Upbeat Sailing

11/07/2017

28/05/2017

Fed up with looking at dirty spreaders, so up goes the crew with a bucket and brush.

26/04/2017

How clean is *your* bottom?? Upbeat's got new bottom paint (classic black) and is back in the water after a haul out at Canal in Ballard.

06/03/2017

Winter sailing isn't for everyone, but it does bring big smiles and delight to those who bundle up and venture out. (Insert jolly pictures that I neglected to actually take on our recent charters here.)

07/01/2017

Anyone catch this episode of The Bachelor?

We just received this email from Amy, who sailed with us last summer, along with her sharp-eyed daughter Emily

Hi Andy,

You and your boat are on national TV.

Emily was watching the 1st episode of the new season of “The Bachelor”
on HULU. It is blurry in this screen shot, but we believe that is all of us on your boat.

Do you remember seeing the girl being filmed while roller blading in a bikini
at the Olympic Sculpture Park along the waterfront ?
Apparently she is a contestant from Seattle named Taylor Nolan.

What are the chances ?

Amy

27/12/2016

It's common at this time of year to ask, "What can we do better next year?" Obviously, for us, one answer is "Keep up with our damn page!" Well, patient readers, we'll try. Over the next few weeks, we'll post some pics and descriptions from our 2016 sailing season and updates as we gear up for sailing in 2017.

23/07/2016

Summer's been toying with us here in Seattle, but we have had some excellent days out sailing. We went out with the " Crazy Baseys" from AZ on the 3rd, and Tom, Kelly, Neal and Stephanie joined us on the 4th. Yes, that's JULY 4th - those are *summer jackets and hats* they're wearing, folks.

30/06/2016

Celebrating Kate and Kent's recent wedding with a scenic photo shoot aboard UPBEAT. Easily the best dressed guests we have ever had!

30/06/2016

29/05/2016

The weather hasn't been very cooperative, and we've had to postpone a few trips. We did get out a while back with our friend, CT. Imagine that you are looking at a great photo of him with Andy, both grinning at the new (working!) chart plotter. Last thing we need to update before we are 100% ready for the sailing season: my skill with the camera...

19/04/2016

So it turns out that some boat projects are more fun and easy than others... Andy's been working very hard on wiring up the new electronics, addressing an exhaust issue, and cleaning out the fuel tank; these are the fun things! Not so fun is dis-installing the oh-so recently installed chart plotter because it refuses to read SD cards. We'll send it back for a replacement and then will go through the whole installation process again. Twice is the charm, right?

29/03/2016

Ta-dah! Radar tower is now installed and braced. Next step: take radome, bird cage thingee (note - not the real name of that equipment, but when you see it, you'll know exactly what I mean - Kris) and wiring out of the dining room at home and install on top of the radar tower. I'm sure that this will take just moments to accomplish because all boat projects are super fun and easy.

25/03/2016

Ah, Spring! Longer days, warmer temperatures, and.....boat projects! We're working on the new radar tower installation right now - you'd be surprised at how many things need to be considered, measured, ordered, re-measured, put in place temporarily, taken off, gooped and finally, bolted on. We made it to the put in place temporarily stage today and hope to finish the last three stages in the next few days.

07/02/2016

On the days that we don't have a lot of wind, we are usually able to see interesting wildlife, like on the day we went out with Rania and Shaun. Three *humpback whales!!* popped up right in front of Upbeat. Besides two lucky kayakers, we were the only ones around to see them. Our pictures don't do the event justice, so you'll have to imagine the 40 minutes of ooohs and aaaahs that the whales caused.

31/01/2016

Here's another installment from our 2015 Late Summer Sailings:

Amy and Chris are two nice folks who have been happily married for a long time. Last October, they came sailing with us to celebrate their anniversary. Chris said he was keen to build his own boat, and Amy thought she could sew their sails. This shared sense of adventure is what must keep them smiling.

15/01/2016

It seems like a long time ago now, but in September 2015, we had a four-day charter with Norma and Mitch from New Mexico. We decided to circumnavigate Whidbey Island and had stops in some of our favorite places: Port Townsend, Bowman Bay, Hope Island and Langley. We went through Deception Pass early one morning and also enjoyed kayaking, hiking, and eating great food - heaven!

03/01/2016

Sometimes a sailing break is just what you need when you're out visiting family. Here are Norman and Ann-Marie doing just that.

28/12/2015

When the wind is light we often explore one of the local coves and admire the beautiful sailboats at anchor in front of impressive waterfront homes. Here are Jake and Emily, and Kate and Sean enjoying a visit to Hidden Cove at Port Madison on Bainbridge Island.

23/12/2015

We freqently see sealions hanging out on the large commercial mooring buoys in the southern section of Elliott Bay. The video shows many of them with one flipper raised up in the air like enthusiastic schoolkids..."pick me, pick me...I know the answer!"

"The reason for this" says the internet, "is because the capillaries are close to the surface of the skin and can catch sunbeams to warm their body. To cool down, they put their flipper into the water then raise it back up into the air which cools them off during the evaporation process. This process is called thermoregulation."

OK so I've seen them do it in Mexico's sea of Cortez where the water is warm and I get how a breeze could cool a wet flipper, and I would understand how the same behavior could gain them some warmth in the chilly waters of Puget Sound on a sunny day. However, it is hard to see what benefit they would get from this behavior on an overcast fall day like this one. I guess they know what they are doing!

19/12/2015

Wrapped up warm, Janine and Rita relax on the foredeck during a gentle sail with partners Gus and Hunter.

16/12/2015

4 year old King Milo goes for a boat ride with mom, dad and Grandpa (AKA Emily, Chris and Greg.)

13/12/2015

Old friends on an adventure. Jeff and Stuart reconnect on a weekend sailing trip. A quiet night spent at anchor in Liberty Bay was followed by a dinghy trip ashore for espresso to wake the sleepy crew before the sail home.

16/08/2015

Newly engaged Ariel and Josh from Odessa, TX enjoying a cool evening sea breeze and a lovely sunset.

14/08/2015

Alison and Eric take a ride on UPBEAT supposedly to celebrating a birthday but they were on board a day late for Eric's but bang on for mine....Andy

14/08/2015

Mark and his inlaws checking out Hidden Cove at Port Madison before the wind filled in for good sailing out on Puget Sound.

13/08/2015

Standing up straight on the foredeck - Left to right; Muru, Randy and Joe from Southwest Airlines, and Surender from Loyalty Methods.

13/08/2015

Home we go in the fading light of a Pacific NW summer evening.

12/08/2015

Start 'em young!
Here's 7 year old Aidan developing his own helming style whilst crossing Elliott Bay in a gentle breeze.

12/08/2015

The Coughlin's from Austin enjoying their first sail on Puget Sound. Adults Sherry, Sean and Madeleine had fun but 12 year old Michael was so taken with it that at trip's end he went all around the boat saying goodbye to his new friend Upbeat.

11/08/2015

Double trouble! On a spare day in Seattle, before their Alaska cruise, Frank's family decided a trip on a smaller boat was in order. With a total of eleven guests the day was split into to two trips. The winds were light but it was fun all the same.