After about a year of living on my boat in a marina, I finally bought the necessary parts for a major lithium upgrade, which will give me the freedom to explore away from shore power for many days at a time. I still have a ways to go before I’m able to be completely off-grid, but every piece of the puzzle gets me closer to that freedom.

I set up the solar and battery build in my van, so I felt moderately prepared for this project. However, the boat’s electrical system is much more complicated than my simple setup in the van. My rapidly approaching deadline weighed down my body as I scrambled to troubleshoot things before my first trip out to the San Juan Islands.

The last part of the project was installing the charger/inverter and cleaning up the battery space for the trip. Luckily, I had a couple of hands to help with the heavy lifting. Dakota from Journeyman Diver came to visit.

Right from the jump, the trip was rocky. I took us to an area, and I thought I knew where I was, but I cut a shallow corner of a channel and almost ran aground. It really spooked me because I’m not confident with anything I do on the boat, but for some reason, I was in that moment. I beat myself up for a bit, but then Dakota did something unhinged that got me out of my shame spiral… Dakota tried to jump into the dinghy while we were cruising at 6 knots and ended up in the Sound.

Now, I will say, both of us understand how dangerous this could’ve been, and it won’t happen again, but what’s funny about being a scuba diver, and specifically instructors, is neither of us is spooked by the water. I know that, as sailors, the water can mean death, and I’ve met plenty of boat people who are genuinely terrified of the water, but that simply couldn’t be me.

Anyway, we kept things moving, enjoyed the sunset from the boat, and managed to arrive at Port Ludlow just as night was settling in.

In regard to anchoring, I still have a hard time judging exactly where I can drop anchor based on depth and distance to objects nearby. Also, there are general rules of certain ratios of scope (the amount of line from the anchor to the boat), but I’m still learning what is best based on conditions and the amount of space in an anchorage. Finally, I’m figuring out what tools I need to use to help me sleep at night, which includes an anchor alarm. The first night, I used an app that scared the bejesus out of me when the boat slowly moved completely around the anchor with the change of the tide. We were still locked onto our spot, but I hadn’t set the alarm to allow us to swing a full 360 degrees around the anchor. And let me tell you, hearing the anchor alarm go off at 1:00 in the morning is not easy to shake and relax back into sleep.

Our next stop was the San Juan Islands. I didn’t research much before this trip because I wasn’t sure where we would end up or how many days we would have, so as we left Port Ludlow, I chose James Island State Park as a possible mooring spot. Luckily, we arrived just in time to grab the last mooring ball for the night.

Arriving to the islands made me wish we had more than a few days to explore the area. I will definitely be back soon… with scuba gear ready to go.

Most people I know who live on boats really enjoy all the rocking at night, but I have to admit, I have a hard time relaxing with all the sounds. The creaks of the deck remind me of the soft spots I need to fix. Aside from that, I sometimes get a weird sensation of drifting away that creeps into my dreams and brings me back to consciousness.

Our next stop was Port Townsend, where I planned to anchor for the second time. I had seen plenty of boats anchored near the boat yard during my haul out, so the idea was to hang out there for the night. But when we arrived, I noticed Fort Warden was open for anchoring, and I couldn’t resist. I spent a lot of time in this State Park when I was living in my van. I even dove here once when I was learning to use my dry suit. Even though I loved it here back then, I was never allowed to sleep in my van at Fort Warden, so this felt like a little triumph. This is exactly why I wanted to switch to boat life. 

That final morning, we were out of decent food, so we decided to try anchoring near town for a little brunch before heading back to Seattle.

Being out here with the boat still feels totally surreal. This first trip to the islands was exactly what I needed to jumpstart a new aspect of boat life – actually cruising. It feels hilarious that I’m finally ready to explore now that summer is over.

The gray, wet weather is moving in, but the cool thing about the change in the season? Visibility is improving, and the diving will be much better. Next step, try doing this boating stuff alone, and eventually, figure out how to get to dive sites by boat and jump in the water (on purpose this time).

See what trips are coming up. I always give my community first dibs on spots, so you can sign up for Patreon (and get trip discounts) or my email list to be the first to know about new expeditions in the future.