Saturday, October 15^th  - Monday, October 17^th  

Well, it’s official.  We’ve done it. We’ve said good-bye to all our friends on the dock, turned in our gate keys and parking passes, and vacated our slip.  Without a slip to go home to, I guess we’re really cruising now.

After a few errands in the morning and a couple of last minute tasks, we were ready to cast off the docklines around noon.  However, the gang from the dock came by to say farewell, and because we all became a bit emotional, the process took a little while.  We were given a nice send off by Dave and Barb, Leon and Leticia, Rick and Jeanelle, Mike, Jonathon, Anthony, Dennis, John, Mike and Sue, and Little Tony.

We had a warm and fairly uneventful crossing to Avalon, where we had decided to spend the night because my parents were there for the annual jazz festival.  We were not able to get a mooring inside as the harbor was full, and ended up on a can in Descanso next to the Casino seawall. That night we celebrated our upcoming adventure with cocktails and appetizers at the Portofino.  Our intention was to rendezvous with Mom and Dad after their concert let out, but it got to be pretty late and we were tired, so we went back to the boat to turn in, agreeing that we would meet them the next morning for breakfast instead.

We woke Sunday morning around 5 AM to strong, howling winds and big, rolling swells.  The unexpected storm was pretty uncomfortable, and the dogs, especially little Sadie, were really nervous.  After getting up long enough to peer out the hatches and see how ugly it was outside, we crawled back in our bunk and tried to go back to sleep.  No such luck.  By 5:45 AM we were up for good.  I was having flashbacks to a time when I was about ten years old, and my family was on the Charley Girl on a mooring inside Avalon when similar conditions arose.  While my parent’s boat rode it out okay, a few other boats closer to the beach ended up on the rocks that day.  I remember Harbor Patrol waking us up around 6:00 AM and telling us to get off the boat, and get to shore.  Pretty scary for a little kid.

I was really nervous now because we were so close to the seawall, and decided to get dressed and turn on the VHF radio.  It was then that we heard a report of a 50’ ketch near us who had broken its mooring line.  Calls for help to Harbor Patrol were being met with a response that they already had so many distress calls that boaters were pretty much on their own. “Put out some extra fenders,” was all they were able to suggest.  Then the swells started breaking under us.  It felt like we were in a washing machine.  Because we were so close to the seawall, Bryan and I decided that the smartest thing to do at that moment would be to vacate our mooring and get a little more room between us and the rocks.  So, at 6:30 AM, we dropped the mooring and headed out of Descanso.

 As soon as we cleared that last row of moorings, the engine died. Despite a couple of desperate attempts, Bryan couldn’t get it started again.  Then it started to rain.  The wind was howling.  We stared drifting back towards the moorings and the other boats.  Bryan rushed up on deck to raise some sails.  There was way too much wind to get the main up, so we went with jib – anything to get us moving away from the other boats! 

Because of the direction of the wind, we couldn’t go around the East End like we wanted, to the backside of the island where it would be more protected from the wind. So we sailed west, past Long Point, towards Two Harbors.  Although we were both feeling nauseous from the seas, a few too many cocktails the night before, and no breakfast, I somehow managed to go down below and retrieve our foul weather gear.  The boat was a disaster.  We left the mooring so quickly that we didn’t have time to adequately stow everything.  Magazines and books were on the floor.  Clothes were everywhere.  Thank God the computer was still where it was supposed to be, but I moved it to the vee-berth anyway.  The dogs, although probably a little freaked out and definitely needing to go to the bathroom, seemed to be doing surprisingly well.  Unlike us, at least they were dry!

So on we sailed, in the rain, with huge following seas and about 30 knots of wind.  The boat, thankfully, handled like a dream.  As we neared Two Harbors, we toyed with the idea of pulling in, but then began to hear on the VHF all the problems they too were having because of the weather - boats dragging on their moorings, dingies capsizing, the works.  Not knowing what was wrong with the engine, how long it would take to fix, or how long the crazy weather would stick around, we concurred that Cat Harbor was the safest place to be.  Cat Harbor, on the backside of the island, is considered one of the safest harbors on the entire West Coast, and would definitely be the most comfortable place to ride out bad weather.

By 10:00 AM, we were at the West End.  The seas started to calm down. The sun came out.  The wind let up a little.  Good news, right?  By 11:00 AM, we could see Cat Head, the entrance to Cat Harbor, about five miles ahead.  And then the wind died.  We tacked and started heading away from the island to pick up any little puff of breeze, which worked for a bit, until that breeze became intermittent, and we decided to tack again.  And there we sat.  We could see where we wanted to be, but despite all our efforts, we couldn’t get there.  So frustrating! 

At 2:30 PM, I was ready to call Vessel Assist and let them tow us the rest of the way.  I don’t know whether to blame it on stubborn pride or courteousness, but Bryan argued that we shouldn’t make someone come all that way, when after all, we were so close.  I countered with, “But that’s their job, and that’s what we pay our membership for!”  But he’s the captain, and in the end, he makes the decision.  So instead, my ever-determined-not-to-be- beaten husband, rigged a bridle to the bow of the boat, and towed us the rest of the way with the dingy.  Yes, you heard me right!  He got in the dingy, and towed us for almost two hours to the mouth of Cat Harbor.

Once inside the harbor, Harbor Patrol came out to meet us and towed us to a mooring.  That was around 4:30 PM.  After we were secure on the mooring, the plan was to take the dogs ashore, bring them back to the boat, and then take ourselves to the restaurant for a warm, hearty meal.  Like I said, that was the plan.  However, on the way back to the boat after walking the dogs, the heavens opened up again and it began to POUR.  Neither one of us really felt like spending more time in the cold rain than we had to, so instead we opted to cook aboard.  Eggs, hash browns, toast – comfort food.  While we contemplated watching a movie, we knew we were too exhausted to stay awake through it, and instead crawled into bed at 7:30!  After all, we hoped the next day would be busy with engine repairs, and we wanted to be well rested.

Wouldn’t you know it?  We woke Monday morning to more rain, and it continued raining most of the day, making engine repair a little difficult.  Our couple of trips to shore with the dogs left us soaking wet.  It sure will be nice when the rain stops and we can dry out our boat and our soggy gear.

Having gotten some rest, and having had time to review the events of the past 24 hours, Bryan and I are actually kind of glad this happened to us.  It was a test of our skills, our boat, and our resolve, and we feel pretty good about how we handled it.  Whatever happened with the engine probably had a lot to do with how much we were getting tossed around and all the junk that then had the opportunity to clog the fuel filters.  The boat, however, handled great, and our confidence in her continues to grow.  Although we’re sure we’ll have to deal with more bad weather and mechanical problems along the way, we’re both satisfied that we’ve passed King Neptune’s first test.