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Cruising
the seas on a sailboat
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Jim
and Pam McEntyre did something a lot of people can only dream of.
They retired and sold their home, and then spent several years cruising
the South Pacific on their 38-foot sailboat, Aurora. Here are some
photos taken just before they left and earlier ones taken at an open "house"
on their boat in December, 1999. At the very bottom: a photo
taken in 2006 in the Marquesas Islands!
An
update in 2008: Jim and Pam sold Aurora in New Zealand and bought
another boat ("Lyric") for cruising the Sea of Cortez, which they plan
to do six months a year while spending the rest of their time in Southern
California.
Here's a view of Aurora
at San Pedro just before Jim and Pam sailed away (photo by Ken Allen).
Jim and Pam are just
about to leave. Are they a little excited about it??? (photo by Ken
Allen)
At their open "house"
in 1999, Pam and Jim (in the foreground) entertained friends including
MC '60 grads Marianne Neff-Daniels and Erik Gerhardt.
Kathy and Ken Allen
posed beside a Christmas wreath that adorned Aurora's bow in 1999.
To get a better view
of Aurora plus guests Erik Gerhardt and Marianne Neff-Daniels,
the photographer
moved around to the port side for this image.
Here are two below-deck
photos: the high-tech power and communications center and the very
cozy "master bedroom" below the foredeck. Jim has spent hundreds
of hours designing and installing the systems shown at left, including
a master power panel (machined in Ken Allen's garage), a laptop computer,
printer and scanner, a marine radio and an amateur (ham) radio transceiver
for worldwide communications, including e-mail at sea!
Look for KE6JRW at 7 a.m. on 7238 kHz (the Chubasco Net) and at 11
a.m. or noon on 14340 kHz (the Manana Net).
A 2006 note:
yes, they really did cruise the South Seas. In 2019, Pam added this explanation of the photo above. "We
just want to clarify comments about the pic of us on the bow of Aurora
in the middle of the ocean. At the time, we were toasting King Neptune
as we crossed the Equator on our way from Islas Perlas, Panama, to Wreck
Bay, Isla San Cristobal, Galapagos
Islands, Equador. Our specific location was 0 degrees latitude (on the equator) and 89 degrees, 37’ west longitude. As
part of our celebration, we had already jumped off the boat together
three times (it was a windless day, but Jim had secured the wheel to
turn the boat in circles around us in case the
wind picked up). Then we dried off and dressed appropriately to pour
King Neptune his ration of grog and to imbibe in our rations while
praising the sea god and seeking safe passage. Then we went below to
enjoy a brunch of freshly baked banana bread and quiche
Lorraine with mimosas and fresh fruit. Such a life!
We
were fortunate to have favorable tradewinds, plus a current that pushed
us along quickly so our passage lasted only 5 days. A very pleasant
time."
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