the crew

Our Captain: Ashley Murphy began her sailing career in 2005 after a whirlwind romance with a sailor to be named later. She dove right into the racing scene onboard their 40 ft C&C. As the first mate of the captain she was also second in command of the boat. Her responsibilities to begin with included but were not limited to: trimming the sails, managing stores, manning the windlass, preparing meals, plotting courses, researching gear updates and organizing all that required organizing. The only thing that she did not tackle right away was electronic installation, engine repair and maintenance and docking the boat. She would later master all of these as well (well except for the docking). She has been first across the finish line and she has been near the back of the fleet as well. She has numerous multi-week trips throughout the Salish Sea as well as a circumnavigation of Vancouver Island under her harness belt. Her favorite things about the cruising lifestyle is the morning activities that do not include getting ready for work and that any day can be what we make it.

Our (other) Captain: Dan Murphy began his sailing career at a young age. He sailed the Salish Sea while racing on his parents Newport 41 at 12 years old. His family spent most of their summers exploring the San Juan Islands and up to Desolation Sound. It was early on in his life that he discovered his love of adventure and exploration. It was not until racing to Hawaii with his dad that he discovered his love of sailing. So when he got out of the Army he soon found his first sailboat that also acted has his home while in college. Dan has had a boat for most all of his adult life but he did not truly become a well rounded mariner until he found his best friend and partner in adventure, Ashley. It was only then that Dan was able to begin his deep dive into the intricacies of yacht ownership and care. Having a partner who is bought into everything about the boat is essential for any adventure to be truly enjoyed and maximized and Dan is very lucky to have found that partner in Ashley. In 2018 Dan retired from a career in business to begin a cruising life with his family. Dan’s favorite part about living the cruising lifestyle is spending time with his family while living so close to and becoming one with nature.

Victoria is our resident naturalist and walking encyclopedia. Victoria began sailing at the age of 8 months when we sailed from Seattle Washington to her name sake Victoria B.C. At that time she was strapped down in her car seat. She quickly learned new responsibilities and by the age of 8 she was pulling watch duties while we sailed in the ocean. She is the first person in the crew to say that we should turn off the engine and put up the sails. She loves all thing in nature and can spend hours upon hours exploring beaches at low tide. We long ago learned to rely on her knowledge and species identification skills. Victoria’s favorite part about the cruising life is being a part of nature, using the wind to move and not an engine that pollutes and being able to see so many different animals in their natural environment.

Alexander is always on the lookout for a new adventure and challenge. Alex is the first to say lets climb that mountain or we should snorkel around that reef. He is absolutely fearless and willing to try anything. He was swinging from rope swings into the water at age 6. He mastered snorkeling in 2 minutes at the age of 5. If there is water around he wants his mask and fins and see ya later. He will only come up again when the shivering is so much that he cannot hold the snorkel in his mouth. He was 4 the first time he rowed his own boat. He took 5 seconds to learn to paddleboard. If it involves being on the water, in the forest or on his mountain bike he is ready to go day or night. Alexander’s favorite part about the cruising life is that he can do school work at different times and places, he gets to do lots of fun stuff and he gets to go swimming a lot!