M.V. Gyrfalcon

M.V. Gyrfalcon The Gyrfalcon is an 88-ft fantail motor yacht originally built in 1941 as a US Coast and Geodetic Survey vessel to chart the coast of Alaska.

The Gyrfalcon is an 88-foot fantail, designed by H.C. Hanson, a noted Northwest naval architect. Built in 1941 by Sagstad Marine of Ballard, she was launched as the Patton (ASV 80), an auxiliary survey vessel for the US Coast and Geodesic Survey (USC&GS). Her draft is 8.5 feet and her beam is 23 ft. Her sister ship, launched in 1940 as the E. Lester Jones, is now named the Summer Wind. For 25 year

s, the Patton conducted hydrography surveys in the Aleutians and southeast Alaska. At the end of each season, she returned to Seattle for repairs and retting. Her moment of WWII glory occurred on August 13, 1944, when she rescued the crew of a B-24 Liberator that had crash-landed on the far western Aleutian island of Ilak. She was also recruited by Navy ships to search for sunken seaplanes. In 1971, her original Cooper Bessemer direct-reversing engines were replaced with Caterpillar 3306s. The masts were removed and the extended salon was added. She currently has four staterooms – the owners’ stateroom (the original Officers’ Quarters) and 3 guest staterooms (the original Crew Quarters). She carries 1100 gallons of fresh water and 4,200 gallons of diesel. Peter Mann and Nancy Everds purchased her in 2012 and renamed her Gyrfalcon (pronounced “Jeer”), after the largest falcon in the world. At that point in her history, she had become a “Project Boat.”

We have spent the last several years in extensive restoration and renovation. Major items include: coach house roof and railing, galley, hydronic heat, electronics, horn timber, sponson, various planks, deck repair and sealing, all new wiring, master stateroom and new paint – both inside and out. We are looking forward to extensive cruising, with the eventual goal of spending our summers in Alaska, thus repeating the cycle which began in 1941.

Come and tour the Gyrfalcon at the Maritime Museum of British Columbia’s Classic Boat Festival in the Inner Harbor of Vi...
09/06/2026

Come and tour the Gyrfalcon at the Maritime Museum of British Columbia’s Classic Boat Festival in the Inner Harbor of Victoria! This is the last day before we head out to Port Townsend for the Wooden Boat Festival.

Alaska 2026Day 96Wow. We’ve been at sea for 96 days. Sounds like a survival movie…We are almost back. Currently spending...
08/29/2026

Alaska 2026
Day 96

Wow. We’ve been at sea for 96 days. Sounds like a survival movie…

We are almost back. Currently spending a few days in Montague Harbour in the Gulf Islands (Canada). Next week we head to Victoria for the Wooden Boat Festival, and the following week to Port Townsend. Both are great opportunities for folks to tour wooden boats, and for us to see fellow fanatics.

Also, since we are selling the boat (perhaps you haven’t heard!), it is a great opportunity for the next stewards of the Gyrfalcon to meet the boat. It is (if we say so ourselves) an incredible vessel at an unbelievable price. So come on down! End of commercial.

Here are a few more images from our summer in Alaska. Enjoy.

Here are 3 eagle/fish stories from the SE AK 2026 trip.1. Mid-air meal: This is the first time I've seen an eagle hold...
08/28/2026

Here are 3 eagle/fish stories from the SE AK 2026 trip.
1. Mid-air meal: This is the first time I've seen an eagle holding a fish in its mouth while flying and then swallowing it. Apparently they do this with small fish when they can to avoid other birds stealing them.

2. 4-5 minnows at once: we saw this eagle at Magoun Island catching handfuls of minnows and taking them back to its nest or perch. You can see a few heads and a few tails in its claws.

3. Swimming with fish: (Not good photos, but it was almost dark and the bird was very far away.) This eagle caught a fish that was too big to carry, so the eagle swam to shore. It was amazing to watch--it looks so difficult. You can see videos of this behavior on line--they look like they are doing a butterfly stroke.

Opinions please! This bottle and the orange thing were on our anchor when we lifted it to relocate in Montague Harbor. ...
08/27/2026

Opinions please! This bottle and the orange thing were on our anchor when we lifted it to relocate in Montague Harbor. It the orange thing a creature or something made by humans?

08/17/2026

Gyrfalcon from the Argonaut II as she enters the harbor at Waddington Bay in the Broughtons

08/17/2026

M.V. Gyrfalcon from the Argonaut II as she entered our anchorage in the Broughtons.

08/11/2026
08/11/2026

That is one muddy anchor! Shearwater Bay, BC

08/11/2026

Alaska 2026
Day 75

Anchoring in Shearwater.

You want your anchor to hold. A sandy bottom is okay. Rocks are not so good. The best is a mud bottom, so the anchor flukes can dig in. But there is mud, and then there is MUD.

We often pull up varying amounts of mud on our anchor chain and the anchor itself. Sometimes it has a strong organic smell (okay - it stinks).

This morning when we raised the anchor in Shearwater, the anchor chain was entirely encased in mud. A sleeve of foul mud. A glove of reeking mud. A…..Words can’t properly describe it, so check out this video.

08/09/2026

Alaska 2026
Day 74

Today was another great whale day.

We are in northern British Columbia, slowly headed south. We left Rescue Bay early this morning, in order to reach Percival Narrows at high tide slack. The passage through the narrows was easy, with almost no current. The seas were calm, so we continued toward Milbanke Sound.

We hadn’t counted on the morning fog, but it was thick enough that we had to turn on the radar. The fog was dense, thorn it lifted, then it was thick again.

Whales are voluntary breathers – unlike land mammals, they have to consciously take a breathe. When they sleep, they leave half of their brain alert, in order to breathe, and to remain aware of their environment. This is called unihemispheric sleep.

One way that humpbacks sleep is called “logging”. They rest on the surface, blowhole in the air, and resemble a very large log. This morning we came upon a large humpback logging in the fog. It was around 60 feet directly in front of our bow when we first saw it. We quickly jogged left and the whale rolled right. No harm done to the whale or the boat. You could see the underside of his/her flippers as she passed within 25 feet of the boat. Incredible to see, and very glad we didn’t smack one another.

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2442 NW Market Street, #410
Seattle, WA
98107

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