Clif and Giselle here— We are two Alaskans who have lived on and off boats for the majority of our partnership. From our first date onward, Clif made it clear that boats and the ocean would be a big part of our lives. He was determined to purchase a sailboat and travel to warm waters. After less than a year of dating, we made that vision become reality. Clif bought his first sailboat, a 1978 Cal 34 named Sound Discovery, sailed it from Tacoma, Washington to Juneau, and we moved onboard. As you can imagine, winters on a sailboat up in Alaska are dreadfully cold, especially in a small, un-insulated fiberglass hull, so we sailed south to Mexico in the Fall of 2013.

While Sound Discovery was a wonderful first step, the Cal was a little too light for ocean passages, and we upgraded to our thick-hulled, full-keel Hans Christian 38T, Sedna. After an extensive Mexican refit, Sedna made her way across the Pacific Ocean to New Zealand, via the South Pacific Islands in the year of 2018. She underwent another major refit, including a new engine and galley remodel in the summer of 2022 in the Bay of Islands, NZ.

While we may call Juneau, Alaska our “homeport,” we have most recently been living and working in Haines, a small town 60 miles north of Juneau. Giselle has been teaching K-12 Art at the Haines School, and Clif continues to pursue boat work and captain positions in Southeast Alaskan waters. During our “Covid Times,” while separated from our sailboat, we managed to get a puppy and buy a house in Haines and hope to slowing bring Sedna back up to her Alaskan waters over the next several years.

See Our YOUNGER Adventures aboard Sound Discovery At Our Previous blog.