boating drama

I think just taking a boat away from the dock or even owning a boat means you will experience a significant amount of boating drama but the other weekend put most of the things we typically experience into perspective.

Saturday morning Sam and I headed left Elliott Bay early to head up to the San Juan Islands where we would leave our boat for about a month while we visited on weekends. We love the San Juan Islands but aren't willing to leave it up there year round so once a year we leave it up there for a month so we can enjoy it without having to spend all weekend just getting it up there only to have to turn around.

Our trip up went well and we made excellent time for a sailboat. There were some pretty large rollers but fortunately they didn't last for too long and most of the way was smooth motoring. We left the dock at 6 a.m. and by 3:00 we were at James Island and about to turn the corner to go to Anacortes. We decided we should find a spot to spend the night at either James Island or at Spencer Spit. James Island was full and only anchoring was available and since it isn't recommended we went to Spencer Spit.

Of course the mooring buoys were full but we decided to anchor. For some reason we didn't follow our normal anchoring procedure and I didn't think we were set very well. I had already turned off the engine and told Sam we should reset the anchor. So I went to turn on the engine and it made a horrible sound - just like your car does when the starter won't engage. Not so good. After calling around trying to get assistance over the phone we realized it wasn't going to start. Sam even tried starting it with some kind of electrical arc but no luck.

I had now gotten more looks at our engine than I ever wanted to at this point and I am sure Sam was feeling the same way.

Of course about 2 hours after we anchored a mooring buoy opened up but sailing over there would have been a bit of a challenge so we stayed put. The afternoon and evening was nice and since there was very little breeze we decided to wait until morning to try and sail out to Anacortes or Friday Harbor.

Of course once it got dark the wind started to pick up and by 11 it had started blowing about 30 miles an hour and the lightening and thunder had started. We kept checking the boat and we seemed to be in the same place. At midnight I was awakened by the sound of Sam yelling at me to get dressed and come up - seems our anchor had slipped. The bad news this wasn't a nightmare and I was truly awake.

We had planned for what we would do if this happened but of course all the planning in the world goes out the window when I couldn't pull in the anchor by myself. Turns out the electric anchor winch only works when the motor turns on. So now it was up to Sam to pull in the anchor by hand while I sailed us out of there. Luckily Sam had quite a bit of adrenaline rushing through him so he was able to bring it in. The wind of course had died a bit and I couldn't get the sails to fill so we started to drift towards the rocks. I rarely sail by myself in good weather and now I was expected to sail in conditions that were less than ideal and in the dark.

Just in time the wind came up again and I was able to get us headed in the right direction. Now we were sailing at 12:30 at night with a thunder and lightening storm, no motor, a very scared first mate, and no destination in mind. The wind kept changing anywhere from 0 knots to 25 knots without warning so one minute we would be drifting and the next we would be moving right along. In the midst of this we were also in the ferry path and had to avoid the ferry so we needed to make a decision on where we would go.

Sam decided to head to more open water so we headed towards Anacortes. We called for a tow but it would take them 3 hours to get to us so we were on our own. Once we got into Rosario Strait we both breathed a bit easier since we no longer had to watch our depth quite so closely.

Just when it felt like I didn't have to be quite so scared Sam suddenly spotted a large boat on our radar screen coming towards us. We finally saw the lights and realized it was a tug of some sort and yep it was on course with us. We had been sailing along at a pretty good clip with some large waves hitting us sideways but once the tug got close the wind died and we were in its direct path.

At this point Sam was more frightened than I was probably because I was exhausted and after 2 1/2 hours I think I was too tired to be so scared anymore. We were in the direct path and now we had hardly any wind so we were pretty much stuck. Sam didn't want to turn around because the tug should see us and turn the other way and if we turned we would turn into the same path. Sam kept saying I just want to see the green light all I see is red. By this point we had realized they also had a large tow which only made it worse. Finally less than 1/4 mile away from each other Sam finally saw the green light and realized we would make it if just barely.

I can only imagine what the tug captain thought when he saw a sailboat sailing at 2:30 in the morning. It certainly was not a time I ever wanted to be out sailing when I was so close to land and marinas.

Since the wind kept dying at this point it took us 2 hours after our near miss with the tug to get so we were turning to Cap Sante Marina in Anacortes. The sun had started to come out and we were close to putting an end to our experience. Of course though just after before rounding the corner the wind died again and this time we had absolutely no wind and lost all of our momentum. Finally we got about 2 knots and rounded the corner and hoped we could hang on long enough to sail into the marina.

The wind didn't hold though and soon we were right outside the entrance - the very shallow entrance - and the current had come in and we started to drift. When I asked Sam the depth he told me I didn't want to know which pretty much told the whole story. Just when I thought we would go aground someone headed out to do some fishing left the marina and we waved them down. All the times we had towed other boats paid off and we got a tow into the dock.

The boat towed us in and then we had enough momentum to get into the dock though our anchor did hit at this point I hardly cared. I was so relieved that it was finally over and we had made it. Exhausted we crawled into bed.

Later that morning Sam found someone on the dock to come take a look at our engine. Turns out the 2 bolts holding the starter together had somehow come loose and were lying on the floor. He put them back on and told us that it must have been an error in the settings at the factory since they never should have come off. The large rollers we had hit were what had probably jarred it loose. I will say that was the best $84 I ever spent to get that kind of news and have our motor start.

I am confident that Sam was wondering if I would be willing to go out boating again right away but this last weekend I was once again on the boat heading out. Now he didn't get to sail but I blame that on the fact we were on a time deadline but really I feel he got plenty of sailing time in last weekend I just wanted to enjoy the sound of the motor. While others say how calm and relaxing sailing can be I think the sound of the motor can be the best sound one can hear on the water since it means it is working.

After our motor was fixed we made a beeline for West Marine and spend some cash on more safety equipment and for once I didn't complain about how much we spent at the boat store. Seems I felt it was worth every penny and I was already asking about additional items we suddenly needed on board. Wonder if a sailboat can have a kicker motor - I am investigating.