M.V. Gyrfalcon

M.V. Gyrfalcon The Gyrfalcon is an 88-ft fantail motor yacht originally built in 1941 as a US Coast and Geodetic Survey vessel to chart the coast of Alaska.

The Gyrfalcon is an 88-foot fantail, designed by H.C. Hanson, a noted Northwest naval architect. Built in 1941 by Sagstad Marine of Ballard, she was launched as the Patton (ASV 80), an auxiliary survey vessel for the US Coast and Geodesic Survey (USC&GS). Her draft is 8.5 feet and her beam is 23 ft. Her sister ship, launched in 1940 as the E. Lester Jones, is now named the Summer Wind. For 25 year

s, the Patton conducted hydrography surveys in the Aleutians and southeast Alaska. At the end of each season, she returned to Seattle for repairs and retting. Her moment of WWII glory occurred on August 13, 1944, when she rescued the crew of a B-24 Liberator that had crash-landed on the far western Aleutian island of Ilak. She was also recruited by Navy ships to search for sunken seaplanes. In 1971, her original Cooper Bessemer direct-reversing engines were replaced with Caterpillar 3306s. The masts were removed and the extended salon was added. She currently has four staterooms – the owners’ stateroom (the original Officers’ Quarters) and 3 guest staterooms (the original Crew Quarters). She carries 1100 gallons of fresh water and 4,200 gallons of diesel. Peter Mann and Nancy Everds purchased her in 2012 and renamed her Gyrfalcon (pronounced “Jeer”), after the largest falcon in the world. At that point in her history, she had become a “Project Boat.”

We have spent the last several years in extensive restoration and renovation. Major items include: coach house roof and railing, galley, hydronic heat, electronics, horn timber, sponson, various planks, deck repair and sealing, all new wiring, master stateroom and new paint – both inside and out. We are looking forward to extensive cruising, with the eventual goal of spending our summers in Alaska, thus repeating the cycle which began in 1941.

The weekend at the Victoria Classic Boat Festival is over. We had a great time--met wonderful people, got to give tours...
09/04/2023

The weekend at the Victoria Classic Boat Festival is over. We had a great time--met wonderful people, got to give tours to many people interested in the Gyrfalcon history, and connected with friends from the past. When we pulled into the dock, we had a short piece of line loosely wound around our wobble strut and aft of our cutless bearing. Maurizio Hublitz donned his diving gear and was able to pull the line off so it wouldn't find its way back to the propeller. Thanks to him, we're line-free!

It's very sad to see all the smoke from the wildfires in BC (but they make for incredible sunrises and sunsets). This o...
08/26/2023

It's very sad to see all the smoke from the wildfires in BC (but they make for incredible sunrises and sunsets). This one is from the Chained Islands last night.

Bob practices boating safety!
08/25/2023

Bob practices boating safety!

Our anchorage this morning...
08/19/2023

Our anchorage this morning...

08/19/2023

I thought I’d share our experiences clearing customs this year in Prince Rupert

To clear customs in Canada, everyone needs Nexus cards or you have to go to a dock. Prince Rupert is the check in point for boats going south. PR took out their lightering (customs) dock a year ago, and now you clear at one of 2 private marinas.

As we approached PR in the late evening, we called Cow Bay Marina and PRRYC, and both were totally booked up for the night, including space on the docks where boats normally clear customs (the marinas have no obligation to save dock space for boats clearing customs; they are not compensated for being a port of entry). So we pulled up near Cow Bay Marina, called Customs, and told them we were at Cow Bay Marina.
Customs: You are tied up at the dock?
Gyrfalcon: No, we are about 100 yards off.
Customs: You need to be tied to the dock.
Gyrfalcon: There is no room at Cow Bay or PRRYC docks. We have called both marinas and there is no room for a boat of this size.
Customs: I will need to check with the marinas.
…on hold for several minutes…
Customs: The marinas cannot accommodate your boat.
Gyrfalcon: That is correct
Customs: …usual questions about fi****ms, cash, drugs, and fruit…

We were eventually cleared and ended up anchoring out…and heading in by dinghy the following day for a good meal at the pub.

Shearwater/Bella Bella
08/17/2023

Shearwater/Bella Bella

Here’s the full link!
08/14/2023

Here’s the full link!

From the US Coast Guard Cutter Reef Shark post! This is when they approached MVs Gyrfalcon and Teal in Portage Bay, AK!
08/14/2023

From the US Coast Guard Cutter Reef Shark post! This is when they approached MVs Gyrfalcon and Teal in Portage Bay, AK!

We saw this sea otter eating orange social sea squirts on our way out of Glacier Bay
08/02/2023

We saw this sea otter eating orange social sea squirts on our way out of Glacier Bay

07/23/2023

We have amazing encounters just because we’re on this historic boat. These two recent encounters were especially fun.

First, we were at anchor in Red Bluff Bay when a kayaker off of a ~50 ft Monk paddled by.
KAYAKER: Is that the Patton or the Lester Jones?
NANCY: The Patton. How do you know these boats?
KAYAKER: I’ve been following them forever. Once in the 1960s, I had a chance to go on one of the two to San Francisco, and I’ve always regretted that I passed on the opportunity.
Once the Lester Jones was stern tied in the most prime spot in Prideaux Haven [note from NE: I might have wrong anchorage]. When the Lester Jones left, I slid right in and took their perfect spot.

Note from NE: I thought it was great that he still thought of Gyrfalcon and the Summer Wind as Patton and Lester Jones, their names from 1940/41 to 1967 while they were US Coast Survey ships.

Second encounter was when we took on fuel at the Delta Western dock in Auke Bay. John, who owns most of the dock, wandered down.
JOHN: is that a survey ship?
NANCY: Yes! Do you know this boat?
JOHN: No, I just thought it might be a survey vessel.

Note from NE: How the heck John came up the Gyrfalcon being a survey ship is amazing; most people who wonder about its past think forestry boat. However, he sure knows boats..John has been around boats from Seattle to Alaska his entire life. We had a great time talking about his experiences and about his love for old boats.

New Post: Faux fir for a real wooden boat For the past 12 years, we have had 5 grey painted plywood hatches along with ...
07/23/2023

New Post: Faux fir for a real wooden boat
For the past 12 years, we have had 5 grey painted plywood hatches along with 2 fir hatches in our stateroom. At some point, there must have been either fir hatches that got replaced, or a fir floor that was cut up for renovations and replaced with ply. Mostly the hatches are covered up

For the past 12 years, we have had 5 grey painted plywood hatches along with 2 fir hatches in our stateroom. At some point, there must have been either fir hatches that got replaced, or a fir floor that was cut up for renovations and replaced with ply.   Mostly the hatches are covered up…

Whale tails are great! But then we saw 2 momma/baby whale pairs--amazing!
07/20/2023

Whale tails are great! But then we saw 2 momma/baby whale pairs--amazing!

The mighty salmon-slayer returns with 2 fish caught while trolling from the UFB. Fish for dinner in Funter Bay tonight!
07/20/2023

The mighty salmon-slayer returns with 2 fish caught while trolling from the UFB. Fish for dinner in Funter Bay tonight!

We are sharing our anchorage with marbled murrelets and sea otters!
07/09/2023

We are sharing our anchorage with marbled murrelets and sea otters!

07/08/2023

Gorgeous morning in Takatz Bay by the waterfall. Enjoy!

I don't normally post pictures of urinals, but this one, at the Forbidden Peak Brewery in Juneau, was too good to ignore...
06/18/2023

I don't normally post pictures of urinals, but this one, at the Forbidden Peak Brewery in Juneau, was too good to ignore.

This is the 1 am sky last night in our harbor in AK, halfway between sunset (10 pm) and sunrise (4 am) and close to the ...
06/15/2023

This is the 1 am sky last night in our harbor in AK, halfway between sunset (10 pm) and sunrise (4 am) and close to the summer solstice.

Sometimes charts in AK lack useful detail!
06/12/2023

Sometimes charts in AK lack useful detail!

Here are a few more shots of our bear friend. After he had his fill of sedge grass (first photo), he sat down, drooled ...
06/10/2023

Here are a few more shots of our bear friend. After he had his fill of sedge grass (first photo), he sat down, drooled a bit, and scratched his face with his hind paw (second photo)! Gotta love those nails!

We had awesome views of grizzlies yesterday. They were heavy into the sedge grass (25% protein) to replenish their body...
06/10/2023

We had awesome views of grizzlies yesterday. They were heavy into the sedge grass (25% protein) to replenish their body stores after winter. Here is one of my favorite photos from the day.

Sometimes Dixon Entrance is like a bathtub, only this bathtub has awesome vistas!
06/09/2023

Sometimes Dixon Entrance is like a bathtub, only this bathtub has awesome vistas!

Last night we anchored off the village of Lax Kw'Alaams, home of the Tsimshian Nation. The Gitsi'is, one of the tribes ...
06/08/2023

Last night we anchored off the village of Lax Kw'Alaams, home of the Tsimshian Nation. The Gitsi'is, one of the tribes of the Nation manage the Khutzemateen grizzly area where we are headed now.

Address

2442 NW Market Street, #410
Seattle, WA
98107

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when M.V. Gyrfalcon posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Videos

Gorgeous morning in Takatz Bay by the waterfall. Enjoy!

We had an awesome encounter with Dall's porpoises on our way to Reid Passage from Shearwater (in Seaforth Channel). This video is over a minute but these acrobats are so amazing I didn't want to cut any of it. I hope you enjoy!

Here's another video, taken while entering the Southgate Island anchorage. It's a beautiful location to start our open water crossing tomorrow!

Here's a short (26 sec) compilation video of yesterday's voyage from Tribune Bay through Seymour Narrows to Port Neville, starting with Peter Mann in all his sartorial splendor in the captain's chair, followed by short segments taken throughout the day. Our Classic Yacht Association burgee makes a good wind indicator to show how the wind increased as we headed north (fairly common conditions for the Straits in these parts).

Day 3 of TTAK. Heading north in the Strait of Georgia on a breezy day with winds right on our bow. We're headed for slack at Seymour Narrows in the early afternoon. Here are the dights and sounds from the captain's chair. There's just a bit of splash over the bow.

Crossing the Strait of Georgia with Lasqueti Island straight ahead. It's a super calm day on the Strait!

A new video showing the M.V. Gyrfalcon in the slings on Splash Day 2023.

Launch day! We don't usually do videos so this is a little rough, but it should give you a sense of our project this winter.

Whale video. On our way south, in the Strait of Georgia. Incredible amount of flipper slapping and breaching.

What the current looks like at full moon on the dock in Petersburg. The 5.5 kt current resulted in a bow wake even though we were securely tied.

Guess what we found when we retrieved the crab pots this morning. That's what we call Sport Fileting.

It was fabulous to have Dall's porpoises play in our bow wake during our trip from Glacier Bay to Juneau. Alaska wildlife is amazing!

Oh my goodness. This humpback whale spent almost an hour feeding around the Gyrfalcon this morning. In this clip, it is circling around small fish, herding them into the circle with its flippers. Absolutely the most incredible experience we have had with a whale. The clicking noises are Nancy with her long lens camera

Shortcuts

Share

Category