My name is Steve Allwine, I'm 30 years-old and I was born and raised here in Washington State. As such, I began developing my sailing skills also here in the damp Pacific Northwest - and I wouldn't have it any other way. My goal of this blog is to share some of my experiences, troubles and trials involved with owning, maintaining and sailing my sailboat. Which brings me to:
Belldandy - my 2002 Hunter 326.
 |
| Belldandy (formerly named Island Rendezvous) - with my father inspecting the anchor locker, just before our first sail. |
She was purchased February 2012 and is my first boat. I've had this dream of sailing for some time now, beginning not long after I started sailing small boats in Lake Washington some years back. I spent several years sailing up and down Lake Union, after learning the basics from the Center for Wooden Boats. I was bitten by the sailing bug. Soon, I sought out instruction on how to sail larger boats, eventually finding family-owned San Juan Sailing and taking several, week-long ASA courses in sailing and bareboat chartering from SJS. I can't say enough good things about those folks; they are wonderful group to work with.
Not long after deciding that I wanted to find a boat, I came across this Hunter 326 while walking along the Des Moines Marina. I didn't want to immediately jump on the first good looking boat I saw, but after some stewing, looking over comparable boats, talking it over with my parents, and more closely inspecting her - it looked like a good match for my plans. She was gently used, with only 300 hours on her engine. All of her original rigging seemed in quite good shape and frankly, just gave out a good 'vibe.' I'm sure the old salts know what I'm referring to: while I can appreciate any boat, there's always something about "the one." Kinda like falling in love really, except . . . with a boat.
My goal is to eventually cut my ties to land and undertake a several year sabbatical sailing the great Pacific ocean. I know Belldandy won't be able to take me that far, as she isn't properly hardened for open ocean voyages but with being a 32' offshore rated boat, she should be able to comfortably take me all around the Salish Sea. I plan on spending the next two years developing my sailing skills, including single-handing. That way, when I begin my grand voyage, I'll be confident in my abilities and knowledge.
