The John Deere Instrument Cluster Scott’s Log – August 6th, 2025 Mario called me out and I have been pressed into service to write a short technical piece about what happened when Sarah Sarah’s John Deere SFM50 6068 (hopefully that’s technical enough) quit 7 miles from our destination. Mario shared how it played out, so I won’t cover that again. I think...
Scott sleeps soundly, confident his crew will be safe while he naps. Scott’s Log – July 30th – somewhere out in Baffin Bay I woke the crew by firing up the engine at 4:30 AM. There was this perfect weather window that I wanted to take advantage of that required an early start. As we navigated the dense fog out of our anchorage it felt like this trip...
All pictures in this post are of things we would not have seen if everything went to plan. A flat calm Labrador Sea. Scott’s Log: July 28th, 2025 If you read some of the early posts about this trip, I am sure you could sense the excitement from some of the crew members. Everyone I talked to was excited for me about the “adventure” and there was a healthy...
Thinking about taking a boat trip, especially one as long as the Northwest Passage, can be daunting. As you have read in some of the crew’s other posts, the planning is extensive. There are so many details that must be considered and contingencies that must be planned for. Interestingly, all the questions to me or the crew are about those obvious things to plan for...
Sarah-Sarah’s helm station includes three Multi-Function Displays (MFDs) I must admit, I am fully entertained by the antics and interactions of this crew. It’s a relaxed atmosphere aboard with everyone willing to help. There has been no stress involved, even during the Engine Control Unit failure where we replaced our ECU at Sam’s suggestion in minutes...
Mario looking attentive…but he totally missed the line we ran over…I think he was dozing! Scott’s Log: Having left Portland on the 9th we worked our way up to Nova Scotia and I can honestly say I have nothing to gripe about which is great. Mario covered our engine belching up black smoke and Sam’s instant and correct diagnosis, so that wasn’t much of an issue...
A Facebook Fan sent us this pic of Sarah Sarah leaving Nantucket passing Castle Hill Light When I was young, I was crew on a Shannon 38 being delivered from St John USVI to Camden, Maine. I stood the Mid-Watch (midnight to 3am) and I had to hand steer in 20 knots of wind on a reach with the wind abaft the beam while surfing the resulting waves in the Gulfstream. We...
My last post was about having the right crew for this trip. so this post focuses on the boat itself. This content is technical and centered on boat maintenance, so if that’s not your interest and you think it’s someone else’s responsibility, feel free to skip it. This won’t be the first time this boat has travelled to faraway places. Its maiden voyage, prior to my...
I think the bones of this trip began in 2023. I was leading a group of boats from San Diego to La Paz Mexico and I knew I was headed through the Panama Canal and then to the East Coast, but I also knew I needed to get back to the West Coast one day. I guess I decided to do it then, but deciding to head back “over the top” does nothing to get you ready for the...
Scott has been boating since he was 10. His first adventure, at the ripe age of 12, was crossing Cape Cod Bay in Massachusetts and over to Nantucket with an 11-year-old friend in a 16’ Boston Whaler. He has cruised extensively on the East Coast in both power and sail boats. Scott finally made it to the West Coast when he and his father had a boat build in Olympia WA...