Wednesday, July 8, 20070010 hours
I'm on anchor watch off Sucia Island, in the San Juans. This is my first time on any sort of watch. It's a beautiful night for it, calm and still, with a generous amount of stars overhead. Earlier we could see the shore group's campfire and the bouncing flames of a firedancer. We're far enough offshore that the mosquitoes can't find us. My watch companion is congenial and a patient teacher, both of shanty lyrics and boat check procedure.
Still, I'd really like to be asleep right now.
I've been so busy telling everybody how much fun sailing is that I forgot how hard it is. I'm really exhausted, just a few days in. I know it will get better, and I know there are times it will be much worse. But right now, just for the record: I'm tired. And this is hard. It's still totally fun and awesome and worthwhile, but, yeah, really really challenging.
Some fun things we did today: a laid-back sail/motor transit from Port Townsend, pretending we were the first palefaces to ever set eyes on the San Juans, rowing the jollyboat in to the island, rowing the jollyboat back out and in again when it turned out we'd forgotten several items, eating food cooked over a campfire, hiking in the woods, climbing around in the shallow little China Caves.
Even though I have some apprehensions about the night I'll spend on shore tomorrow (nobody brought mosquito repellent; don't know what kind of toilet facilities will be available, if any; one of the campers is really incredibly annoying; etc.), I'm genuinely sorry to be missing the next camping session. But my brother's getting married the day after that five-day session, and the real problem with being in the middle of nowhere without a car is that it makes it very hard to get anywhere else. So this means I'll need to skip out before the next camp, resulting in more days off than intended for me. Admittedly, I'm not entirely sorry about this. I can take home stuff I didn't need (can't wear my own climbing harness, rats) and bring back stuff I do (where, oh where is my aloe vera gel?).
And sleep.
A lot.
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6 comments:
You're at SUCIA?? *seething with envy* Which of the bays?
We always used to anchor in Fossil Bay. My brother and I climbed straight up the cliff between Fossil and Echo once, midway along the point. I swam from the beach all the way out to the end of the anchorage once, just to prove I could. And there was the humiliating time that our father sent a MOTOR BOAT to "rescue" my brother and I, when we were having trouble rowing from beach to anchorage against the tide.
You can't wear your own harnass? Weird. The sore will wear off, but the memories will last. ( :
You sound just like... you!
I think hard work makes food more tasty and sleep more sleepy.
Elizabeth: Echo Bay. Just the one night, though.
Amy: Can't use Carhartts for funnies anymore, either. Now I'm stuck with a pair of ill-fitting breeches. I keep re-sewing the buttons in different spots because I'm in perpetual fear of losing them. So I think of you often.
Ashley: I concur.
Postscript: losing the breeches, not the buttons. They're quite loose. I mean the breeches are loose. Not the buttons.
Guess what? I'm tired tonight too!
What a beautiful photo!
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