# Hello from Alaska



## WallyCorrigan (May 15, 2008)

Hi All,

I'm a newly signed-up member from Seward, Alaska on Resurrection Bay. My wife and I purchased a 1979 C & C Newport 27, Rikki T. (not to be confused with "rickety"<G>) last September. It spent the winter in the water and is none the worse for the wear (except for a shredded roller-furled jib that unfurled in a storm). We spent time on the boat over the winter, and have taken her out several times already this spring (spring is different up here, it's in the 40's today). We're looking forward to some local cruising this summer and some farther-ranging cruises in Alaska next year.

Wally Corrigan


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Wally,
Welcome to Sailnet and congrats on the boat. It will be interesting to get an Alaskan sailing perspective.


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## djodenda (Mar 4, 2006)

Welcome, Wally!

Does your boat have an inboard or outboard? There's a Newport 27 on my dock that never goes out. Sad... 

A long time ago I chartered a Newport 27 in Southern California. The sails were old and blown out, but the boat seemed to sail pretty well, (at least downwind)

I remember, I think, that on the starboard side there was a small pilot berth above the settee... Does your boat have one of those?

David


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## PBzeer (Nov 11, 2002)

Welcome aboard. I'd guess the slip came with the boat. Last I heard there was a pretty long waiting list at both Seward and Whittier. Beautiful area to sail in, but it can also be very treacherous. Enjoy you new boat.


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## WallyCorrigan (May 15, 2008)

Thanks for the welcome. Well, we don't do much with bikinis and shorts up here. Grundigs and Helly Hanson are more the norm.

I'm hoping to get out Sunday afternoon to Tuesday morning, but we'll have to see how the weather progresses. Cold and raining right now.

Wally


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## WallyCorrigan (May 15, 2008)

Hi David,

I've got a Yanmar 10 hp YGM-12 diesel. It was rebuilt in 1999 and runs well. I only had to change the oil and tighten the alternator fan a bit. We lost the Genoa last fall in a storm when it unfurled and blew out. Got a new Northsails 135 a couple of weeks ago. It went up smoothly and fits well. Nice sail. I'll probably have to replace the main in a year or two, and I've only looked at the spinnaker, but I don't think it's been used much, if at all. 

No, there's no berth above the settee on my boat. Just a small locker above.

Thanks for the welcome. We've been working on Rikki and hope to get her in prime condition by next spring (topsides and bottom paint and the like).

Wally


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## PBzeer (Nov 11, 2002)

Mid May to mid June was always my favorite time of year up there, weatherwise.


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## WallyCorrigan (May 15, 2008)

Hi John,

No, slips don't come with the boat here in Seward. We just put in over 100 new slips, though, and I'm 52 on the list now, down from 102 last year. I may or may not get one next year. We'll see.

It is hazardous here. In a couple of my other lives, I'm a search and rescue pilot with the Civil Air Patrol, and I am the primary driver/operator of our fireboat, the "John Foster", a Metalcraft Marine Firestorm 30. I did a week of searching from Whittier this winter when a medical evacuation helicopter went down with all hands. I got to know the area and the weather pretty well then.

Wally


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## WallyCorrigan (May 15, 2008)

Hi John,

Not so far this year. Maybe the second half of the month will be better. July tends to bring on the rain in the last half and continues through September/October.

Wally
Newport 27 Rikki T.


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## jackytdunaway (Sep 11, 2006)

Welcome aboard. My family lived in Anchorage from 1960 to 1966. My father was in the army until 1964 and then worked for the highway patrol and also the fire station at the airport. i seem to remember going to Whittier to visit one of his friends that was the fire chief there and it seemed the only way in was plane, boat or train. We took the train. i will always remeber walking around with their kids and all of a sudden we found ourselves standing on a roof. We had walked up a snow drift and not realized it. 
Was there not a problem with ice when you kept the boat in the water all winter? Beautiful country up there. I was in second grade before i realized the whole world wasn't white all winter.


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## WallyCorrigan (May 15, 2008)

Hi Jacky,

Well, now you can drive to Whittier. A couple of years ago, they paved the track area and now there's a one-way road (direction is controlled by a schedule) that is shared with the railroad. It just barely fit our fireboat on its trailer for the trip in for the SAR event we went there on. I didn't care that much for Whittier, but the Passage Canal and Prince William Sound are always awesome.

I much prefer Seward, it's an easier drive. Prettier, too.

Cheers,
Wally


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## jackytdunaway (Sep 11, 2006)

It's got to be prettier. there's nothing there that older than 1964. It's all pretty country. Most folks just can't grasp what it is like to be up there. Every one has to help each other cause you never know what kind of help you will need yourself. It's probably a little different now but back then even in the city the real wilderness was only 15 minutes away.


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## WallyCorrigan (May 15, 2008)

Hi Jacky,

No, ice isn't a problem very often here. We can get a thin sheen of ice in the boat harbor, but we're usually ice-free. Any kind of wind at all makes it go away.

Cheers,
Wally


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Hello Wally,My name is Penny Moran and my husband Bill and I owned the Rikki T in Seward for several years. Small world!! I only registered to reply to your post as I thought it was nice to know she is still gving joy in the Great North. Bill and I married in '95, forced to move to Seattle due to his work with Crowley Marine, then he died very suddenly in July '02. I miss him, I miss Seward, I miss AK and I miss the Rikki T. We sailed in the Sound and many, many trips here and there. I still treasure our old charts from those adventures. She is (was) my second own true love. I hope to move back to Seward, at least that's my goal dispite a disability and another surgery soon. Treat her well, my friend. 
Penny S Moran


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## WallyCorrigan (May 15, 2008)

Hi Penny,

She is loved, and is coming along nicely in her rehabilitation (she's seaworthy, just a few cosmetics and upgrades to work on). My 4 yo granddaughter, Caitlin, asks my wife, Lee, "Can we go eat lunch on Rikki?!" We're hoping to do Thumb Cove on Sunday night and Agnes Cove on Monday night. Small steps. We'll take good care of her.

Wally Corrigan


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