[Paddlewise] Now I know Why They Have Shakedown Cruises

This weekend was to have been the very first "real" kayaking trip that the
muthah-ship was going to take me on. I got to Oak Harbor's marina on Friday
night to discover that this was the beginning of "Race Week" with over 100
boats (and their crews) from all over the west coast. I snagged a parking
spot and a cart and trundled all my gear to the Carver, then went back and
got the F-1 (an SOF "Coaster" work-a-like) and carried that down to the
boat. Thank god it only weighs 28 pounds (with floatation and the paddle
inside). I had found some flat bungee cords at Home Depot and used them to
secure the F-1 to the port side of the flying bridge. I was happy to
discover that it didn't impact handling of the 25-foot-long Carver at all
and didn't interfere with visibility either.

Saturday morning I was off and headed to the San Juan Islands. My plan was
to catch the ebb-to-flood slack tide at Deception Pass and then decide where
to go depending upon whatever wind was outside the Pass. My preference was
to go to Deer Harbor on Orcas Island and anchor close to their store and
restaurant - and within easy paddling of the Wasp Islets where I could
fiddle about in the currents and rocks and perhaps spot some wildlife. Alas,
about 2/3 of the way to Deception Pass the engine just died. No sputter, no
burps, just quit. But then it started right back up again so I continued on
only to have the engine die again 5 minutes later. I got it started up and
headed in to a small bay where I anchored and tried to figure out what was
up.

I never did get the main engine started again so I had to fire up the 9.9hp
Mercury "get home" outboard. By then the current was running about 3kts and
pulling the anchor up was a real job even with the Merc putting away at the
stern. Some 6 hours later I was back in the outer harbor of Oak Harbor
(having been passed by one Vessel Assist towing a sailboat). Unlike the
sailboater I don't have "towing" insurance and the Merc saved me a few
hundred bucks. But putting the 25-foot Carver back into its slip with an
extra 100 sailboaters around (and in the 10kt breeze) using only the
outboard seemed like a bad idea so once again I anchored. I was in good
company because several of the marina residents had volunteered to decamp to
the anchorage for Race Week. Once I was secure I unloaded the F-1 (sob!) and
towed it into the marina with the Zodiac so I could put it back on the
truck's rack. I simply could not see around it while standing at the stern
and running the outboard and felt that it might be nice not to hit any of
those expensive visiting racing boats.

Turned out that anchoring outside the marina was a good idea since the
racers - who did not have to get up early to race the next morning - spent a
lot of time making noise. Lots of noise. I could hear some of it from my
snug bunk when the fireworks they set off woke me up at 3am.

Up at 0530 and started the outboard, hauled in the anchor and wound my way
through the anchored fleet headed towards the marina breakwater. It's a LOT
easier to dock a 5,000 pound boat than I remembered docking a 20,000 pound
boat. With the muthah-ship I could just ease down the fairway and aim it at
a piling near my slip and then catch the piling as we drifted by. At that
point it was easy to just swing the Carver around and into the slip. By 0630
I was back in bed.

Turns out the engine was some problem with drawing fuel from the fuel tank.
I managed to get it all working but it's not at all what it should be. This
does explain the dying at 2500rpm that I had experienced before. I got it so
that the engine will run nicely, the boat will plane well at 15kts, and then
we packed up (Sue had joined me to help) and drove home.

Next time we will get to the Islands. I'm pretty sure. But on the bright
side I did get to paddle the Zodiac. Anyway, all adventures you survive are
fun and this was no exception. Sue's arrival on Sunday to bbq a salmon
dinner made it a lot easier to take.


Craig Jungers
Moses Lake, Wa
www.nwkayaking.net
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