Odyssey’s Epic Voyage
Across an ocean, up a river, and over a road.
This is how we brought her home to Lake Clark.
It started with an idea
Alison and I wanted a boat that would let us share the place we call home. Something comfortable enough to stay aboard while exploring Lake Clark. Finding the boat was one thing. Getting her here was another.
In the spring of 2022, we found Odyssey in the British Virgin Islands. She was called Galeaux then, a 2009 Voyage 500 built in South Africa. At 50 feet long and 27 feet wide, she had the room we wanted. Now we had to work out how to bring her to an inland lake in Alaska.
British Virgin Islands · Panama Canal · Pacific Ocean · Hawaii · Alaska · Kvichak River · Lake Iliamna · Overland portage · Lake Clark
Making a plan
First, she had to fit up the river
River pilot Randy Alvarez told us we needed a draft of less than four feet to get up the Kvichak. Odyssey’s listed draft was 3.9 feet, but at the survey we measured four and a half. For a moment, that looked like the end of the idea.
Then the Voyage team called the builder in South Africa. His answer was to shorten the keels by seven inches and lay up new bottoms. With the builder’s help, we had a way forward.
Across the Pacific
A good crew and a long way to go
Joel and Mercedes managed the delivery, with two more sailors aboard for each leg. I stayed home working and sorting out logistics, keeping in touch through satellite messages. I would have loved to be with them.
They went through the Panama Canal, crossed the equator near the Galápagos, and followed the winds west before turning north for Hawaii. Along the way, both main halyards broke and dirty fuel clogged the engine and generator filters. They reached Hawaii hand steering, with limited engine power and no mainsail.
After repairs and a thorough cleaning of the fuel tanks, they set off for Alaska. A fuel stop at Port Moller brought a warm welcome from the fish plant crew, including gifts of smoked fish. Then it was on to Naknek.
Into the lakes
Randy showed the way
Randy and his son met the crew at Naknek. With the tide helping them along, they worked their way up the Kvichak, anchoring for the night just short of Lake Iliamna. The next day they entered the lake and sailed across to Iliamna village.
Odyssey was getting close, but the trailer we needed kept getting delayed on barges. Our son Landon and I spent his thirteenth birthday aboard there on October 1. The delivery crew eventually had to leave for other commitments, so the last part of the trip fell to us and friends who came to help.
The overland part
Five miles an hour, when we were moving
When the trailer finally arrived, we hauled Odyssey out. It needed more work before we could move her, so we brought in help and made repairs. We stayed aboard on the trailer, without heat, as the nights were getting cold.
Then came the tires. We blew tires, had replacements flown in from California, and dealt with one punctured tube after another. On the hills, a loader helped pull the truck and boat uphill. At the steep river landing, it held the trailer back on the way down.
We finally launched into the Newhalen River just about dark. After all that, having the generator running and the heaters on felt pretty good.
The portage, on film
A few moments from the road between Iliamna and the Newhalen River in October 2022.
Home at last
The next morning, we followed a local barge up the Newhalen River, through Six Mile Lake, and into Lake Clark. Once we were on the lake, we pointed toward home, put the coffee on, and let the autopilot take a turn.
At Port Alsworth, the village came out to welcome Odyssey. There were even fireworks. After the ocean miles, river miles, broken gear, and all those tires, she was finally home in October 2022.
We hauled her out beside our house and got her winterized just before the hard freeze. A lot of people helped us get her here. Every time we take guests out on the lake, we get to share a little of what made it worth doing.