on the Ocean - Kadey

CRUISING
@
A Spot
on the Ocean
Ken and Patty Sebby crossed from Mexico to
the South Pacific, where they visited Bora Bora
(spread), Tonga (top, inset) and Nuku Hiva
(bottom, inset), among many other places.
B
PNW cruisers make the Mexico-toMarquesas crossing in their trusty
trawler. Q&A with Patty and Ken Sebby
ack at the end of last century, Ken and Patty Sebby chartered a sailboat in the British Virgin Islands with Patty’s sister and her husband. The Sebbys went again the following year and rented a panga
to transit from bay to bay. Patty said to Ken, “I could do this for the
rest of our lives.”
Fast forward 10 years. It’s 2009 and the Sebbys — after nearly a
decade of sitting at their computers and looking at boats and blogs
and trading links with each other, and even starting to plan the
cruise they want to take in retirement — buy Oogachaka, a Kadey-Krogen 42
in Anacortes, Wash., and move it to Umatilla, Ore. Three years later — after
countless excursions on the Columbia River, moving aboard and moving the
boat to Bainbridge Island and then Sydney, B.C. (to add a davit) — they take
that trip to Alaska they’d planned before they even owned the boat. Secretly,
Patty is dreaming about a global circumnavigation (which is going to have to
wait). We’ll let them, Patty mostly, tell the story.
16 Sea Magazine / October 2014
How did you get from the Pacific Northwest to
where you are now (the South Pacific at the time
of the interview)?
After leaving the Columbia River and spending a winter at
Eagle Marina on Bainbridge Island, near Seattle, we spent a
little more time in Sydney on Vancouver Island to add a davit
to the upper deck and prepare the boat for longer passages.
Then we headed to Alaska via the Inside Passage — a fabulous
journey. I would say it was our favorite, but we are not quite
finished yet. As planned, after that we participated in the Baja Ha Ha with
120 sailboats and two other trawlers, which landed us in Mexico for over a
year — loved it! We traveled from Cabo as far south as Zihuatanejo, stopping along the way. Then we traveled back up north to sail the Sea of Cortez.
In March 2014, we left Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, headed west across the
Pacific to Nuka Hiva in the Marquesas, and we have been traveling west in
the Pacific Ocean since then (Fakarava in the Tuomatoes, Tahiti, Bora Bora,
Vava’u in Tonga and Fiji). We will next go to New Caledonia, and our current
plan is to stop when we get to Brisbane, Australia, and, sadly, sell the boat.
Ed. Note: Ken and Patty arrived in Sydney Aug. 28 to complete their
crossing of the Pacific Ocean.
SeaMagazine.com 17
@
A Spot on the ocean
Anyone can
do this; you
just have
to prepare
yourself
properly
ahead of
time.
(Clockwise from top) The Sebbys spend
time on Bora Bora with friends Carolyn
and Bill. Oogachaka is anchored in a
tropical cove. Ken poses with a piece
of native-inspired art. Ken and Maki,
a Tongan guide, head to shore in the
dinghy. At a park in Nuku Hiva, Ken
attracts several of the local youngsters.
18 Sea Magazine / October 2014
What have been the biggest
challenges of the trip, so far?
Hands down, the biggest challenge is
maintenance, which certainly includes
finding the parts and knowledgeable
mechanics to install them. It’s pretty
spooky to be in a boat that is powered
by a single engine and has no sails, in
the middle of the biggest ocean in the
world and the engine stops because you
need to change a fuel filter, or you actually shut down the engine to change the
oil and oil filter. We had to do that on
our 2,700-mile passage from Mexico to
Nuka Hiva. Our engine has never let us
down. It always starts right up … but
there’s always a first time.
On our first trip down the Columbia
River to Portland with my brother and
his wife, the fuel line started leaking.
We stopped at a small town, and Ken
and my brother ended up putting something together that would work (with
an off-duty mechanic). This was when
we first discovered that MacGyver is
real and also that people really do help
cruisers whenever they can. It’s great
to be a part of this community.
What’s a typical daily schedule?
During a long passage, the typical
day is to wake up and take your threehour watch, go back to sleep for a part
of the next three hours, then wake up
for your next watch, back to sleep, etc.
OK, mostly this is the evening hours,
but when you are bouncing around in
the ocean, there is not a lot you can
do. We read, do stuff on the computer,
play a few games and take naps. I do
the cooking, but it is very simple stuff.
A typical day in a port is a lot more
fun. I get up late, so Ken has already
done some boat project by the time I’m
up. We have breakfast and then maybe
do a couple more projects on the boat.
For lunch, we travel to shore in our dinghy and take our computers with us.
Ken takes care of computer business
and checks the weather, and I update
our blog and check email. We might
run some errands on land after that or
do some kind of tour. Next, we usually
go back to the boat and read or relax.
In the early evening, there are usually
people we have to see and share happy
hour/story hour. One night, we went to
a drag-queen show and once to a quiz
night at a bar, but often we just hang
out with other boaters. We have met
some great people and made wonderful friends. Though we are always leaving these people, we often catch up to
each other down the road. For some
of the folks I know, we will go out of
our way at some point in the future to
make sure we see them again. Cruisers
are that special.
What is it like provisioning along
the way?
Provisioning is great fun for me. I
am a planner, and I make detailed lists
of what we are going to eat and when.
We are simple eaters and have had no
trouble at all finding the food we want
at the grocery stores. My problem is
follow-through. I don’t always make
what I plan, and I don’t enjoy cooking,
so whenever we are in port, we eat out.
The biggest adjustment I have had to
make is I cannot buy caffeine-free Diet
Coke, so I have had to drink caffeine
again after giving it up years ago.
Bring as many boat parts and spares
with you as you can from the U.S.
where they are readily available and
much less expensive (e.g., oil, oil filters, fuel filters, impellers, fan belts). A
good rule to follow once you have left
the U.S. is that if you see it and think
you might need it, buy it, because you
may never see another.
What are the highlights of 2014?
It is hard to define a highlight for
this year, as there have been so many
special moments and great accomplishments. We were thrilled to
cross the ocean from Mexico to the
Marquesas — the largest mass of water
with no place to stop and get fuel. We
met some friends in Nuka Hiva, and
they said when they had talked to us
in Puerto Vallarta they couldn’t believe
we were going to cross the ocean without a backup engine and with no sails.
They couldn’t decide if we were the stupidest people they’d met or the bravest.
Of course, we knew our boat could do
it and we didn’t think much about this
issue. But besides accomplishments,
we’ve had great fun. When you sit at
the bar at Bloody Mary’s in Bora Bora
with your new best friends and listen
to Ken spout witticisms, well, life can’t
get much better than that! Or you have
eight cruisers sitting in your salon, and
you are playing a silly game and laughing so hard you know your face will
hurt the next day … well, I think you
get the picture.
And one more moment I must mention. We were having lunch at The
Aquarium in Tonga and catching up
on our computers. I looked around,
and at the table next to us sat people
from Spain; and over there was a large
group from France, Switzerland and
Sweden, and they were speaking to the
table next to them with a group from
Germany; and an Aussie and a Kiwi
were either arguing or making fun of
one another; and of course there were
the boisterous Americans sitting at the
bar, and the Canadians filling out the
melting pot. I suppose not everyone
would get a kick out of this, but I did.
Have you had any “holy cow”
moments?
Holy cow, as in, “That is the most
beautiful thing I have ever seen”? Yes,
Alaska and Bora Bora. Holy cow, as in,
“I never want to see that again”? Yes,
waves that are uncomfortably high,
and two times when Ken about scared
me to death. The first time was on
Bainbridge Island. The short version is
that Ken fell off our boat while fending
off another boat and ended up hanging
from the other boat’s rail; I thought I
crushed him between the two boats,
but he had let go and gone into the
40-degree water of Puget Sound (it
was winter). I couldn’t see him and felt
like he had drowned, and then I realized he was hanging on to the dock
after almost being pushed under it by
the current. The second scary moment
was when we were pulling up to the
fuel dock in Papeete, Tahiti, and Ken
tripped and fell forward onto the rail
with over half his body hanging over
the dock (going head first) before he
caught himself.
What advice would you give to
SeaMagazine.com 19
@
A Spot on the ocean
someone thinking of taking a
plunge similar to yours?
Do it as soon as possible, and do it
before you have grandchildren. The
major reason we are selling our boat
is our grandchildren. A couple weeks
ago, I was talking to my 3-year-old
granddaughter on the sat phone, and
she said she wanted me to come to her
house. I said I would come in a couple
of months, and she said, “Please come
tomorrow.” Then of course, she said,
“I love you, grandma.” My son got on
the phone and told me she calls me on
her toy phone every day. One day she
called me, and he overheard her say,
“Grandma, stop talking. I am talking.”
Funny kid.
That reminds me of another holy cow
moment. When you finally cross that
big body of water to the Marquesas,
you are really only halfway across the
ocean, and you are miles and miles
away from home. Some people love
this, but I felt very lonely for a while.
Also, I should say that anyone can do
this; you just have to prepare yourself
properly ahead of time. We took single-screw powerboat lessons and read
a lot of books. When we first got the
boat, we practiced on the river. While it
displayed ocean conditions, it felt safe
to have land on both sides of us. We
made mistakes but thankfully never
paid a huge price.
(Clockwise from top left)
Ken makes it known that
Kevin is the man who
fashioned Oogachaka’s
new paravanes. Nuku
Hiva provides a beautiful
backdrop. Patty and Ken
and Capt. Hook pose in
Tahiti. One of the showers
aboard Oogachaka has
been converted to storage.
A coconut tree on Fakarava
caught Patty’s eye.
If I can't find
someplace
to store
something,
then I
shouldn't
have it.
20 Sea Magazine / October 2014
What were the most important pre-departure tasks you
performed?
I mentioned earlier that we had
a davit put on the upper deck of our
boat. We love having it, because we
couldn’t get our dinghy up there ourselves, and we feel good having it up
out of the water every night. We are
also thrilled with the paravanes we had
made on Vancouver Island. We believe
the power stabilizers must work, but all
along we wanted the system we have,
since we don’t have to worry about
maintenance (except that we lost one
of the birds on the end of the chain and
had to have new ones custom made in
Nuka Hiva, which took four weeks).
Anyway, they work really well. We also
had competent mechanics go through
the main engine, the generator, the
alternator, etc., before leaving the U.S.
What were the least important
pre-departure tasks you performed — things you realize now
you probably didn’t need to do?
In Mexico, we had solar panels put on
the boat. Maybe if we continued on as
planned and did this for 10 years, they
would pay themselves off. But I think
our inverter system works well without
them. Ken thinks the solar panels have
been a good addition, saving us from
running the generator more often or longer. Also, we brought more clothes than
we need, but I think everybody does that.
Actually, we brought more everything
than we need. More tools, more towels,
more utensils, more food … you get it.
What sites, apps, books, online
groups, etc., were most useful/informational in preparing?
What about since?
People’s cruising blogs were really
fun to read before we started, and it
was amazing when we talked to other
cruisers that we all read some of the
same blogs. Yachtworld can’t be beat
as the website to look at boats.
Ken: The Krogen Cruisers Group
has been helpful, because other
Krogen owners provide good insight
(most boat makes have their own
online group that would compare);
Passagemaking under Power (PUP),
Trawlers and Trawlering (T&T) and
[anything related to the] Pacific all
provided nuggets of information and
entertainment. We read every boating magazine we could find that dealt
with trawlers — it all helps with your
knowledge base. More recently, I only
read threads that interest me or are
from people I have come to rely upon,
some of whom I contact individually
outside of the forums.
How handy are you?
Ken: I maintain the main engine
and the generator (oil, oil filter, fuel filters, impellers) and the water-maker.
Major engine work so far has been done
by competent mechanics, mostly in the
U.S. It has been more difficult to find
competent people outside the U.S., and
I am glad we have not needed more
work done than we have. You need to
be patient, check references and reputations, and talk to people who have
had similar work done by the person
you are considering, and then keep
your fingers crossed.
What two or three things do you
wish your boat had?
A bigger, more powerful bow
thruster, a Stidd chair for the pilothouse and a Wi-Fi antenna/amplifier.
What are three or four pieces
of equipment you couldn’t do
without?
A navigation computer/software,
radar, AIS, a water-maker.
What are two or three non-boating items you couldn’t do
without?
We certainly would not want to do
without our computers. They are great
for communication issues. We also
bought a super-cool blender before we
left (at Costco), and I can make the best
banana/papaya smoothies you’ll ever
drink. And I like having a good freezer.
I made several meals before we left
Mexico, and they came in very handy.
What is your storage strategy?
How do you find enough of it?
We have a lot of room on our boat,
but storage is still an issue. One of us
thinks things can be stored on the table
or on the settee, and the other feels
that everything should be stored out of
sight. We have a Krogen trawler, and
if I can’t find someplace to store something, then I shouldn’t have it. And I
mentioned earlier that we all take too
much stuff, so if you remember that,
maybe you won’t have an issue.
If you only had one CD, one
movie or show, and one book on
the boat, what would they be?
Carole King’s “Tapestry” CD, “The
Sopranos” and “The Poisonwood Bible”
by Barbara Kingsolver or “The Stand”
by Stephen King or anything by Anne
Tyler. I love to read.
SeaMagazine.com 21