The presentation, A Flicka 20’s Pacific Odyssey, commenced on March 12, 2025 at the Port Townsend Sailing Association clubhouse in Port Townsend.

Thank you to everyone who made it out. I believe the farthest traveled from was San Francisco. Several made it up from Seattle too. And, of course, lots of more local folks. About 70 people made the effort and I very much appreciate it. I hope it was worth it. I think it was a success.

Thanks to all the people who supported and helped in making it happen. I had a great time.

All photos by Shelley.

Thanks to Josh and Small Craft Advisor for picking up The Resourceful Sailor. This was a special installment based on nostalgia and déjà vu, harkening back to the Different Drummer days.

Click the logo below to read the article.

Small Craft Advisor

Thank you ‘Lectronic Latitude and Latitude 38 for publishing The Resourceful Sailor Makes a Strong Point on March 10, 2025. Monica and John have been steadfast supporters of The Resourceful Sailor and Sailing With Josh. This installment is about adding strong points for blocks to the side decks of Sampaguita to accommodate the storm jib.

CLICK HERE for the full article. Thanks for stopping by.

If you are a Small Craft Advisor fan, you’ll be excited to know The Resourceful Sailor now publishes a column with them. Thanks to Josh and SCA for bringing me into the fold. It is very kind of them. So whether you are a ‘Lectronic Latitude fan or a Small Craft Advisor fan, or a Sailing With Josh fan, you won’t have to look far for The Resourceful Sailor.

Small Craft Advisor
Small Craft Advisor

Thanks to Josh and Small Craft Advisor for picking up The Resourceful Sailor. They republished “Is it Varnish or Vanish?” on Feb. 27, 2025. Do you varnish, paint, oil, or leave it alone? Special thanks to local legend David White for the inspiration.


Resourceful Sailor: “Is it Varnish or Vanish?”

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Flicka 20 Bowsprit

This is the last in this five-part series.

I have been sorting through some archival footage from my 2019 transit of the Northwest Passage aboard Oliver Huin’s Breskell. Maybe this will be fun for the armchair sailors. Maybe it will be helpful for those planning a future trip. Like Jimmy Cornell’s:

The High Latitude Challenge 2026-2027

I’ve heard it said that fewer people have transited the Northwest Passage by boat than have climbed Mount Everest. If true, I suspect that statistic may be challenged soon enough. Presently, only captains and vessels are acknowledged. I was only working crew.

Watering, provisioning, and shelter. For Breskell it was a series of hops across the Canadian Arctic. Slight periods of darkness were beginning to set in as it was mid-to-late August, yet we were not out of ice danger yet. Weather was also beginning to become less summer-like and temperatures were starting to drop. Yet, it wouldn’t be long before we would turn south. Ironically, with a final destination of Port Townsend, Washington, once we were through the Bering Strait, Breskell would only be halfway to her destination.

Tuktoyaktuk also inspired the piece: Tales Of The Northwest Passage – Tuktoyaktuk – What’s In A Fish?

“News is free. Journalism is not.” – The Associated Press

Please consider a donation to Sailing With Josh if you find any value in this website and its coinciding YouTube page. I assure you that they come nowhere near the required thresholds for monetization. I attempt to provide free and equitable access to this site and YouTube page for all races, and economic and social classes. A DONATE button is on this site’s home page. Thank you for your thoughtfulness.

Small Craft Advisor
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The Resourceful Sailor Asks “Does Size Matter?”

Thank you to Josh Colvin and Small Craft Advisor for publishing a Resourceful Sailor piece about considerations of choosing what boat fits your heart and soul, published on Feb. 5, 2025. Small is relative, though a Flicka 20 has always fit the bill. Follow the link above for the full article and thanks for stopping by.
A Flicka 20 and Two Westsail 32’s Walk Into a Bar…..

I have been sorting through some archival footage from my 2019 transit of the Northwest Passage aboard Oliver Huin’s Breskell. Maybe this will be fun for the armchair sailors. Maybe it will be helpful for those planning a future trip. Like Jimmy Cornell’s:

The High Latitude Challenge 2026-2027

I’ve heard it said that fewer people have transited the Northwest Passage by boat than have climbed Mount Everest. If true, I suspect that statistic may be challenged soon enough. Presently, only captains and vessels are acknowledged. I was only working crew.

These show the Royal Newfoundland Yacht Club of St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada, where Breskell wintered over and refit for her 2019 passage. The RNYC is on the Conception Bay side of the peninsula. There are excerpts from Breskell‘s voyage from Newfoundland to Greenland, which was a staging area for awaiting the clearing of ice from Baffin Bay and The Northwest Passage. Our crossing of Baffin Bay was entirely under power with nearly no wind at all.

Sailing With Josh & The Resourceful Sailor Present:

Wednesday, March 12, 2025

5:30pm – FOOD/SNACKS          6:00pm – SHOW         7:30pm – RECEPTION

FREE FOR EVERYONE!

@ The Port Townsend Sailing Association Clubhouse – Nomura Building – 385 Benedict St. (Facing the Boat Haven parking lot)

Host: PTSA                                                   Beverages: Admiral Ship Supply

Britannica defines an odyssey as:
1. literary: a long journey full of adventures.
2. a series of experiences that give knowledge or understanding to someone.

In August 2023, Sampaguita, a Pacific Seacraft Flicka 20, and Joshua Wheeler embarked on an epic Pacific Ocean odyssey. Beginning and ending in Port Townsend, WA, they journeyed down the North American West Coast to Baja, Mexico, followed the trade winds to the Marquesas, and returned via Hawaii (sort of). Josh will share some places visited, wildlife encountered, psychological “research”, and equipment used in this single-handed voyage of a tiny boat on a big ocean.
Joshua Wheeler has lived and sailed on small craft for over 15 years and 25,000 nautical miles. Credits include a 2019 transit of the Northwest Passage, two solo circumnavigations of Vancouver Island in 2018 and 2023, the Inside Passage to Alaska in 2022, and a Pacific tour in 2023-24. He’s held a USCG Master license and has a recurring column in Latitude 38’s ‘Lectronic Latitude called The Resourceful Sailor Series.

I have been sorting through some archival footage from my 2019 transit of the Northwest Passage aboard Oliver Huin’s Breskell. Maybe this will be fun for the armchair sailors. Maybe it will be helpful for those planning a future trip. Like Jimmy Cornell’s:

The High Latitude Challenge 2026-2027

I’ve heard it said that fewer people have transited the Northwest Passage by boat than have climbed Mount Everest. If true, I suspect that statistic may be challenged soon enough. Presently, only captains and vessels are acknowledged. I was only working crew.

Graham Harbor on the south shore of Devon Island is the furthest north I have been so far. Just about Latitude 74°30’36.88″N, Longitude 88° 9’26.93″W. The anchoring experience was pretty wretched. The worst I have ever had. (That’s two, so far.) It was deep, the holding was bad, and the wind ferocious. It was easy to think there might be protection inside the bowl. There was not.

There is a narrow opening to the west of a spit. This opening clogged with ice as the tide came and went. What was worse was waking up to a dragging anchor as the wind funneled through the harbor. Another boat in the harbor, Altego II, from the Czech Republic, topped that. Ice had entered the harbor and surrounded the boat and anchor. Luckily, with some poles, angst, and persistence, they were able to retrieve the anchor. We both moved about the harbor several times trying to get good holding. When the tide retreated and drew the ice out and clear of the entrance, we both made a run for it while the getting was good. Fortunately, this coincided with a weather window we were able to carry through Peel Sound.

I hope you enjoy the videos. Thanks for stopping by.

“News is free. Journalism is not.” – The Associated Press

Please consider a donation to Sailing With Josh if you find any value in this website and its coinciding YouTube page. I assure you that they come nowhere near the required thresholds for monetization. I attempt to provide free and equitable access to this site and YouTube page for all races, and economic and social classes. A DONATE button is on this site’s home page. Thank you for your thoughtfulness.