Coincidence? There Are No Coincidences.

Days 19-22:  Montague - Roche Harbor - Coronet Bay - Langley - Everett

Considering that whilst I write this post, we're now in the tropics and in between we also crewed a schooner from Roche Harbor to Santa Barbara, it's time to pick up the pace and get this blog current, pronto!

So.... a summary on the Desolation Sound trip, with photo updates to this post, soon.

July 18, 2012:  Montague to Roche

From Montague to Roche Harbor was relatively uneventful except we had some challenges picking our way through to narrow John's Pass through the fog. We enjoyed a brief visit from a couple porpoises who were no doubt wondering why the heck we were going so slow, but were unwilling to stick around for an explanation.  After two weeks of incredible summer weather in Canada, we felt all the excitement of a wet blanket returning to a "June-uary" Pacific NW summer.  By afternoon the weather cleared and we walked through the Roche Sculpture Garden, took in a vivid red sunset, and connected with the co-captions of Destiny, the 85' schooner we planned to crew.

July 19, 2012: Roche Harbor - Coronet Bay

Nearly two years prior, Wayne and I looked over the bridge of Deception Pass with awe.  It high, windy as hell and despite how high the bridge crosses the water, the current was not only evident, it was palpable.  Never in a million years would we expect to find ourselves crossing under that very same bridge, in a small sailboat.  "Crossing" is far too mild a word -- it was more like exploded like a rock from a slingshot, or more aptly, "flushed."  Normally our boat travels at a speed of 4-5 knots; as we were jettisoned under the bridge, we hit 12 knots!  Despite that, our only scare was the powerboaters headed directly toward us, blithely coming the opposite direction, unaware our helm control (ability to steer) was minimal. They smiled and waved while we were too freaked out to pause long enough to "find religion."  Still, we survived as I'm here to blog about it.

Coronet Bay is a calm spot just beyond Deception Pass.  We anchored neared than I'd have liked to another anchored sailboat.  "We're swinging the same way, so we've anchored far enough away," Wayne insisted.  So, I took a nap... until... "Danaaaaaa?"  I looked out our companionway and it was filled with the rear end of the sailboat we "anchored far enough away from."  Wayne was successfully holding us about 5' away from crashing into each other.  

We rapidly re-anchored, much further away from the sail boat.  "Gee, that boat sure must've had a lot of road [anchor rope] out,"   Wayne mused.  "You can go back to your nap now."  However, I was certainly cured of my desire to blissful drift off, even though my "nap" was all of 5 minutes.

July 20, 2012: Coronet Bay - Langley

The pouring rain reminded Wayne we had an as-yet unused tarp that would shield us from the downpour while we made our way back.  I called it "the Ark."  More important... it worked.  Along the way we were accompanied by some Native Americans in traditional attire, paddling a long carved wooden canoe.  

When we arrived at Langley, we found out Wayne's former Boeing supervisor, Dell Bergeson and his wife Katrina, his boss and his boss's daughter were all there for the weekend for a wedding.  We'd tried prior to our trip to connect with Dell and Katrina, but were unable to.  Here, within a day of our leaving the area, maybe forever, we bumped into them unexpectedly. We caught up over pizza and drinks and were happy to say what we hope is a "see you again soon!" though not sure when or how.  We were sure, though, that we were meant to meet before we left, that there are no coincidences.

July 21, 2012: Langley - Everett

Langley is a relatively short hop to Everett.  We planned that on purpose, as once there, we'd have to gas up our boat, take it to the pump out, refill the water tanks, unload it, clean it, return our stern tie spool, guidebooks and charts, hand over our boat keys to our co-owner [now full owner], load up our vehicles with all our worldly possessions and drive the 325 miles, each in our separate vehicles, from Everett to Portland OR.

Walt Drechsler, Milltown Sailing Club's Commodore (aka "guy in charge") became our hero, again, that day.  He was working on his boat that day, saw us pull up in the marina, and unloaded the stern tie spool, the guide books and charts and promised to get them where they needed to be.  On top of that, he asked, "Is there anything else I can do to make this easier for you?  Just ask."  And he meant it.  Great guy.  Great club.

Everything else went as smoothly.  We even managed to meet Anna Suarez, my best friend of 30+ years in Portland at 10:30 that night. She was out for the weekend, and happened to be in town, was headed home the next morning for Redwood City.  Not sure how long it will be before we see each other again. We hadn't planned originally on being in town for another couple of days.

Did I mention I believe there are no coincidences?