Settling In

Hiya,

A month has passed and I am getting the hang of this new way of existing. As I've gotten to know Anacortes I've found it to be a little gem in the world. After a solid 10 days of coming into town and exploring I've gotten to know a few of the locals.

Having waitstaff or business owners know who I am helps to assuage my fears of feeling alone as I travel solo. As a matter of fact, I was able to work myself into a trade situation with a local coffee shop owner who needed some updates/ additions to his Square point of sale and a website. With what I've learned over the two decades of being a business owner myself I felt I could offer assistance. It worked out beautifully! Johnny was super appreciative of the rudimentary site I was able to pull together, I got to feel of use, and I enjoyed some of the yummy goodies he creates as payment. (If you make it up to Anacortes be sure to stop into Johnny Picasso's to say HI! - www.johnnypicasso.com)

Many of you may remember me talking about how unsure I was about leaving knowing that I am not ready to retire. It felt odd to go into the world, live removed from the productive way I have for years engaged with community, and seem to be only living for myself. For me, it feels best when I am contributing to something bigger than myself. It seemed a bit counter productive to embark on this cruising lifestyle however I made room for the possibility that I would figure something out to attend to this need of mine. Then, low and behold, the first place I spend any amount of time I work myself into the ideal situation I had imagined. A work trade with no money directly involved but rather an exchange that benefitted both involved equally. The bonus was that it cemented a friendship.

Let me back up though... how I met Johnny has another cool story attached to it. The Union Tavern is a spot I started going to quite early during my stay. On the first night, the last night of Brad & Leila's stay, I met a dog hanging out by the door. He proved super friendly making sure to give me his sloppy lick of approval as soon as I bent down to pet him. Not a dog I would forget.

The next night I found my way back to the tavern and was sitting outside reading. Next thing I know this sweet pooch was approaching tethered to his owner. They take the table next to mine and of course I speak my hello's to the pup then introduce myself to his owner. And... this would be Johnny.

As Johnny and I chatted it came out what I was doing in Anacortes and my relatively soon future plans. I also mentioned the want for crew, female preferred. Johnny told me that he knew a perfect crew member, a woman that he felt was virtually my twin! Okay, interest peeked!!!

Johnny connected me to this woman sailor, Tara, and he was right!!! After some texting back and forth she and I met and got along fantastically! Tara has the skill and desire to assist me down to San Francisco along with one other boat savvy woman from Seattle, Marie.

One main thing I LOVE about having visitors… I get a clean boat! Of course I do the cleaning but the motivation is always welcome.

The following photos are of the three of us on an overnight to get a feel for how well we gel. If you can't tell by the pictures it went really well! So, I'd like to introduce my crew for the first leg of my journey south; Tara & Marie.

Now, for some of the exciting, new but not always fun, stuff I've had to face...

If you aren't up with your social media, or simply haven't connected with me there, let me fill you in.

The first day anchoring here in the bay, one of the first 5 or 6 times anchoring solo, I right off the bat didn't get myself positioned far enough outside of the channel so had to reposition. When pulling up my anchor the 2nd new experience hit. I had dropped my anchor square on a derelict crab trap! What are the odds???

The weight of the thing filled with mud and seaweed but no crabs made retrieving my anchor quite difficult. After a laborious 30 - 40 minutes of trap wrangling I was able to not only free my anchor, protect my windlass (electric anchor retrieval system), but I was also able to secure the trap to the side of my boat since I didn't want to let it go back down to where another unsuspecting boater may snag it again.

I choose a much better location and re-anchored. Around 9:30 the next morning when Fish & Wildlife was to come collect the crab trap I felt something was amiss. This is when new experience #3 hit...

When I poked my head out of the companionway and into the 15 knots of wind it became apparent that my anchoring job was not doing the trick. I was dragging anchor? No Bueno!!!

A nearby neighbor hollered over the obvious then sat observing the fiasco as I frantically started up the engine and got myself underway so I could retrieve my anchor once again. Just FYI, it's not so easy when the wind is blowing you all around and you can't both drive your boat and see the anchor on the bow at the same time. Captain Obvious offered to help and I instantly accepted. He launched his dingy and came over to help guide me over the the angle of my anchor so I could pull it up. With his help, I prevailed! Yay me! Another new capability I've now uncovered. I don't quit!!! (Yeah, I should know that about myself by now.)

Again I went to look for a new place to anchor. This time it was far, far from the rocky shore and in an area less notorious for having a soft bottom (i.e. less secure to anchor it). I also made the smart decision to pay out all 200' of my anchor chain since it the wind was forecast to blow hard for the next couple of days. (The weight of the chain helps keep the anchor in place as it lays down along the bottom so in heavy weather conditions more is better.)

You've got to know that once you've felt the lack of control as your boat starts dragging anchor and the fear of what could have happened if you were asleep or not there to catch it plagues you, it's next to impossible to want to leave the boat out there all alone in case something happens again. I also know it's not feasible to never leave my boat again so into shore I went making sure to return to the edge of the bay a few times throughout the day to see if she was staying put. Lucky for me she was.

The next morning saw new experience #4... Although heavy winds were forecast there was no mention of those winds being 30-40 knots! (1 knot = 1.15078 mph) All morning I white knuckled it as I watched not only my location but also the positions of the boats around me. My anchor was, thankfully, holding but what if one of theirs wasn't?!? I could have easily found myself in a collision situation.

After 6 or so hours of enduring these crazy winds not only did my boat stay where she was supposed to but so did my neighbors. Or, at least my close by neighbors. Three boats that had been anchored in the softer bottom of the bay, closer to land, were not so lucky. Two power boats and one sailboat found their way to the rocky breakwater. A sad day for those boat owners indeed.

I have begun to see Anacortes as somewhat of a proving ground for myself. These unfortunate/ rookie mistake things happen however not usually so lumped into a short period of time. I have gained a great deal of knowledge, experience, and confidence here. It's also reinforced my commitment to this new sailing adventure. Not once did I find myself regretting my decision. I am loving every minute of it!

I am set to leave Anacortes on the 11th or 12th of Sept, weather depending. The first leg, as mentioned earlier, will find us headed for San Francisco. There I will hang out for a time and look for more crew to join me as I continue south.

During the time between now and then I have friends visiting (one I've not seen in 30 years!!!) and even my kiddo is scheduled to come up for a night! You know that makes me happy. I'm also due to receive a new main sail, have my compass calibrated and a new chart plotter installed. All good things!

Until next time...

Love to you all,

Cheryl