The Rest of the Story

While the storm was an exciting and terrifying experience, it was also great training for the less than benign parts of the ocean where I am heading, and if anything is certain, there will be more where that came from.

Some people seem to think that I will be using my parents boat for the voyage. Having experienced what it is like going to windward in her for a few hours, I would like to avoid knowing what it would be like for nine months. She is a great boat, but I will just be using her for training and will stick with the Swan 38 for the world voyage.

So, I told you about the storm, but haven't yet told the rest of the story. Here it is:

I left Tsehum Harbor at 7AM two days after the storm and pointed the bow north. It was a gray day, but that didn't matter as we were heading toward freedom. It's incredible how after a blow, the usual depressing gray and cold that we like to complain about doesn't seem that bad at all! The wind was extremely light so we motor sailed north. While making repairs we had bought a new anchor and I tried it out while still in the harbor. Everything seemed to be working well, which was almost a surprise after the wear from the storm.

That night we tied to one of the mooring buoys at Montague Harbor and I enjoyed the change from the last time I was there when there were countless boats all fighting for space. Now there were only two other boats and I had a good romp ashore, exploring the woods and roads around the anchorage.

The next day I untied from the buoy and continued the run north. For the next several days we traveled during the day and anchored at a secure anchorage during the night. In this way we made our way steadily north. A few days out of Tsehum Harbor the propane ran out so we were back to the expedition diet of cold soup out of the can. It was all too familiar from other sailing trips. I took loads of food but most of it required cooking and thus couldn't be eaten without a working stove.

Since most of us don't really enjoy the delicacy of cold soup, I would sometimes row ashore and build a fire to heat up the food. I could get one going pretty quick from my time in the woods and mountains. It would often be quite beautiful beside the anchorage under the stars away from the pollution of civilization and I would bundle up against the cold and stay up late by the fire before rowing back to the boat.

One night, in the Thormandy Islands, I had a beautiful evening just like described and put out the fire to row back to the boat. While launching the rowboat, my hand brushed up against a jellyfish, which just happened to be of the stinging variety. I wasn't that worried since they aren't that dangerous up here and it didn't hurt that bad just yet. Rowing back to the boat, I was marveling at the calm night and most beautiful phosphorescence in the water when I heard a bizarre sound coming from the water. With images of some sea monster from the depths, I rowed a bit faster to get back to the safety of the boat. The creature, whatever it was, made the same sound again, except louder and closer just as I clambered aboard the boat. I had just escaped the creature and heard nothing more from whatever it was.

The next morning I discovered our friend from the night before to be a seal, and he wasn't to let us depart without leaving his mark. The seal had kindly vomited all over the dinghy, with blood and scales and fish fins all over the place. I had put off cleaning it that morning and regretted that decision because after a day of sun, the vomit had baked onto the surface of the dinghy and it was all the more dreadful to clean up.

The sail south through the Strait of Georgia was a lively run with a strong wind dead behind and we roared downwind at 7 to 8 knots. That may not seem that fast, but believe me for this boat, it is. The waves were big enough that I had to worry about the boat broaching so I hand steered to keep the stern to the waves and we had a wild ride. The coast mountains of Canada were quite visible as it was a clear day and we made good time back south.

On the last day of the trip, my hands that were stung by the jellyfish swelled up and were complete agony for a few hours. It was quite difficult to handle the sails and lines but eventually the swelling subsided and I spent some time cleaning up the boat. I was boarded by the border patrol as we neared home (they always seem to be convinced I am a drug smuggler) and finally docked and dealt with the nonsense of customs and all that bureaucracy that seems so out of place after a while alone at sea.

So in the end we survived a force ten storm, jellyfish stings, cold soup and perhaps the worst of all seal vomit, all the while having a brilliant time! I cant wait to get out there again.

Cheers,

Ryan