Sea Turtle Journey

It has ben six weeks since we rescued four olive ridley turtles from the Pacific Ocean nearby Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. My siblings and I have worked hard to raise money to donate to a turtle foundation in Puerto Vallarta called Encampamento Tortuguero La Boca de Tomates. We chose this organization because it is located close to where our encounter occurred and local residents recommended it. We have raised almost $600 dollars so far and still have bracelets and earrings if you’re interested in joining our community of support! 100% of the money you donate will go to the “Turtle camp.” Thank you!

We made a video that people watched to learn the story about the trapped turtles. You can watch it here. We made earrings and bracelets from the long line that the turtles were tangled in and sold them to people who could help share the story.

Our primary goal was to help raise awareness about how fishing long lines can tangle boats and animals. We hope that the money donated to La Boca de Tomates will help new young turtles have a safe and healthy life. Fun fact: Olive ridley turtles can live up to 50 years old! We learned a lot about turtles from our experience that day when we rescued the 4 olive ridleys. We appreciated that they were calm when my mom was removing the line and hooks and so happy that they swam away safely and energetically.

I am also working to earn a Girl Scouts of America Bronze Award by creating a video capturing our encounter, making jewelry to sell, and sharing our story with the people that we meet. My team for the Bronze Award includes my two younger Girl Scout Brownie sisters, Aurora and Coral, and my twin brother, Forrest, who is a Boy Scout of America Webelo.

Maybe you can help the turtles and other sea creatures by sharing this story also?

Reflections on the first 3 days of passage by Sierra

Our first day of passage was Easter Sunday! We made little bunnies out of marshmallows and decorated them with hard candies. We motored and sailed 165 miles the first day.

I found this “decorate your peep” kit at the La Comer supermarket in Puerto Vallarta.

The second day was April Fools day. We posted a joke on the internet that some people believed because dad did such a good job writing the description. We also sent a video prank to John and Eunice grandparents saying our water maker broke and had to return to Mexico which was a little mean and we apologized after.

On April 2 we had big waves coming from many directions and it was the most uncomfortable day we have had on the boat yet. We spent most of the day listening to Percy Jackson book 4. We went 188 miles on the 3rd day and we got our first goody bag that had candy and toys in it!

Our paper chart where we plot our position every 24 hours. We also put on it the eclipse path of totality for April 8. We probably won’t be in the path of totality but it’s fun to see how close we will get.

Since the start at La Cruz we have sailed over 500 miles which made me feel proud and happy that we will soon be away from the confused seas of the Sea of Cortez.

We are marking how many miles we do every day. The marquesas are about 3000 miles from Mexico.

We have had amazing food because my mom has provisioned just right. We were able buy a mini fridge in Mexico that is extra storage for fresh things for the first few days.

Sierra’s update January 2024 from Mexico

Hello my name is sierra I am 9 years old. I am excited to go on this adventure.

I am glad that my mom is teaching me we are learning a lot
Building a tower that would stand up in an earthquake out of toothpicks and marshmallows.
Me jumping off a sand dune on a remote island.

And if we want a break from the boat trip we can just leave the boat at a marina. Like when we went to Disneyland and I went on the incredicoaster for the first time and then went on it three more times.

Me on the incredicoaster

We were also part of the Baja-haha rally where boats get together and race down part of the coast of Mexico. There were about 7 other boats with kids.

I learned how to start, stop, and drive our dingy. (we’re planing)

Mom says we can only have an engine that has the same number as how old her youngest child is.

We write cards for our friends pretty often because we miss them a lot.

Exploring Yosemite.

We were in Sausalito for over 5 weeks but it went by really fast. We were in Michigan and Maine for 10 days of it, backpacking in Yosemite for another 5 days and visiting friends in Sacramento and East Bay for other overnight trips. In the city we visited The Academy of Sciences, Exploratorium, 6-Flags, Bay Model, The Marine Mammal Center, rode the Trolley, participated with local girl scout troop events, walked the Golden Gate Bridge, entertained long time friends, rode some single track and played at the beach. Mike worked in the city some days and the kids did a great first month of 1st and 4th grade. The kids have created a video of their favorite parts; two backpacking trips in Yosemite National Park where we camped above 9,000 feet in perfect weather at alpine lakes accessed from Tuolumne Meadows. Ok, their favorite was probably Great Wolf Lodge (we went twice because I needed to dry out our camping gear somewhere), but they are nice enough to tell me it was Yosemite.

Orcas Island to San Francisco.

The kids interviewed the 4 crew that joined Mike for the trip from orcas island, WA to San Francisco. We (mom and kids) drove the car south for that part so we could have a car for the month in California and so the boat could give useful crew a dedicated berth. The delivery crew saw some great wildlife and had a mix of motoring and spicy sailing…and they didn’t even have to eat any vegetables! They did compose a custom song for the trip and all 20 bags of chips were gone upon arrival though 😂. Enjoy!

Introductions!

If you have met me for even a few minutes, you’re probably aware that I am slightly obsessed with planning and spreadsheets and wringing every single drop of life out of every second we have on this planet. Sympathy (or pity?) may be one of the first emotions that you feel towards the 4 kids that have transpired from the 10 years of marriage that mike and I have shared. I feel incredibly lucky that all 4 of them have good attitudes *most* of the time and are generally eager to participate in whatever shenanigans we have planned.

I’m trying to savor the moments of this adventure, remaining focused on observing the present. Yes we take videos and photos often and I’m looking at my phone more than I care to admit. But I’m not reaching for the selfie stick or setting up the camera for every experience we have. These videos are essentially research project presentations created by 6 and 9 year olds. You’ll see interviews of visiting crew and friends, demonstrations of our safety gear, explanations of how we produce electricity, lessons on how to wing foil, what we eat, what boat-school is like and if you’re lucky, the names of the 10,000 stuffed animals that occupy most of the volume of the boat.

Enjoy these short glimpses into our life and come along on this adventure with us!

Sv Lyrae Part 1: Introductions!

2022 Egypt

Ancient Millers at the Pharonic Village, Cairo.

It’s November 2022 and we are finally traveling again! It feels good to get on international flights and use our passports. What a long 2 years it has been with Covid. Our move to Orcas Island (Feb 2020) has been a dream. All of us have embraced and adapted to this unique small community and are so grateful for it. Yet we long for adventure and tropical waters. We hope to depart on Lyrae late summer 2023. This month trip to Egypt (by plane) is a warm up. Forrest and Sierra are loving 3rd grade at orcas elementary school and Aurora and Coral think Salmonberry kindergarten is the most fun place on earth.

We have split the 23 days of Egypt into 3 sections. The first Nov 3-9 was Cairo/Giza museums and pyramids and a fantastic land cruiser safari to the White Desert and Bahariya. Here is Forrest and Sierras narrative: https://youtu.be/pm0eYaYvzCo

Wind sculpted limestone of the white desert.

Our second part was Nov 9-12, flight to Aswan, temples temples temples, nile cruise, tombs tombs tombs, and Luxor.

Sarcophagus in the tomb of Ramesses IV. Valley of the Kings

Final part of the trip Nov 13-24. Starts with a “vacation from vacation” at a swanky air-bnb in El Gouna paired with daily wing surfing lessons. Beach buggy and camel rides. Then 7 days aboard a scuba/“family safari” on a boat in the Red Sea.

Gazillions of kite surfers at El Gouna. What a perfect place to learn this sport.

Hi from Sierra!

I just started kindergarten and it is my favorite thing!  Well, I also really like Wonder Woman.  I was Wonder Woman for Halloween this year and got the rest of my family to dress up as superheroes.  I have liked Wonder Woman since I can remember.  I am going to be Wonder Woman when I grow up.  I really like to meet new people.  Even though I really love my sisters and brother, I’m not sure if I want to leave and be away from my new friends at school to do a big boat trip.  But my mom tells me that we will get to swim almost every day in the ocean where there are fish and stuff and that is also my favorite thing, so I’m excited.  Have a great day!