A tale of two toddlers

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s/v Yare (image cadged from svyare.blogspot.com)



The Center for Wooden Boats has a Third-Friday Speaker each month for most of the year.  This month's event was a particularly timely topic for me.  Tor and Jessica Bjorklund spoke on the topic of sailing the Inside Passage to Alaska... with two toddlers!

Their boat, s/v Yare, will be known to many locals... I have admired her for years, seeing her often at her slip at Jensen's on Portage Bay.  Yare is a classic design whose lines Tor encountered as a 12 year old in the upstairs library at CWB.   Their traditional elegance set him on a trajectory that continues today.

When he set out to build one, he found a hull for sale at bargain prices... made of steel.  Tor enrolled in the Northwest School for Wooden Boats to acquire the skills necessary to finish her out (8 years in a barn near Port Townsend).   The boat inspires admiration for her beauty and confidence for her stout countenance.

Tor and his partner, Jessica, set off for Alaska with two one year old toddlers - Lars and Odin.  The mind boggles at challenges of keeping two one year olds happy and comfortable on such a journey.  Sixteen diapers a day to wash and dry!  Astonishing.  And what a gift, to bring up children in a passage-maker playpen.

Tor and Jessica had many stories to tell and lots of useful information for Inside Passage aspirants.  I will incorporate many of their suggestions on places (and especially clothes!) in my own planning for the way north.  Their blog of the trip is at http://svyare.blogspot.com/search/label/alaska%202011

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