Over the Mountains and thru the Woods
William Wordsworth once said, "Sweet childish days, that were as long as twenty days are now." So easily does time slip past as we accumulate the years, and so it was for our sailing vessel AQUILA as well. We hauled her from the inland waters of Lake Roosevelt on the Columbia River in northeastern Washington State with our eyes set on the saltchuck of the Salish Sea with only a small boat list as a hurdle. Alas, so the great stream of time flowed on, the boat list grew and two seasons passed with us fully on the hard. As I look in the rearview mirror at 65 the saying, "it takes me twice as long to do half as much," rings truthfully. Fortunately with the help of a hard working young lad the last task of stripping and repainting her bottom was complete.
William Wordsworth once said, "Sweet childish days, that were as long as twenty days are now." So easily does time slip past as we accumulate the years, and so it was for our sailing vessel AQUILA as well. We hauled her from the inland waters of Lake Roosevelt on the Columbia River in northeastern Washington State with our eyes set on the saltchuck of the Salish Sea with only a small boat list as a hurdle. Alas, so the great stream of time flowed on, the boat list grew and two seasons passed with us fully on the hard. As I look in the rearview mirror at 65 the saying, "it takes me twice as long to do half as much," rings truthfully. Fortunately with the help of a hard working young lad the last task of stripping and repainting her bottom was complete.
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| That new bottom paint is looking good! |
On the eve of the full eclipse of the sun August 20th, 2017, my partner Catherine, pilot/chase car driver, and I in the 2001 Dodge 3500 Cummins Diesel with 13,000# of trailer hulk astern set off on the first leg of our journey to Leavenworth Washington on the eastern foothills of the Cascade Range with a plan for an early crossing of the mountains the next morning.
I'm Irish. Which most likely accounts for why Murphy was my co-pilot that day. We were just pulling highway 97 south of Okanogan when a trailer tire blow with the sound of a 12 gauge fired. Looking in the mirror I saw a chunk of rubber fly off. Remember, when towing big loads - no big application of the breaks. I eased our unhappy boat trailer off the highway into a turnout for a farmers field. Changing a trailer tire with that big load aboard is never an easy task. Changing it as an old man with a bad back is even worse. In the end we called AA Roadside Service.
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| Just another day in Paradise... |
To make a tedious part of this story short. The plans changed. We rolled into our (unfortunately over priced and uncomfortable) Leavenworth motel room rather late. Made the best of it with burgers to go in the city park and shifted gears. Catherine had early morning obligations in western Washington the next day and could not linger as I sorted out the boat trailer tire situation. My day would have me back track to Wenatchee where the nearest Les Schwabs tire shop could certainly help me out. And they did!
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| A new set of skins did some major impact to the cruising kitty. |
I even got to share a pair of those little eclipse glasses with the Les Schwab pit crew. All the while we changed out all of the trailer tires after they failed inspection. It isn't the miles that kill boat trailer tires its the years, the solar exposure and the lack of use.
So as the eclipse passed and noon gave way to mid-day I set
my sights on crossing the Cascade Mountain range via 4,062 foot above sea
level, Stevens Pass. The old Dodge pulled the grade without flinching and soon
we were in western Washington State with Anacortes being the next port of call. Things rarely go as planned, but sometimes they work out nicely. My arrival in Anacortes was late in the afternoon after several roadside stops to stretch my aching back, but that happened to put me right at the boat lift when things were getting quiet. The operator encouraged me to take advantage of that lull and allow him to put the boat in the water right then. It worked out great even though I was road weary after a long drive.
Anacortes
The City of Anacortes is a very nice, small port town. The waterfront on the Fidalgo Bay side is easily accessible for a trailerable/transportable vessel. The city is located in Skagit County on the northern end of Fidalgo Island. Samish and other Northern Straits Salish peoples have inhabited the land in and around Anacortes for thousands of years. Permanent non-Indian settlement began in the 1860s. Anacortes was incorporated in 1891 with an economy based on lumber, fishing, fish processing, and farming (although historical notes indicate there were profitable periods of smuggling both immigrants and booze). The Anacortes Yacht Club boasts being the oldest in Washington State. More on that in a moment.
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| Easy, easy, easy - the new boat launch lift in Anacortes. |
The City of Anacortes is a very nice, small port town. The waterfront on the Fidalgo Bay side is easily accessible for a trailerable/transportable vessel. The city is located in Skagit County on the northern end of Fidalgo Island. Samish and other Northern Straits Salish peoples have inhabited the land in and around Anacortes for thousands of years. Permanent non-Indian settlement began in the 1860s. Anacortes was incorporated in 1891 with an economy based on lumber, fishing, fish processing, and farming (although historical notes indicate there were profitable periods of smuggling both immigrants and booze). The Anacortes Yacht Club boasts being the oldest in Washington State. More on that in a moment.
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| And all of a sudden I'm piloting a jousting mechanism down the waterways of Cap Sante Marina. |
What brought us back to Fidalgo Island’s only incorporated small town was a contact made during our last salt water cruise of ’09 – Andy at NW Rigging. In a recent conversation Andy told me about the new boat lift, the new mast lift boom and offered to lend a hand when we arrived. I took him up on it. Add into the mix the laid-back nature of Anacortes, plenty of marine services, a good hardware store, and a walk-able area, especially if you berth at Cap Sante Marina or anchor out and dinghy there. The Anacortes Yacht Club is the oldest in the state, very friendly and invite everyone to join in their round-the-mark races during the summer on Wednesday evenings and a fun potluck at their clubhouse afterwards. We've joined them a number of times.
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| Check out this backdrop to the Anacortes Yacht Club Wednesday evening round-the-mark races. |
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| And of chaos she was filled... |
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| Dinner on the tool box. Bon appetite... |
I think it was Joe Cocker who sang, “I get by with a little help from my friends.” Well when it comes to mast raising and rigging that song is apropos as well. Andy and his acquaintance Jeff came by the next day and gave me a hand with the boat, the mast raising and a few other things.
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| Resembling something more like a boat... |
If you’ve ever owned a boat you’ll understand what I’m
saying here. The boat list mentioned above when AQUILA was on the hard at her
home turf may have closed, but the very moment I laid eyes on the port city of
Anacortes a new boat list developed, and this one, unlike the much more stable
home list, was now growing every day. No matter how hard I worked to check the
lines of list items off. It must be a metaphysical thing.
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| Attention to detail gets this job done right. |
Mast up: rigging set: boom attached: mainsail hanked on and
furled: mainsail cover on: headsail hanked on: roller furling functional (on 2nd
try): new davits on and adjusted: shift anchor chain: shift anchor: provisions stowed: clothes bags stowed: gear
bags stowed: tools stowed, and then taken out again, and then stowed: new fishing line: fishing
gear stowed: new fishing license purchased: WA Marine Parks pass purchased:
Vessel Documentation? Oops! And that opened a black hole that I hope you never
have to visit.
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| Second evening aboard provided a moment to wipe the sweat off and chill out for sunset. |
Like many Pacific NW sailors I’ve been following the R2AK since its inception. If you haven’t here’s a summary of what this race is about by the people who put it on: "R2AK is the first of its kind and North America’s longest human and wind powered race, and currently the largest cash prize for a race of its kind. It’s like the Iditarod, on a boat, with a chance of drowning, being run down by a freighter, or eaten by a grizzly bear."
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| Note the steak knife behind us. |
First place winners took in the prize of $10,000 cash. 2nd place received a set of steak knives (see one knife mounted behind Lars and I in the nearby photo).
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| The Strandberg brothers of Big Broderna |
While we are talking about Team Big Broderna here are a few details: Vessel: F31 trimaran,
full sail along with human propulsion: Custom Pedal Drive Hometown: Anacortes,
Washington USA
The Brothers Broderna were one of the first teams in the
R2AK’s 2015 inaugural year and sailed so hard they snapped their mast in a full
gale in Johnstone strait and exited the race a few hundred miles early. In 2016 they set a world record finish by a
Trimaran in 4 days, 16 hours, 30 minutes
Timeout for a Boat Delivery
Whilst I was about boat chores, transport logistics and plans my close friend and fellow sailor Richard was in the process of purchasing a new-to-him used boat. Just so happened that his take possession and maiden voyage from Lake Union in Seattle to her new home berth in Everett coincided with my first few days in Anacortes. He called and I signed on as Delivery Skipper with the condition my back allowed no heavy lifting or hauling of lines. Richard’s owned a custom 30 pilothouse in the past but wanted me along just in case as I’ve a bit more sailing experience. In the end it paid off.
The vessel’s name is Amani Uhamba, she’s an early ‘90’s Dudley Dix design built in South Africa. She looked to me to have been rode hard and put away chaotically, but with very nice lines and lots of potential. Sometimes “potential” is a nice word for sweat equity, cash investment and a bit of cursing.
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| Richard navigating under the Fremont Bridge. |
I had been in a tour vessel which navigated the Hiram M. Chittenten (aka Ballard) Locks once before, but for taking a small vessel thru this was the first time for us all. Other than an initial SNAFU with one of the volunteer dock staff yelling out confusing directions the passage went smoothly. “Hey you on the sailboat," he called. I looked at him and then the two other sailboats astern of us. “Are you talking to us?” I called back. “Yes! I mistook you for a sailboat,” he replied sarcastically. “I mistook you for someone who is here to assist us.” I stated rather pointedly. He glared at me and probably guessed I was ready to fire back. I was. The issue vanished.
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| And the gates are opening... |
The lads had been wanting to fish the whole day. It didn’t help their restraint that while tied to the bollards awaiting the locks (in a non-fishing area) the fish jumping were so thick one could almost net them from the boat gunnels. When we finally broke out into Shilshole Bay the summer sun, while lower in the sky, was shining brightly. I knew we still had some serious miles to go but I also knew the guys who had provided us with all the lifting muscle today wanted to make a few casts. We agreed to put the throttle down until we got to where Admiralty Inlet met both Puget and Possession Sounds. That area is good fishing grounds and closer to Everett so we’d have a better idea was to what the remaining daylight looked like. I had relieved Richard at the helm and he was forward sorting halyards, sheets and a nest of unknown lines and rigging. We got the head sail up which put us right at trolling speed, we shut down the motor, lures whizzed off poles and the summer afternoon was nice. A little bird fluttered about the mast head but I chose to ignore it.
The fish weren’t biting but the favorable breeze increased a few knots and soon we all agreed to set the main and put this boat to it’s first true paces as a sailing vessel under Richard’s ownership. I’m happy to report it clipped along rather nicely. Giving the deepening twilight we didn’t do a lot of maneuvering all too soon had handed down the sails and fired the diesel as we made the Everett approach past the Navy base. It was then, in the full of early night, in a narrow channel with fluky currents, that the motor died. Thankfully we had a slightly favorable tide in the slew combined with a somewhat favorable light wind. As we lost momentum our vessel drifted ever closer to the beam of a moored Coast Guard Cutter on the Navy yard side of the channel. Thus while Richard scrambled to figure out the mechanics I had the lads help me haul up the sails and get the boat hooks ready to fend off. Soon, with the sails up, we were under way again up channel. Richard, in the meantime thought he had figured out the problem. Appears one fuel tank was empty and he switched us over the tank with unknown fuel remaining. The little bird was on my shoulder again. This time I listened. We had just rounded the mark from the channel into the boat basin, the waterways crowded with moored vessels when the motor died again. There was an empty end slip forward of us to portside. I had maintained the helm since our first surprise engine failure and this time I instructed the crew to make ready to tie off to the dock. Smooth as you please we came to rest on the end of the dock. The little bird had been right…
Back to our Main Cruise
Upon returning to Anacortes and the sailing vessel AQUILA life made a big improvement from days past. Gone was the chicken to-go eaten on the toolbox, stowed was the boat mess, fixed were the myriad of small nagging tasks, no more drinking wine out of the bottle; the first mate had arrived. And with her the ever faithful ship’s dog Pinja.
With Catherine present the final touches to provisioning, stowage, and life onboard came to conclusion. But there was one lingering problem. Actually it was a problem that had developed a couple of years ago when my back injury prevented us from sailing much. I had neglected to file the annual vessel documentation papers with the National Coast Guard office on the East Coast. When I called them from Anacortes to catch up with my paperwork the situation was dismal to our cruising plans. They were 60 days behind with recreational vessel documentation. In short, there was no way AQUILA could clear into Canada within the next two months. And unfortunately for us, clearing into Canada on this cruise was exactly what our yearlong plan had been. Bad oversight on my part. There’s more to the headache this presented but I’ll summarize by saying if you ever have to deal with something like this make sure, absolutely sure, that you are dealing with the U.S. Coast Guard. There is a website called U.S. Vessel Documentation which at a casual glance looks like the Coast guard site. It is not!
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Casting off...
“Go small, go simple, go now” ― Larry Pardey, Cruising in "Seraffyn"
And so it was the crew of AQUILA bid the fair port city of Anacortes adieu and cast off our lines with no real destination in mind.
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| Anacortes Washington, gateway to the San Juan Islands |
It is a good feeling to head out in one's own boat, whether for an afternoon sail, a month long vacation or an extended cruise with no fixed return point. Of course each of these outings have vastly differing parameters. But each contain within them a specific moment when the journey begins.
“It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You
step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where
you might be swept off to.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings
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| One of the crew is very excited for shore-leave... |
There are two James Islands in Washington State. One a
sea-stack like landmass at the mouth of the Quillayute River near La Push,
Washington. The other is a larger 113 acre James Island in the San Juan archipelago, a Marine State Park. The Quileute island, which is known to the local
tribe as A-ka-lat - "Top of the Rock", is named in honor of Francis W James for his work in translating
the local native language to English. The beginning of our cruise found us
rounding the northern shore of James Island in the western reaches of Rosario
Strait on the evening of our first day on the water. We have stayed here a
number of times over the years most notably back in
September of ’09 when Catherine and I considered ourselves very lucky sailing
into the inner cove of this island and discovering the dock unoccupied. In fact
we had it entirely to ourselves that distant night. Once again the luck of the Irish
was with us and nary a vessel seen on either side of James Island – in August!
Of course that didn’t last very long, and soon we were giving a hand to two
other vessels who became our overnight neighbors. Oh well, as the French say, “Que
Sera Sera.”
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| The 1st morning of September brought dawned slowly... |
The Washington State
Parks Boating Program offers an annual moorage for $5 per foot, with a minimum
of $60. Our 30’ vessel is $150. If you moor at docks, floats, and buoys in fee
areas multiple nights a year, this is a good way to save money. The permit is valid
January 1 through December 31. It works well for me as we have yet to finish the install of the new windlass and with an injured back hand-hauling the chain & anchor is no longer an option.
More to come...
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