By: Nancy Davidson

Thoughts when at Anchor

I feel incredibly privileged to own this beautiful boat and to be able to cruise in one of the most beautiful places in the world.

I’ve never understood Elon Musk’s desire to start a colony on Mars. Leave this most beautiful of planets? He must never have been cruising in the Pacific Northwest. Right now I feel incredibly privileged. Privileged to own this beautiful boat, to be on it this summer by myself, to be floating in a single boat anchorage watching the mist travel through the hills, watching the tide go out and reveal the mystery of the shoreline, watching the fish jump, listening to the birds, wondering what forces cause the boat to swing the way it does. I watch an inquisitive seal swim towards the boat. Is he wondering about me like I’m wondering about him? This is what I most enjoy about being at anchor, just watching and wondering, taking in the beauty, the solitude, the peace.

I’m now at my second anchorage. The nervousness I experienced during the first solo anchoring process is gone. I love swinging on the hook. I love the movement, the change of scenery as the boat swings. The solitude and privacy charge my personal batteries.

A Day of Pleasure

My favorite place to read is curled up on the settee in the flybridge with plenty of pillows and a throw. I get lost in my mysteries and love the changing scenery as the boat swings quietly on the anchor.

Yesterday I had the most wonderful day. Since I couldn’t bear the thought of putting my dirty clothes back on (I’m in great need of doing laundry), I stayed in my nightgown all day. I read and napped and read and napped and read and napped. There are 3 spots I enjoy reading on the boat. My favorite is the settee on the flybridge because of the view. The flybridge is enclosed so it works best when there’s overcast or rain. It becomes an oven on sunny windless days. First thing in the morning though I like to read on the settee in the salon because there are two heater vents under it. When the boat warms up I either move to the flybridge or to the settee in the pilothouse. I always read with my legs stretched out, two+ pillows behind my back, one under my knees and there’s always a throw within reach. I almost always read mysteries, as did my maternal grandmother. (Could there be a gene for this?) When I read, I disappear into the book. I am there in the story with the characters. When I was younger I experienced sadness and loss when a book was finished. Now I solve this problem by reading series, starting with the first book and reading them in order until the last.

The Failed Expedition

I hate using the dinghy, but I knew I needed to learn, so I set out to try....

This summer is a skill building experience for me. Anchoring, docking and towing the dinghy were the three skills I prioritized. But in a phone call with my friend Peggy, she reminded me that I need not only to tow the dinghy but to use it as well. Ugh, she nailed me. I hate using the dinghy. The speed of it scares me. I’m much more comfortable maneuvering 60-foot “Three Wishes” than its 12-foot tender. So I wrestled with myself. Shall I sit and read again which is what I really wanted to do or should I take the dinghy for a spin, which I really did not want to do. Duty won out over pleasure. I suited up: life preserver, sunscreen, Tilley hat with its two sets of straps, backpack with sat phone, personal locator beacon and camera. You would think I was preparing for an African expedition. So now I’m finally in the dinghy. I loosened the vent on the gas can and hand pumped the bulb on the fuel line. Fortunately I remembered that my husband had started the motor before taking the lines off. I turned the key. Clunk. Again I turned the key this time pushing in the choke. Clunk. I tried several more times. Clunk, clunk, clunk. Phooey, the battery was dead. What an anti-climax after all the energy I had expended on this decision during the day.

The 2nd Failed Expedition

I talked with my husband on the sat phone that evening and he persuaded me to try to start the dinghy motor again the next day. Sometimes, he said, the battery regenerates if it has a rest. The next day I was in a marina so I suited up in full expedition gear again as I knew that if the motor started, I would have to take the dinghy out and run it for a while to give the battery a good charge. I turned the key. Clunk. Well, so much for the regeneration theory.

Fortunately, we have a portable battery charger on board and a kind man helped me set it up and I charged the battery for an hour.

The 3rd Mostly Failed Expedition....and a New Problem

A kind gentlemen helped with diagnosing my outboard motor problems....but not avail. I got a lot of experience towing the dinghy, but none actually driving it!

Now the battery was charged. Again suited up in expedition gear, I got in the dinghy and turned the key. This time it started. But it didn’t sound right. It was vibrating and didn’t have the smooth hum I’m used to. The man on the dock said it would be fine after it warmed up. I took off and motored close to shore. It never did lose the vibration that shook the whole dinghy. After 20 minutes I returned to the marina. The diagnosis was that one of the cylinders wasn’t firing and the motor needed a new spark plug or coil pack, neither of which were spares on “Three Wishes” or available at that marina.

The upshot was that a new spark plug was obtained for me over a week later and it didn’t solve the problem. In the meantime, I had towed the dinghy everywhere and my schedule was somewhat determined by the promised arrival of the spark plug. After the failure of the new spark plug to fix the problem, the dinghy went back on the flybridge to be repaired upon my return to Sidney. So this summer I get an A+ in dinghy towing and no experience in dinghy driving.

Docking Drama

I’m getting the hang of docking and if there are people watching, I always get complements.

Last summer I was talking to Pierre at Pierre’s Echo Bay and told him about my single-handing plans for this summer. In response he promised that he would personally take my lines if I actually accomplished this. His promise was a motivator for me during my preparation for my adventure this summer. I really looked forward to Pierre personally taking my lines as I triumphantly single-handed to his dock.

I learned the limits of the my thrusters in attempting to dock single-handed at Pierre's in a 25-knot cross-wind

It was windy the day I left for Pierre’s. The cruise to Echo Bay was wonderful. “Three Wishes” is a heavy ocean going trawler and with the stabilizers activated it takes more than the 25 knots of wind to make the ride uncomfortable. However, when I stopped the boat outside of Pierre’s to ready the lines, put down fenders and bring the towed dinghy to the side of the boat, I felt like I was dealing with a bucking bronco. With everything ready, I headed into Pierre’s. I had asked for Pierre on the VHF and he was there on the dock with about 4 other men. That’s when I learned that docking in 25 knots of wind is far different from cruising in it. The slip I had been assigned was open to the wind and it was on my beam. To make matters worse, the current was against me. My wonderful bow and stern thrusters, which have always done the job, were no match for these conditions. After many unsuccessful attempts, the men on the dock finally reassigned me to a slip right around the corner where my bow could face into the wind. I did fine going into that slip. However, I learned later that someone in a rubber dinghy had been pushing me much as a tug pushes an ocean liner.

In retrospect, I wasn’t embarrassed. It was a good learning experience. Now I know there are limits to my thrusters as good as they are. And I shouldn’t try to dock at a slip that’s beam on to a heavy wind. But of all the places not to be able to accomplish one of my normally good dockings with the importance to me of Pierre watching and personally taking my lines! Bummer! Well, at least I didn’t hit anything.

Oink and Other Fine Meals

Pierre's Saturday evening pig roasts are famous throughout the northwest cruising community.

Pierre lives in Echo Bay the year round and may be the most famous character in the Broughtons. He is a fine cook and offers 3 – 4 meals a week to boaters, which is why I stayed at Echo Bay for 4 nights. His specialties are the Saturday pig roast and the Wednesday prime rib. Both of these he cooks on a rotating spit in an enormous BBQ after first covering the meats in his special seasoning mixture. Yum!

Nikki of Echo Bay EcoVentures lived for 1-1/2 years on an island in the Broughton wilderness, making everything--including her clothes--from scratch using materials she gathered from the land.

I had arrived at Pierre’s in the 25 knots of wind on a Wednesday knowing I’d be rewarded that night with the prime rib dinner. Leslie and PJ on “Moondance” their Selene 43 joined me that evening. They had cruised into Pierre’s a bit after I arrived to surprise me. Also at our table for the prime rib were Mark and Roseanne Tilden from “Koinonia” their Selene 60. Dining with friends my first night at Pierre’s really gave me a boost. Connections, I learned, are important, especially when travelling by oneself.

On Friday I connected with Nikki of Echo Bay EcoVentures. Having been on two of her EcoVentures in past years with my husband, I love her fascinated enthusiasm and deep multi-faceted knowledge of the Broughton area. She gained that knowledge by living solely off the land with a friend for 1-½ years on an island in the Broughton wilderness. Nikki gave an entertaining talk Friday evening about those experiences. She and her friend had made everything from scratch including shelter, clothing, rope, fishhooks and they ate only what they caught from the water or gathered or killed on land. Until they built their skills, they lost a lot of weight. Nikki treated us by modeling clothing she had made during that period and explained the processes of making it. For instance, did you know that the brain of an animal is the perfect substance to use to soften its hide?

And then there was the Saturday pig roast. Pierre covers an entire pig in chicken wire and starts slow cooking it very early in the morning. The meat is melt in your mouth juicy and tender. Rarely is the marina not full on Saturday night.

The Low Point

Four quiet nights at my favorite marina in the Broughtons: Jennis Bay was what I needed after realizing I was exhausted.

It seems that mid-way in any trip, there’s often a low point for me. I think it has to do with just being exhausted. So once again I was reminded that this summer is a time of learning and discovery for me. I had been 4 nights at Pierre’s experiencing the docking disappointment, the dinghy hassle and lots of socializing. The morning after the pig roast, I left Pierre’s Echo Bay and cruised to Sullivan Bay. After docking, I lay down on the settee and literally couldn’t move for two hours. This should have been a clue but I ignored it. The next day I left for Jennis Bay, one of my favorite marinas, to meet my friends Leslie and PJ on “Moondance”. Shortly after docking at Jennis, I moved incorrectly and strained my right shoulder. A day later it hurt like hell if I moved my arm. This was a problem. Without the use of my right arm, I couldn’t operate the boat. How could this have happened? I was so careful in my movements.

In reflection, I realized how exhausted I was when I came into Jennis and in my exhaustion I wasn’t as careful as I am normally. Single-handing a 60’ boat is tiring work and once I had reached my goal of Pierre taking my lines, my body must have relaxed enough that I could feel my exhaustion. Also I learned it’s too tiring for me to cruise two or more days in a row when I’m single-handing. Fortunately the weather at Jennis was beautiful. I had privacy at the dock with lots of flybridge reading time during the day and in the evening we all had cocktails on the dock for a relaxing two hours. Luckily, PJ had some wonderful ointments that cleared up my strain in 3 days. After 4 nights at Jennis I was good to go again.

Next month: Part 5: "The Queen of Fog and other stories..."

You can find a complete album of Nancy's cruising photos in the Selene photo gallery on this site (you must login to view the Selene photo gallery).