Running Away to Sea

Spring in Seattle is a weary, lingering season. It drips down the back of your neck in cold rills and leaves muddy tracks in the foyer. While the rest of the northern hemisphere is celebrating the first robin, or watching the cherry trees blossom, the weather in Seattle remains stubbornly cold and dark. This extended stay of winter into April and May wears upon even the hardiest nonmigratory residents of the city. Our daily coffee intake increases accordingly, as we wait for the sun to reappear.

By the first warm weekend in June in the year after we bought Skookum Maru, we were wretched with cabin fever so, abandoning all our adult duties and obligations, we loaded up the car with provisions, sundries, clothing, dog, and family, and headed for the boat. Back in Seattle we left deadlines pressing, emails unanswered, chores undone, bills unpaid, piles of laundry to be folded, toys scattered about the house, and all of the other clutter and debris of life on land. Those demands would be waiting for us on our return but for a few days we would escape our cares in the traditional manner - by running away to sea.

We were eager to cast off but first we had to reach the boat, which was moored in Blaine, a hundred miles north of Seattle. Our journey began with the normal chaos of frantic last-minute preparations, a late departure, items forgotten then remembered a few blocks away from home, and circling back to retrieve those essentials before the true departure. But eventually we made it to the marina in Blaine with patience mostly intact, unloaded the car, and shipped aboard Skookum Maru.

Our plan had been to depart immediately, cross the Strait of Georgia, and anchor for the night in Active Cove on Patos Island, about two hours away from Blaine. However by the time we had walked the dog, stowed our provisions, opened the boathouse curtain (a bit of a chore involving ropes and straps and pulling on rusty hanks), started the engine, and made all ready to cast off, it was a good three hours later than we had planned. Not wanting to navigate the anchorage in the dark, we decided to spend the night at the visitor dock in Blaine and head out in the morning.

Dinner was tagliatelle in a simple marinara sauce. Garlic and red pepper flakes sautéed in olive oil, whole roma tomatoes (canned - we aren’t being fussy here) stewed and crushed with a wooden spoon, then salted and seasoned to taste. Oregano or basil may be added at the whim of the cook.

The next morning son Dash, who was six at the time, woke me up at 5:30 am with a level of excitement normally reserved for Christmas. I’m an early riser by nature but that was pushing things even for me. However once he was up there was no chance he would stay in bed so I abandoned the comfort of my bunk and we began our day.

We were in no rush at this point so we took a few hours for coffee, a light breakfast and final pre-cruise chores. Deciding to skip Patos Island for this cruise, we plotted a course for Friday Harbor. At 0845 hours we departed Blaine under a high overcast that was quickly burning off, with a light wind from the SW. A great day to be on the water.

Once we cleared Birch Point and headed across the Strait of Georgia, Dash said he wanted a chance to steer. I humored him, thinking that at age six he might not be able to hold a heading but there was nothing to hit out here, and that in any case he would soon tire of the monotony and toil of steering a straight course. But I should have had more faith. He held our course for over an hour, steering for the mark that I gave him with more patience, attention, and skill than many adults in my experience. I will admit to feeling more than a little parental pride just then.

Once across the Strait we passed Patos Island, where we had planned to anchor the previous night. 

Active Cove is tiny, with two mooring buoys and room for maybe a couple more boats at anchor. We poked in to have a look around and saw two boats there already. I was glad we didn’t try to anchor there in the dark. We would save that for another time. Instead we continued down President Channel past Waldron and Orcas Islands, into San Juan Channel and finally to Friday Harbor where we found a guest slip for the night.

We then spent the rest of the afternoon walking the town and visiting the shops before having dinner at a local restaurant with a view of the water and a decent steak frites on the menu, followed by a lovely, delicate sunset and a quiet evening with a jigsaw puzzle.

We only had a few days for this cruise and we did want to anchor out for at least one night so we spent Saturday morning engaged in various chores aboard the boat before heading for nearby Deer Harbor on Orcas Island. We had clear skies and sun as we made the short run back up San Juan Channel…

…and through narrow Wasp Passage.

Less than an hour later we were anchored in Deer Harbor. Our first task after securing the boat was to lower the dinghy and take Addie and Dash ashore for a walk and some exercise. Getting the dinghy overboard went easily enough, although the davit could use a bit of grease. The bigger challenge was how to get the kid and the dog safely into the dinghy.

Dash got in easily enough, once I showed him how to step in without pushing the boat away from the swim step, but getting Addie into the dinghy was a bit of a gamble as I would have to lift her over the transom and we didn’t know if she would consent to take part in the maneuver. Or if my back would either, for that matter. But it worked out pretty much as we had hoped. Addie did let us know that she was much more of a farm girl than a sailor, and that small boats were not at all her preferred mode of transport, but in the end we got everyone aboard for the row to the dinghy float at the Deer Harbor Marina. 

The marina was closed up for the night by the time we made it ashore but we walked around, wandered the beach, and looked at the boats for a while, before piling into the dinghy and heading back.

Shore excursion accomplished, we rowed around Skookum Maru for a glamour photo...

…and then spent the rest of the afternoon on boat chores. 

Dinner was Madras curry with tofu and steamed cauliflower, followed by brownies baked in the oven of the new diesel stove I had installed over the winter. We were still learning how to use the oven so the brownies ended up little burnt on the edges and a little gooey in the middle, but they were no less delicious for that. We ate them happily while making more progress on our puzzle. Then we ended our day by falling asleep to the sound of waves slapping the hull and the other quiet noises of a well-protected anchorage.

On Sunday, our final day of cruising, we started out by finishing the puzzle, ensuring that whatever else might happen that day we could be satisfied in at least one task successfully accomplished. 

After which we took another row ashore to walk Addie and pick up a few things from the marina store, and then made pancakes and bacon on the diesel stove - the meal for which it is most ideally suited. 

And really, is there any higher achievement in cuisine than that?

With breakfast eaten, coffee drunk and dog walked, we stowed the dinghy and raised anchor for home. For a bit of variety we decided to head back the long way around Orcas Island via Cayou Channel, which runs between Orcas and Shaw Islands. The channel is both scenic and busy, used by ferries and all manner of craft large and small.

With calm water and overcast skies we passed through the channel, then through even narrower Obstruction Pass, and then out into Rosario Strait and north for Blaine. 

At seven knots the return trip would be around five hours. Not an overly long run but still made easier by several changes of watch, as we all took turns at the helm. And soon enough we raised Birch Point and the channel for Blaine Harbor and home to unload, wash down and put Skookum Maru back in her boathouse until our next voyage.