About the Boat

Welcome aboard Happy Talk! This classic 1962 fifty-foot wooden-hulled boat is one of fewer than thirty such boats ever built by the Kettenburg family in their San Diego boatyard.

Kettenburgs are known around the world for their beautiful lines and ability to cut with grace and stability through the water. Just looking at this boat will make you smile!

Fifty feet of boat is a lot of space: enough to take a mid-afternoon snooze, stretch out for some yoga, have a private conversation, read a book, dance with the wind, or sit quietly while the scents, sights, and sounds of the Pacific Northwest waters waft over you.

Inside the Boat

Inside, ten very large windows in the main salon let in lots of sunshine even on chilly days, and allow our guests to enjoy the fabulous views regardless of the weather! Our comfortable salon is the ideal place to relax with a book or a cup of hot chocolate. The ship's library includes the works of Twain, Emerson, and Thoreau, as well as pieces grounded in our particular space and time such as Captain Vancouver's diary of his travels in the waters where Happy Talk currently sails or local author Clyde Ford's award winning Precious Cargo.

If you're joining us overnight, your luxurious on-board experience will include meals thoughtfully crafted with farm-fresh eggs and vegetables from Lummi Island's Common Threads Farm; locally caught salmon, crab, and spotted prawns; and fresh baked breads, cookies, and muffins. When we catch something sumptuous while underway, it is easy to fire up the stern barbecue for a fresh meal or snack.

The boat sleeps eight with ease. Egyptian cottons, goose down comforters and soft pillows will leave you torn between lingering in bed and hopping up to sip coffee on deck or enjoy an early morning kayak paddle at one of our many idyllic anchorages.

At Sail Away, we're proud of our safety record. We take every possible precaution to maintain your safety and comfort. Happy Talk meets or exceeds all U.S. Coast Guard safety requirements. She is outfitted with the latest navigation equipment and real-time satellite weather information.

Meet the Skipper

Captain Charlie DeWeese holds a U.S. Coast Guard Master's license and is a certified American Sailing Association instructor. He is also an accomplished paper maker and wooden bowl turner, an excellent cook, an experienced teacher, and a proud papa.

Charlie first caught the sailing bug in high school, and has been sailing recreationally ever since. After a rich teaching career in classrooms from kindergarten to college, Charlie seized his family's move to the Pacific Northwest in 2004 as an opportunity to leave the four-walled classroom behind; taking his love of teaching, learning, and exploring to the seas. Over the past five years, Charlie has averaged 120 days on the water each year. In the spring of 2007, he sailed Happy Talk north from San Diego to Bellingham, Washington.

Charlie is a proud member of both the Wooden Boat Foundation in Port Townsend and the Center for Wooden Boats in Seattle. Both of these celebrated organizations are steeped in the history and art of sailing.

Charlie's quick wit, gentle sense of humor, delicious meals, and impeccable safety standards set the stage for a relaxing sailing adventure.

About Lummi Island

Before or after your sail, make sure to take advantage of all that the wonderful Lummi Island community has to offer. The Saturday morning Farmers' Market, right across from the ferry dock, is open from 10-1, May through September. Wine tasting at the Artisan Wine Gallery is a regular Saturday afternoon event. Stop in for a piece of pie or a full-meal at any one of the island's three eating establishments: the Beach Store Cafe, the Taproot, or, for something a little more upscale, the Willows Inn.

The Islander is your one-stop shopping spot for everything from beer and wine to locally caught salmon. Next door, the Sisters Boutique boasts the beautiful work of the island's many artists.

If you're looking for a little more art, take a walk through Michael Oppenheimer's whimsical wind-art sculpture garden or the Ann Morris outdoor sculpture gallery.

The best of Lummi Island is still found in a quiet walk through the Curry, Otto and Baker Nature Preserves, supported by the Lummi Island Heritage Trust. Lummi Island's quiet roads are ideal for cyclists, and the island is a prime launch site for kayak explorations of the San Juan Islands. Don't hesitate to ask Captain Charlie for specific recommendations.

Our Local Waters

During the summer months, when not out on a sail, you will most often find Happy Talk moored off the northwest side of Lummi Island, just south of The Willows Inn beach front. Our launch site gains you immediate access to the heart of the San Juan Islands. The chances of seeing Orca whales in the Strait of Rosario are excellent as it is one of their major salmon feeding grounds.

We're also more than happy to arrange pick-ups or drop-offs throughout the San Juans - Orcas, Lopez, Cypress, San Juan Island or the Port of Bellingham.

Sail Away also travels north each summer into the Canadian Gulf Islands and beyond.