Storms at Sea

This should be a title that gets some attention.  I can’t think of a more fear inducing picture than being stuck at sea in a storm.  Remember the Perfect Storm?  How can I forget?  There is part of me that wants to see the movie again, but I already have recurring nightmares of the tiny boat against a very big, raging ocean.  George Clooney and his mates all died…

In case you are just joining us, we are a couple of rookies at retirement and on a boat. Part of the fun has been the learning curve.  Well, most of the time.  We’ve covered the waterfalls, wildlife, and sunsets, but in this installment, let’s talk about the scary stuff – storms.   While we’ve gained important experience, we really have very little.  Since having been aboard this year for 85 days and considering the territory we’ve covered, a storm or two, even though it is summer, would be normal.  We have had two significant overnight storms.  They both were predicted well in advance and for us, they occurred at the same location – one on the way up the north coast of British Columbia and one on the way south. 

Just to clarify, we are not ‘at sea’.  On the Inside Passage to Alaska, there is always a place to anchor, whether it’s a real port or just a small cleft out of the wind, waves and current.  The cliché, “any port in a storm” maybe true if you are out at sea, but a good seaman still has a lot to consider about what ‘port’ to choose…  In both of these storms, I didn’t do so well.  These were tense all-nighters watching as the 47mph gusts buffeted us about.

In the first episode, it was just a poor second choice anchor spot – exposed and against the lee shore.  In the second storm, having learned from the first, we picked a better place, but didn’t anticipate how the wind would so severely drive us into the shallows.  Imagine with me heading to bed knowing you are well prepared, thinking the storm really was exaggerated in the forecast.  And after just drifting into REM sleep, a splash of water from a window six feet away hits your face.  Oh, I am awake now!  The wind is in fact blowing and the boat has one foot of water under the keel!  It is midnight and we have to pull up the anchor, move to deeper water and reset the thing.  As if the darkness and the driving storm aren’t challenge enough, four other boats have taken refuge nearby. With Beth at the helm keeping us into the wind and off the shore, I was on the bow raising the seaweed fouled chain and anchor.  We simply don’t run at night because it is so disorienting.  But since we have done this routine many, many times we both knew what to do.  “I could do this in the dark”, is an expression I won’t be saying anymore since I may actually have to at some time.  Needless to say, we did it!  It could have been an episode of ‘Deadliest Catch’, full of drama and adrenaline.  (We did meet the camera guy for the famous crab boat show earlier this summer before his fall filming further north in the Bering Sea).  The rest of the night was spent watching to see if the newly placed anchor would hold…

Sorry. There are no pictures of the storm…

What are some ‘lessons learned’ here? Without being too detailed, there are some big take aways.  For example: I don’t think we would have done very well without the ability to communicate.  Beth simply could not see. Outside I was able to tell where we needed to go, but even in the howling wind and rain we could speak in a ‘normal’ voice because we use headsets. And we trust each other. Then when it really matters – have an anchor you can trust.  Our boat came with one, but we upsized.  It is too big most of the time, but on these two nights it was just the thing. 

A friend of ours gave us a picture she had thoughtfully put together as we set off on the boat.  Kathy must have known that a good anchor would be needed.  In life, is there an anchor you can trust?  Storms are inevitable.  Planning and preparation are essential and like us in the night, we all do our best.  (Adrenaline helps too…) But when it your turn for ‘sleepless in The Storm’, trust in the One who said, “I will never leave or forsake you”.  I might have missed some sleep in the storm, but hearing and knowing that everything will be okay is the main thing.

In the Eye of the Storm. Do you know this song? We’ve been humming it the past few days… If you’re interested, you can go to YouTube and listen. It’s by Ryan Stevenson.

Take Care

-mike