Chapter Three:
In 1980 our family was transferred from Aloha, OR to Everett, WA where we settled into a nice home overlooking the water in Mukilteo, WA. Family and career came first, then in 1986, with the Puget Sound waters tugging, we came across a Buccaneer 30 for sail that was being refitted. Just as we were about to pull the trigger on the purchase, we got transfer orders to Las Colinas, TX for a 12-18 month management development assignment. Ten years later, I retired at the age of 55 after 30+ years, golden parachute you see, well closer to a silver one. That was in 1997.
The draw of the water was still there and on a sunny day in March 1999, on our way to the Tulip Festival in La conner, we stopped by the Everett Marina to check out boats. This was after evaluating a number of boats that just did not pass family muster; one an H27 that we spent a race day on, with me at the thriller tiller. But later Our Quest was a very nice 1989 H28 resting in E-13, begging for a new owner. We decided to give her a try and figured that if after a year or two sailing just was not in the cards, well, she would still fetch a good re-sale price.
The sailing bug bit the skipper much harder than the admiral, but she enjoyed it, too. We cruised Our Quest around the islands for three years and really enjoyed the experiences. It was the morning of September 11, 2001, at anchor in Deer Harbor, making ready to sail over to Sydney, BC for a week long cruise. I was standing in the general store picking up a few final things before heading out only to observe on their television that fateful and frightening morning. Needless to say, we were advised by border security not to cross, lest we not be able to reenter. So, our remaining cruise was spent gunk holing around the San Juan Islands.