July 2, 2020. Julian Cove, Quatsino Sound
Shortly after I stopped writing that last post, Sara phoned me, and we had a good chat. She made it home safely, and was getting mentally prepared to go back to work today. While we were talking, I was in the cockpit, and looked over the transom again. Sure enough, the rudder was starting to touch the muddy bottom, even though the depth sounder still showed 13 feet under the keel. There is a shelf here that drops off deep in very short order, so while the middle of the boat was in 13 feet, the rudder was in about 6 feet. I quickly hung up, pulled up the anchor, and after a couple of tries, managed to get it set in deeper water that kept me safely away from the shallows. No harm done, as the bottom is just mud and shells. There might be a bit of paint scraped off the rudder, but nothing more than that.
The Green Shallows are sneaking up on my rudder. I touched ground not long after this.
That is one of the things about the boat that keeps me coming back. It is constantly trying to teach me things, some of which I learn more quickly than others. I’m not just thinking about the obvious lessons, like all the mechanical stuff I’ve learned about engines, plumbing, electrical, etc. Or all the sailing lessons like navigating, and working the wind and weather to best advantage.
The weather is still unsettled. I’m hoping summer will arrive to the North Coast soon
I’m thinking more about the big idea lessons, like patience, resource management, and self-sufficiency.
Patience is something boats teach you again and again, and it’s one of the ones I have the hardest time with. When we were sailing in the Caribbean, I think it took me months to slow my mind down to the point where I was comfortable with how long everything takes on a boat. Any job you try to do always takes 2-3 times as long as you expect, and if you don’t budget for it, it can drive you crazy. If you’re patient, though, things get done at their own speed. For example, this morning I changed the line on our motor lift for the dinghy. I wanted a longer one, so that I can use the electric winch and the remote to lift the engine off the dinghy when I am managing it single-handed. This should have been a simple matter of swapping the lines, but since they were so tight through the pulley, I couldn’t tie an extra piece of string around to act as a mouse to draw the new line through. After trying that, and then trying tape, I realized the only way to do it was with thread and a needle. Nothing else would fit through. So I got out my sewing kit, and carefully attached a thread to the old line. Then, I gently pulled it through and sewed the other end to the new line. Being careful not to break the thread, I managed to feed the new line through the pulleys and the stainless steel lifting arm. All told, what I thought would take about 5 minutes ended up taking about 45, once I found everything, tried multiple ways, and got everything cleaned up.
The lone tree island at the entrance to Julian Cove
Then, there is the weather. I’m waiting for a good window to get south around the Brooks Peninsula. All the guidebooks, and other sailors, have cautioned us to be careful with this trip, as the wind and waves can really build up outside the peninsula. The best weather is a steady northwest wind, which pushes you around, and keeps the waves rolling in the right direction. The forecast originally showed exactly that for Saturday, but now it’s showing southeast winds and big waves, right on the nose. Sunday and Monday, things may calm down, but it doesn’t show any ideal weather in the foreseeable future. For now, I’m sitting and waiting, and trying not to get cabin fever on the boat.
This afternoon, feeling a bit trapped, I broke down and put the paddleboard in the water. I was waiting for the wind gusts to settle down, but that didn’t seem like it was going to happen, so I went anyway. I guess my need to move overwhelmed what little patience I have learned. It turned out OK. I paddled all around Julian Cove, and got off and walked over the sea grass covering the shallow in the northwest corner of the bay. This is covered at high tide, and there a lots of logs, crabs, and muddy beach to explore. I even paddled out into Neroutsos inlet a bit, but the wind was building up some big waves out there, so I turned around and came back in. The waves were big enough that I had to get down on my knees to execute the turn. I was far enough away from the boat that I didn’t want to go in the water when I turned broadside to the waves.
Taking some time ashore
Now I’m back on the boat, and the winds are still gusting strongly, as they seem to do here in the afternoon. I’m thinking about cooking dinner, which is making think about my resources. The boat is an entirely self contained world, with the only electricity coming from what I can generate from the engine and the solar power. The oven will only run as long as I have propane. I made water last night, which I always think of as converting sunshine into liquid, since the power comes from the solar panels. It really makes you aware of what you use every day, which we are so removed from on land. I’m not completely pollution free, since the engine still runs on diesel, but it is a challenge to be completely responsible for maintaining the resources to keep going.
Monster log on the beach
Learning to be alone is another challenge. It is not something we do very much in life, and it takes some practice to be comfortable. It is a good skill to have, especially when exploring is appealing. I won’t say it is as much fun as being able to share this with someone else, and it is definitely taking some getting used to. The quiet makes every noise of the boat sound louder, and it is hard not to be a bit anxious knowing how self-sufficient I’m going to have to be for the next part of my trip. Still, I think with a little more time, I’ll get used to it, and the anxiety will settle as I gain experience. I haven’t solo sailed much, and this boat is still pretty new to me, so there is a lot to get used to.
Ray Charles just started singing “I Got A Woman” on the stereo. Sara hates this song. It’s not the most politically correct. Makes me miss her even more.
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