Danae's first offshore experience!
Finally the day arrived to depart Seattle. I was excited to be going for my first offshore experience!
After a moving speech by the skipper of the "Sail like a Girl" team, Jeanne Goussev, and songs from Voices Northwest Chorus (Snohomish County’s all women a cappella chorus) we were off!
wonderful mix of women with all levels of musical knowledge and barbershop experience; and represent varied life backgrounds, talents, skills, and goals. They are part of the Sweet Adelines International non-profit organization. They compete regionally and have placed in the top three of their division the last three years.
Motoring away in the bright sunshine with the Seattle Skyline behind us - beautiful! "Sail Like a Girl" and several other boats escorted us for a while then waved good bye.
We were on a tight schedule to get to San Francisco by Monday evening, so we needed to motor any time there wasn't enough wind to maintain an average of 7.5 knots.
Despite the schedule skipper Wendy agreed to a quick stop in Port Townsend after folks from town expressed such a strong interest. Wow! The welcome in Port Townsend was amazing! Boats began welcoming us half an hour out.
Someone delivered a pizza to us, motoring alongside!
By the time we got to dock we had a full flotilla of sailboats, motor boats, kayaks, paddle boats, and the beautiful old ship "Adventuress" name.
As the dock came into view we saw throngs of people covering the dock and shore; everyone cheering! So much love for Maiden!
After short speeches, everyone lined up and toured the boat. We managed to get everyone through in our allowed 2 hours stop.
Then we reluctantly waved good-bye, wishing we could stay longer. On board was a lovely galley full of all the gifts fresh, locally grown fruit and bread and the best smoked salmon.
Off to the Straits of Juan de Fuca!
Main up 3rd reef and the chop and swells began. It was a long rolly (rough enough to make a ship or boat roll) night but the full moon was awesome.
It came up behind the boat glowing red then rose around the boat to a bright light sparkling on the water. With the stars overhead, we made it to the Pacific Ocean and turned South. We are on our way!
- Danae Hollowed
Danae Hollowed, 59, is from Seattle, Washington. After falling in love with sailing during a class at University, Danae looked for every opportunity to grow in the sport – racing dinghies, keelboats and eventually skippering her own cruising boat. When her two children were young, she certified as a sailing instructor and worked for a short time at a kids’ camp. Life got busy and after a lengthy break from sailing, Danae joined a local club, completed a two-year keelboat skipper training, and has recently started keelboat racing again in Puget Sound. She is excited to be back on the water! Danae uses her Master’s degree in Business Administration to manage and strengthen finance systems, most recently in the field of Global Health where she travelled extensively with the mission of building health care programs in resource challenged countries. Danae is inspired by the story of Maiden’s crew. When she started racing in the 1980’s she often heard “girls are bad luck on a boat”. She wants to help build women’s confidence in pursuing adventure and to share the love of sailing. Danae is excited to guest crew as a way to improve her sailing skills and to share the experience with an amazing group of women.
