“The clouds are like headlines, on a new front page sky. Many before me have been called to the sea, up in the crows nest, shiver me timbers, I’m sailing away…”
Song is by Tom Waite. (link below)
Crimson clouds in the evening sky
give me a happy sigh
The Ocean is my anchor
cat paws ruffle
Sails fill, lines snap
she may falter
But comes to life,
top of the mast to the keel.
Shade stretches
below the boom
Sun splotches
where there is room.
Sideways Sally will be jumping aboard for a sail into Alaska this summer on a sailboat called “Hermitage.” She is a Maple Leaf 42′, home port is Shelter Island on the Fraser River, South Vancouver, B.C.
Sunday, May 8 2022
The dock lines are off and so are we!! The river at Shelter Island is shallow, and at 8 am there is a falling tide. It’s a narrow channel between the long dock and the land, requiring Don to navigate the Hermitage carefully, inching past the other boats tied to the dock.
It’s a challenge, but one that the Skipper succeeded in overcoming when the boat neighbors sprung to life, throwing us lines and pulling us away from the muddy banks that threatened to trap us. We all get by with a little help from our friends!!
We stop at Steveston for fuel and I get yacking while filling the tank with diesel. Sure enough, I overfill and spill. An early morning lesson, DON’T GET DISTRACTED!! We clean that mess up with an arm full of spill rags and carry on out the mouth of the Fraser on a chilly morning with no wind.
We catch the ebb across the Salish Sea and head for Active Pass.
Don, Paul and Hermitage have been busy for weeks preparing and provisioning. They are joining Geoff and Pam on “Knotty Buoy” from Seattle who have been to Alaska previously.
The Skipper is Don, who has sold his horse ranch in Alberta and is getting reacquainted with sailing. SS recruited crew on a crew finders facebook page and Paul signed on. Paul is a well experienced sailor from the U.K. with many nautical miles under his belt.
Paul aka “UK” is a lively, funny and welcome addition to the crew, “with one foot in the grave.”
The rendezvous with Knotty Buoy in Montague Harbor on Galiano Island. OMOO will catch up with us to meet the crew and take me back to Maple Bay. I will be flying to Prince Rupert later in June to join for the Alaska loop into Petersburg. YEAH!!
Grab your fav bevvy and have a listen, it’s so good!!
