Book Release and Author Tour
I was not expecting the snow though I had bought a thick quilted coat and warm furry boots to keep warm. It was 32 degrees Celsius in Malaysia when I left, and 32 degrees Fahrenheit when I arrived in Vancouver. My friend Lynette McIvor who accompanied me was much more stylish in her cold weather outfits. Lynette is a sailing woman who lives mostly in Bali and she came to assist me with the full itinerary for my guest speaking tour over the following three weeks as well as to share another adventure. I was guest speaker every day at the Vancouver Boat Show, as well as promoting my book ‘Blue Water Women” at the Maritime Authors stand.
Gina at the Maritime Author’s stand Vancouver Boat Show Feb 2019
This area was on a different floor from the seminar area and I relied on Lynette to get me from one to another on time and she is a much better sales person than I am. These are photographs of some of me in action in these areas. The subject for my seminars was ‘Learnings from a Life at Sea’ accompanied by some great slides.
We stayed at The Kingston Hotel which was an old hotel, very comfortable and close to the Boat Show, but its main advantage to us was that through a connecting door there was a nice old pub that served tasty meals. Just a mad dash through the snow across the road was our breakfast spot ‘Café Medena’, warm and welcoming with wonderful fresh imaginative food. The buzz from people breakfasting before work was invigorating.
Me in action
Mary Anne Unrau’s boat Traversay iii in the snow Vancouver
“Just a mad dash through the snow across the road was our breakfast spot ‘Café Medena’, warm and welcoming with wonderful fresh imaginative food”
Saturday was Women’s Day, which is a recent initiative at the Vancouver Boat Show with a full-on noisy appreciative audience. In the evening we found our way to join the party of Women Who Sail which was another joyful occasion. Next day we had a day off, so Lynette and I donned our outdoor gear and took the gondola up to Grouse Mountain where we enjoyed the snowy views.
Top of Grouse Mountain
Lynette keeping warm at the lodge at the top of the gondola
Our next engagement was to deliver a talk and promote my book to the members of the Vancouver Blue Water Sailing Association, a great bunch of sailors. This was a special highlight for me as I got to spend time with Mary Anne Unrau with whom I had only previously communicated by email, because she is one of the women I interviewed for my book.We decided to fly to Seattle rather than drive over the border, hire a car there and drive down to Port Townsend to give my talk at the North West Maritime Center.
It was a stressful drive because I had not driven on the righthand side through a strange city on a four-lane highway in the rush hour and in a snowstorm for about 40 years. But we arrived safely in the quaint area of Port Townsend before dark with enough twilight to take photos and a short walk around the harbour before my talk.
“It was a stressful drive because I had not driven on the righthand side through a strange city on a four-lane highway in the rush hour and in a snowstorm for about 40 years”
Port Townsend Harbour View from the hotel.
Brion Toss RIP
We met Brion Toss, a master rigger of great repute, who graciously gave us his time, and then went upstairs to the sail loft to see if the renowned Carol Hasse were there, but sadly she was not. However, we were given a tour of the sail loft which is mighty impressive.
Rigging Loft
Captain Nancy Erley, tethysoffshore.com
Another notable person we spent time with was Nancy Erley, an intrepid sailor and teacher, who very kindly took us both to lunch. It was a memorable time as we discussed all things sailing from a woman’s perspective.
The North West Maritime Center, where I gave my talk, exceeded all expectations. The manager Anna Waters met us and showed us around some of the building which houses an extensive library, meeting rooms and a large area for learning boat repairs and wooden boat building techniques. They also offer a wide variety of sailing training programs and courses. The whole center is truly impressive. The chandlery where my talk was held was very well stocked with a selection of books and other things nautical for sale.
Anna and Gina in the Chandlery NW Maritime Center
Wooden boat building area
Marine Library
Exterior of the NW Maritime Center
“It houses an extensive library, meeting rooms and a large area for learning boat repairs and wooden boat building techniques”
Port Townsend has a fascinating history starting with the Indians. We had time to look at some of the quaint buildings before we went for the ferry.
Typical old house in Port Townsend
Old Bell Tower
We took the ferry across to Whidbey Island on our trip north to Bellingham, driving from island to island through snowy scenery of Pine trees and the sea. I gave a talk at The Village Bookstore, which is a gem, on a Sunday afternoon to non sailors, so I delivered my talk on our ‘Adventure into the Unknown’ about our exploits in PNG. This is a very pretty area and an elite one, just a short distance from Seattle.
Brunch in Bellingham
Village Books, Bellingham
We had to drive through the middle of Seattle to the North where we finally found the Barnes& Noble Store at Northgate. Two of the women were absolute gems and made the frustrating drive very worthwhile.
Barnes & Noble, Women with their Books
Next day we made time to go see some of the sights of Seattle. We thought we would go to the main city Art Gallery, but it was closed on a Monday. What we saw by the steps was a surprise; a big mound of snow moved to show a person sleeping under a layer of cardboard and 2 feet of snow! We visited the Space Needle but our favourite place was Chiluly Gardens, so bright and warm and very creative.
Chihuly Gardens Exterior
“our favourite place was Chiluly Gardens, so bright and warm and very creative”
From their website; ‘Since Seattle hosted the World’s Fair in 1962, the Seattle Center has remained an integral part of the local community. The iconic Space Needle is an important reminder of the dreams of that time. Owned and managed by the Wright family, children of Howard S. Wright II who constructed it, the Space Needle continues to be an icon for innovation, originality and imagining the future.
When the opportunity to reinvigorate Seattle Center arose, the Wright family took interest. They invited Northwest artist, Dale Chihuly, to present a comprehensive collection of his work. Having always loved the Space Needle, Chihuly was delighted with the opportunity to design an Exhibition Hall, a Garden installation and a Glasshouse in his own community. Through its community partners, Chihuly Garden and Glass supports opportunities for education and involvement in the arts.’
One of the blown glass gardens
Another favourite exhibit
Then it was a rush to get the plane and the long flight via Taipei to Bali for some R and R before rejoining my lovely Friwi, Christian, on Stardancer in Langkawi. A journey to remember for not only the places but more for the wonderful people we met and contacts made.
A journey to remember for not only the places but more for the wonderful people we met and contacts made.
Blue Water Women Available Now