The principal challenge with a crew of six in the Rosemary is not where to berth the bodies, but rather where to put all of their gear when we couldn't just pile it all in the berths. Son David took considerable flak about his observance of my instructions to bring only one duffle. He brought one so prodigious that he and I were the only two who could lift it. The others just sort of shoved it around, and it became known as "the whale".

I'm sure others will extol the natural beauty of the North Channel, and tell about the great raftups,
and about jumping off the twenty foot rock into a deep pool below. I just wanted to relate what a profound joy it was to cruise a week with my whole family, David, age thirty something, Laura, twenty something, Ellen a lesser twenty something, Robby, eight, and Gabrielle, five.

Sometimes I really miss our old Dovekie, Pil-Pel, but more flexibility in accommodations is why
we traded for the Shearwater, and it works!