CHANGES With reports this month on Wayfinder's almost-empty-nest adventure;
Appa's young owners making good their escape; and Convergence's first (can you believe it?) Baja Ha-Ha. We also catch up with a few more 2023 contributors in our annual Where Are They Now? feature, and check in with a few other folks in Cruise Notes.
WAYFINDER
Wayfinder — Jeanneau 53 Chad and Lori Bremner Last Trip Before the Empty Nest Vancouver, BC Last year my wife Lori and I came to realize that soon our home was going to be empty, as both our kids were about to move out to start lives of their own. Over a sixmonth period, we discussed the idea of having one last Empty nesters Chad and Lori adventure towill be continuing south later gether before the nest was this year. empty. As we sit here on the deck of Wayfinder, rocking gently in the Sea of Cortez, I can't help reflecting on the incredible results of the decision we made: sell our house in Calgary and start one last family adventure, by land and sea, with Hanna and Adam. The Bremner family of four — plus our trusty dog, Lucy — set out on the adventure from Victoria, British Columbia, to Mazatlán, Mexico, on August 1, 2023. Our vessel of choice was a Jeanneau 53-ft sailboat named Wayfinder, and our land transportation was a Mercedes Sprinter van. The road trip and the sail were going to be an epic farewell to our old life and a welcome to new beginnings for 18-year-old
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Crossing under the Golden Gate is always a Kodak moment.
Adam, who is taking a gap year before heading to Toronto for college next year. Our oldest, 20-year-old Hannah, is already living on her own in Toronto. She would join us periodically to share in the adventure. The plan was for me to sail Wayfinder down most of the US West Coast (Adam was aboard as far as Crescent City), while Lori would drive the van. We would meet at various ports down the coast until we arrived in San Diego. Once we arrived in San Diego, we would fully move onto our floating home and sail south with no defined destination. From Seattle, we made our way down the West Coast of the United States, exploring each coastal city and port along the way. We visited Sequim Bay, Port Ludlow, Tacoma, Gig Harbor, Seattle, and Neah Bay. The sights, sounds, and experiences of each place left a mark on our family's collective memory. Gig Harbor was a family favorite with easy access to ice cream, pizza and West Marine, which supplied the parts to support a neverending "to-do" list. As we ventured farther south, we encountered picturesque destinations like Newport, Coos Bay, Crescent City, and Eureka. The redwood forests of Northern California were awe-inspiring, and we took hikes through the towering trees, feeling like tiny creatures in a giant's world. One of our favorite experiences was taking a road trip to Florence, Oregon, to rent dune buggies to rip up and down the sandy coastline. In San Francisco, we marveled as we crossed underneath the iconic Golden Gate Bridge. We continued our journey down the California coast, stopping in Santa Cruz, Monterey, San Simeon, Morro Bay, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Marina del Ray and Newport Beach. Each place had its own unique charm and beauty — with a few teaching moments thrown in: During an early morning dinghy landing with Adam in San Simeon, as we got close to shore, the surf raised up the stern
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of the dinghy, turned us sideways, and dumped both of us, and our belongings, into the water. We laughed a bit nervously as we gathered up our things, but a lesson was learned. For the rest of the trip, we took dinghy beach landings more seriously. Our final US destination was San Diego, a city known for its vibrant waterfront and laid-back atmosphere. It was in San Diego that we joined the Baja Ha-Ha rally fleet of boats, a community of likeminded sailors embarking on a thrilling adventure to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. With Halloween just around the corner,