Picking Up the Boat Part 2: To Anacortes

Posted by Unknown October 05, 2016

Picking Up the Boat Part 2: To Anacortes

Since Point Roberts is only 4.8 square miles and isolated (and flush with nepotism) I wanted to take the boat to Anacortes. Anacortes is a major hub for boating and quite gorgeous if you look away from the oil refinery. I hired the Captain to help with the passage as I've never done any sailing in the Puget Sound or sailed a 54' boat. The Captain was from Anacortes and so was the rigging surveyor and lots of shops to help me get the boat ready for the voyage south.
Once we cast off the dock lines I put the boat in reverse, or at least I tried to. Our boat has 2 helms and the upper helm transmission cable has the ability to travel past reverse and into forward again. My anxiety about steering the boat rushed my hand and grew my worreis. The captain slowed me down and we found reverse right where it should be. I backed our huge sailboat out of the slip and motored out of the harbor.
Puget Sound is beautiful. Trees line every bit of land, the water is clear and the sea life is active. Over the years we've loved visiting Annie's family on Vashon island just west of Seattle.
We motored, sailed a little, then motored the rest of the way to Anacortes. It was a sunny day with little wind. A perfect first day to get to know the boat. It took about 5 hours to motor sail to Anacortes.
Once the boat was parked at slip D-59 at Cap Sante Marina, the real work began.
On my initial list, which grew everyday, was:

Replace 5 8D batteries
Figure out/Fix Autohelm
Clean and organize the boat
Replace old lines and blocks
Clean the prop
Figure out the front head
Purchase and install lots of safety gear
and on and on...

After our first voyage to Anacortes the captain sent me a list of even more things to fix. I appreciated his lists.

Over the next couple of weeks I got to know my boaty neighbors and West Marine quite well. I'd wake up to a fresh list of work and go to sleep feeling accomplished crossing off many. As the days increased my list decreased. The shortened list gave me more time to reflect on how much I missed my family. While sitting on a city bench somewhere between West Marine and the Marina I wrote this reflection:

"So we bought a boat. Doesn't feel like we bought a boat until I lie down on the bed and look down the hallway of the boat towards the front and realize that this whole boat is ours. It's still weird since Annie and the boys aren't here with me. I wake up feeling excited though a tempered excited for the day. I know that I have a lot of work to do everyday and everyday is one day closer to this big trip south. And this morning the weather was horrible. It was blowing 30 knots and spitting rain. Thankfully the boat stayed dry and warm inside but still I could only imagine that the whole trip south is going to be miserable. I don't want it to be miserable I want it to be gorgeous with wonderful sunsets, multiple sunsets everyday just because they're beautiful. But I think if I only hope for the best and don't prepare myself for the worst then the hardship, the endurance required for this trip may be more than I can handle. More than anything right now I want to be home. I feel out of place, I feel like I don't know where to go or what to do. I know what to do when I have work before me like changing the oil or replacing the batteries or cleaning the deck. But yesterday the work slowed down. My mind see's my feelings sort of like a graph. When the work slows down my ability to miss home and to worry about this trip speeds up. At the end of the day I'm just excited to go home. Anacortes Washington is gorgeous with beautiful green trees, but it's not home, my family is not here."

I'm happy to be home.