May 28, 2009
Those of you who know us are probably wondering when you get to read about our many fiascos. It is hard to go boating without experiencing fiascos, no matter who you are. But when you are a Mundt and you normally experience fiascos on a regular basis in your everyday life - well...it goes without saying that there will be marine fiascos.
For the most part, this trip has so far been remarkably trouble free. Excuse me while I go find a piece of wood to knock on. Sailors are superstitious. The boat has worked very well. We haven't visited a single shipyard. In comparison, on last year's "vacation" we spent the first two weeks of our sailing trip visiting most of the shipyards of Anacortes and Sidney! So we are very happy and haven't really had a single fiasco of a mechanical nature. I've got to go find that piece of wood again.
However, on a boat there are many things that can go wrong. Not all of them of a mechanical nature. In sailing they alwa
ys say that there are two kinds of sailors: those who have and those who haven't. Run aground, that is. Well I guess now I have to say that we have joined the former group (we had, in fact, been aground many years ago...but that was on a different boat, so we don't count that). I can't say that we ran aground, but we did indeed "find the bottom" in Echo Bay the other day. I (Jude) was at the helm and apparently I was a little too smug the other day when I maintained that I could steer and navigate at the same time! Carl had just raised the anchor well off South Finger Island and we were slowly making our way out of the bay when we bounced. That's really about the best way to describe it. We bounced over what must have been a rock. As we were heading towards a -3.5 tide that day, it was pretty obvious that we would need to steer clear of areas we wouldn't ordinarily even think about in during a time of higher tides, but even so there was considerably less water in the spot where we touched than was indicated on the chart. At least that's my position! After checking out the bilge to make sure we weren't taking on water and using our rudder in a normal fashion, we decided that we could breath a sigh of relief that the fiasco hadn't occurred an hour later in the day when even less water wold have covered "Jude's rock". If any of you Northwest sailors out there want me to identify said rock on your chart of Echo Bay, I'd be happy to.
Jude at the helm
Fiascos tend to come in pairs (or more) and sure enough, a couple of days later we found out why you don't try to leave Fish Bay on Lopez Island in full flood current. We have been boating for many years. So many that I'm sure a lot of people consider us to be experienced boaters. I consider ourselves to be experienced boaters. But...an experienced boater is reminded time and time again that there is no such thing! You are constantly finding yourself in new situations that you don't know how to deal with. Today in Fish Bay we had such a situation. The current was flowing so strongly inside the Lopez Islander docks that we literally couldn't back the boat into the current without being thrown crosswise in the slip. Our inflatable dinghy served as a fender for us while we tried to figure out what to do! We needed all three of us to get the boat turned lengthwise in the slip again (albeit with the other side "to" this time!) and the lines and fenders moved. With Liz and I on the dock and Carl gunning the engine we managed to get the stern swung around the piling at the end of the slip and leap on board as the boat was heading out to open water.
Today we are anchored in Indian Cove on Shaw Island and the water is so clear that we rowed around the boat and could look down at the keel and see that there is no major damage apparent there from our encounter with "Jude's Rock". We did amazingly little damage to the boat in our second fiasco - the dinghy seems to be intact even after being squeezed between the LIBERTE and the dock for a considerable amount of time. Since most of our boating fiascos in the past have involved the dinghy, it is hard to believe that it didn't pop before our eyes.
Liberte at anchor in Indian Cove with the Olympic Mountains in the background
The one thing that has not been a fiasco in any way is the weather. We are enjoying weather that couldn't be any better in July or August. A little chilly overnight it is true, but beautifully warm days. Today we took a great walk around Shaw - the least commercial of the 4 San Juan Islands that are served by ferries - 100's are not.
Carl and Liz walking the roads of Shaw Island
There is only one small grocery store and no hotels, restaurants, B & B's, etc. There is one campground and that is in the bay we're anchored in. We walked to the school and library in the middle of the island. The original schoolhouse, built in 1890, still stands with some newer buildings around it. There are about a dozen students in K - 8.
Shaw Island School
The library is across the street and one of the only private libraries in Washington State. Carl and I have visited before, but today the library was open and we were able to get a look inside. An annual membership costs $5 a year. Why would anyone not want to join?
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