with which they have mastery is the composting toilet.
Please join us as we relive a wonderful summer of learning and adventuring, of watching bears, whales, eagles and sunsets. We didn’t run aground, nor, as far as we know, did we cause anyone else to. We actually know a fair bit more about sailing, and a lot more about diesel engines than we did before we left. We discovered that when the winds fail, and sometimes the engine, humor can still propel us forward.
About the presenters
Chris Duff and Lisa Markli have lived on the Olympic Peninsula for 30 years — biking, hiking, skiing and kayaking.
Chris is a carpenter and published author of two adventure kayak books. He is currently working on his next book about rowing from Scotland to Iceland.
Lisa, a nurse, enjoys gardening and solo Olympic backpacking.
Living and traveling simply is a way they find balance in this busy and noisy world. Wild places are their solace.
About the presentations
Traveler’s Journal is a presentation of the Peninsula Trails Coalition with local adventurers sharing their stories and photos with you. All of the money raised is used to buy project supplies and food for the volunteers working on the Olympic Discovery Trail.
Admission is $5 adults, youths 18 and under free. Shows start at 7 p.m. at the Guy Cole Event Center at Carrie Blake Community Park, 202 N. Blake Ave.
Each year the dream of a continuous trail from Port Townsend to Forks gets a little closer. In 2017, about 200 volunteers put in more than 9,000 hours of labor on the trail.
One selected photo enlargement will be given each week as a door prize.
Call Arvo Johnson at 360-301-9359 for more information.
