R-e-l-a-x-i-n-g . . . .

Nice weather, good meals, wind, and a few fish - does life get much better? The kids and I met Bryant after work in Anchorage on Thursday and we all drove down to Homer for the weekend. After spending much of Friday taking care of boat chores, we sailed downwind in a slow breeze to Halibut Cove where we spent the night. We came back on Saturday beating upwind into what started out as a slight breeze and then increased to 15-20 knots and rolling waves 4-5 feet tall. Saturday night, we spent in the harbor and on Sunday morning, we fished not far from the spit for 2 hours before packing up to come home again.

Homer Small Boat Harbor

I'm on a mission to learn how to operate the boat in tight quarters (i.e. the harbor). Out in the big blue ocean and in relatively calm seas, I'm fine. But get me in the confines of a boat harbor with everyone's expensive toys surrounding me, I get a little bit nervous. For the five summers that we've owned a boat, I've done a great job of avoiding any "Captaining" responsibilities in the boat harbor. I've really had no reason to learn as Bryant is good at docking and I complement his abilities by agilely moving my way around the deck and securing lines so well. Lately though it's been bothering me that I am not competent in docking. If ever I want to take a trip without Bryant, I need get my act together in the docking department, so I decided to designate some time each trip driving the boat in and out of the harbor.

With this newly founded decision implanted in my brain, I started to drive us out of the Homer harbor on our way to Halibut Cove on Friday, but immediately had to call for backup because the boat wasn't steering in the direction I needed it to go. Upon hearing my frantic cries for help, Bryant realized that when I put the motor down, I forgot to hook up the steering linkage, hence no steering capabilities. Even with boats creeping closer than I like them to be, he managed to lift the latch, flick the linkage in place, and get us going in the direction we needed to go. Okay, no problem . . . disaster diverted. One mistake made and one lesson learned that I hopefully won't repeat in the future.

Right after I took control again, I noticed up ahead blocking the exit to the harbor were two huge 100ft + long commercial crabbing boats similar to the ones you see on the Deadliest Catch Discovery Channel TV show. At closer inspection, I realized that initially they were docked side by side and the outside boat had to move its position so the inside boat could make its way to the fuel dock. Just as my heartbeat began to increase and my palms started to sweat, I spotted an esacpe route around this harbor switch-a-roo. They didn't nearly take over the entire exit. Breathing a sign of relief that more drama wasn't about to unfold, I motored around the big boat obstacle and head out into Kachemak Bay.

Halibut Cove Public Dock

I managed to dock the boat in Halibut Cove's Public Dock that evening, but not without anxiety. At first, I didn't tell Bryant to drop the daggerboard halfway and put one rudder down before docking, but I remembered in time and I successfully backed it up until all was in order to go back in. Granted I had a few onlookers jokingly asking why were weren't sailing into our spot. While my gut turned circles on the inside, I casually explained that I was learning how to dock with a motor, forget the sails. They courteously dropped the jokes and added words of encouragement. So in the end, my first day at the controls of Sol Searching in tight quarters didn't cause any new scratches or dings on our boat or any others. However, I hope in the future it evolves into an experience that is a little less tense and aligns itself in familarity with parking a big truck in the crowded grocery store parking lot.

For more pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/jillcaho/HalibutCove

Officially Last

I rallied the kids into climbing the Butte today and surprisingly it wasn't so hard. Autumn agreed to a hike the night before and today when I told the boys we were hiking the Butte, they just asked if they could bring along Asa, our neighborhood popcorn selling Boy Scout. The commitment of climbing the Butte also means picking out ice cream upon completion. I didn't even have to say it when I gave the direction to get ready to go, but they knew from our past routine. The truck wasn't even out of the driveway before a voting session on ice cream bars or the 1/2 gallon carton of ice cream was on the table.

We were a couple miles down the road and I realized Gus had on a pair of old slip on shoes with no socks. I refrained from a lecture on preparation, because I had no intention of turning the truck around. However, I could not refrain from adding a few words of caution about climbing on the rocks with those not so sticky loose shoes he has on.

When we reached the parking lot, Wyatt, Asa, and Gus scrambled up the dusty trail. Autumn and I trudged along. Autumn resting enough for me to catch up and then moving forward. About halfway up the 3/4 mile, 800 foot climb, I see Gus walking back down the hill toward me. "Why are you turning around? I asked rather confused. "It's only a little way," he replies. Then adds with confidence, "I know I can keep up with you. Wyatt and Asa are too fast."

So in the end, it didn't matter that the skinny forgetful 6th grader with no socks and worn out sloppy slip on shoes wore the wrong shoes. It is me who now earns the spot as "Officially Last."

Sailing, Starfish and Sunsets

Sailing . . . .

starfish . . .

and sunsets . . . .. . . yes, we did managed to drive ourselves to Homer for the first boating trip of the season and also managed to forget a lot of items at home as one would expect with the first boating trip of the season. Luckily, there was nothing left behind that we couldn't live without for a couple of days. After organizing ourselves and rigging the boat on Saturday morning and early afternoon, we decided on a day sail in Kachemak Bay. That evening we stayed in the Homer Harbor.

The next day, we beat up wind intending to get to Seldovia, but opted for Jakalof Bay as it was taking forever to move our way upwind in the steady breeze and 3 foot choppy seas. Gus asked why we didn't just turn on the motor and get there already. Instead of a philosophical discussion about the journey being the experience Bryant replied, "It would be cheating." Whenever you're in a sailboat moving upwind in a strong breeze, the boat heels or tilts at varying degrees. At first, I was screeching and feeling uncomfortable about every 10 minutes, but as the day wore on my body and brain adjusted. At one point, Bryant was granted the freedom to go below deck for a few minutes and I was left to handle the boat. Seeing as I coped with the situation, he may earn a little more free time as the summer wears on aboard the Sol Searching.

There is a public dock in Jakalof Bay that we tied up to for the night. The kids enjoy poking around the beach at low tide for various critters. Situated at the entrance to Jakalof Bay is an island at high tide, but accessible by land during low tide. It is one of those picture perfect settings that offers both beautiful sunsets and ample adventure for 11 and 13 year old boys.

On Monday there wasn't a ripple on the ocean so we decided to try our luck at fishing. Unfortunately, the tides were ripping by so fast our 3lb weights wouldn't hold at the bottom, so we thought we'd drift. We pulled anchor, which was a fiasco in itself because we forgot our buoy so it had to be pulled by hand from 150 feet of water. About the same time the anchor made its way back into the boat, the wind kicked in so we sailed into Seldovia. The next day, we motored back to Homer. We are keeping the boat in Homer for a month.

For more pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/jillcaho/MemorialDayWeekend

Nature

It is always interesting when I look out one window in the house as see sunshine and then out of the other I see this . . . .
Later on in the evening, I couldn't resist taking a picture of this, which of course means I stayed up too late.

It's Green Again!

Last week we had the luxury of watching the seasons change. For about a week, the high temperatures were in the 60's and low 70's, which is a little unusual for this time of year, anytime of year for that matter. It didn't take long for nature to respond . . . .
or us either for that matter! Along with trying to finish up on house and boat projects, we managed to find time to head down to the river. Before the river rises to its summer level, we have lots of space to cruise around on the 4-wheeler from a trail out our backyard. Wyatt, Gus and I headed down there after school on Friday. Granted I had to use the lure of a soda pop to get them to come with me . . . Later in the evening, Bryant and I went out to enjoy a campfire and sunset.