16 Sea Magazine / OctOber 2014 SeaMagazine.cOM 17

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, stop-ping 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.

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.

on the Ocean@A Spot

PNW cruisers make the Mexico-to-Marquesas crossing in their trusty trawler. Q&A with Patty and Ken Sebby

Back at the end of last century, Ken and Patty Sebby chartered a sail-boat in the British Virgin Islands with Patty’s sister and her hus-band. 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.

Ed. Note: Ken and Patty arrived in Sydney Aug. 28 to complete their crossing of the Pacific Ocean.

CRUISING

18 Sea Magazine / OctOber 2014 SeaMagazine.cOM 19

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 actu-ally 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 some-thing 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 three-hour 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 din-ghy 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 wonder-ful friends. Though we are always leav-ing 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 fil-ters, 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 accom-plishments. 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 with-out a backup engine and with no sails. They couldn’t decide if we were the stu-pidest 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 laugh-ing so hard you know your face will hurt the next day … well, I think you get the picture.

And one more moment I must men-tion. 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 real-ized 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

@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.

20 Sea Magazine / OctOber 2014 SeaMagazine.cOM 21

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 sin-gle-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.

What were the most import-ant 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 our-selves, 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 per-formed — 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 lon-ger. 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 use-ful/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 boat-ing 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 fil-ters, 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 rep-utations, 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 pilot-house 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-boat-ing 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 some-thing, 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.

@A Spot on the ocean

If I can't find someplace to store something, then I shouldn't have it.

(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.