The Non Sailing Sailing Adventure with Parental Units
Part One - Vancouver Island June 2023
“Most of the danger in sailing comes from people trying to keep to a schedule.”
Early counsel from my son on why worry was unnecessary regarding life with his partner and able co-captain, Heather, living aboard their 37 foot sailing vessel, Karma. Since they had no schedule for the next year, they would be free to drop anchor and wait out any risky situations. Ergo…no need to worry.
Okay, there was that ONE event on the calendar the entire sailing season, but it was a big one. Heather was due to show up groomed and in a frock as Maid of Honor at her big sister’s wedding on June 10th in St. Ignatius, Montana, a hard to reach wee spot with a jawdropping mountain backdrop on the Flathead Indian Reservation. From where they were to where they were going was the equivalent of someone in Australia telling you they had to get from OotnaWhupWhup to Ootnadatta. Not easy. But with planning and plenty of time, no worries.
The first hint of a spanner in the works was a text I received from Liam at 7:28 p.m. on June 2 Serious chaos has hit the fan. And he attached a pin drop showing the vessel in the wiggly bits off the mainland of British Columbia, in someplace called the Havannah Channel just west of Mistake Island (!?!?) which seemed to be a very long long way from where they would need to be in just a couple of days.
I am blessed with two amazing sons, each with his own communication style. One entertains me frequently with colorful, detail laden stories, while the other (our firstborn) doles out information in bits like breadcrumbs dropped along a trail. Hearing no more than that brief teaser, I had to go to sleep wondering if they had been boarded by pirates, or a grizzly bear, (more likely in British Columbia) tipped over by a rogue wave, caught out with incomplete custom paperwork…
At 9:36 a.m.June 3rd I received a photo of Karma side by side with another boat and this not particularly enlightening caption: So good news and bad news haha
It was, in fact, a photo of Karma getting towed by a very nice older couple from Anacortes but in case I was getting too optimistic at that point, Liam added Yes but bad news all around essentially. Granted they were very nice haha. And we are in the middle of absolutely nowhere.
Mechanical problems apparently developed while they waited out bad weather, and they were motorless. Ever hopeful I asked “No chance you bought the international boat version of AAA? How far are you from Alert Bay?”
Liam: 30 miles And that wouldn’t help. We can’t be towed safely 30 miles against 7 foot waves There is a gale for the next two days against us in the Johnstone Strait which is why we are up in these little channels where there isn’t wind and not enough space to sail. Plus extremely dangerous without the ability to engine away from rocks n such if we tried!
Back to the two sons. I have always felt God knew what He was doing when he gave me sons because I love their Full On Frontal Assault approach to life! Both are blessed (or cursed?) with an indefatigable belief that things will work out. For Liam, they almost magically always seem to do that! With Tristan…he gets there, eventually, but with a considerably wilder ride along the route. Hence I have often said “Every once in awhile I take a day off to worry about Liam, just to keep in practice. Then I go back to worrying about Tristan full time.” However, in recent months Tristan had displayed some genuine, admirable signs of true adulting, which meant he seemed to be easing off the full time worrying requirement.
After receiving this visual from Liam, I texted: Glad I freed up some brain space to worry about You!
To which he responded: Don’t need to worry about us necessarily worry about your trip haha
So…our trip. A second attempt by my husband and I to see Karma under sail. I had determined early on that the only time I could be certain our two sons would be in the same place at any time in the near future was when Liam, Heather, and his brother walked off the plane in Seattle, enroute back from the June 10th wedding. We planned to be waiting at that airport on that night.
After considerable discussion of multiple options, the plan had been worked out for a few nights sailing to begin from where Karma was to be anchored in the harbor of Alert Bay on Cormorant Island off the northeast side of Vancouver Island. It was to be put into action with Grant and I collecting the 3 at Sea-Tac airport the evening of June 12th, and the next day crossing the border to ferry over to Vancouver Island and make our way north, with a quick stop for provisions before catching the last ferry out of Port McNeill to stow our gear on Karma and head out the next morning. A long day, a tight schedule, but doable we surmised.
That was before the new wrinkle, which was making it very possible that there would be no vessel at all involved in our “sailing adventure”. Sometime during that day, I received a hint of possible plans written in typical calm Liam Speak “All is well and solvable except the schedule issue changes it up essentially. The move might be there are grizzly bear tour boats that come past here so we are gonna ask if we can hitch a ride on their way back to Telegraph Cove. We’d then I guess hitchhike to Port McNeill? That’s the standing option.”
I suggested that perhaps Heather could wave the unhemmed bridesmaid dress to get their attention (I think she had three on board, with the mother waiting on dry land for last minute hemming duties for the one chosen).
But back to the Parent Watch, at 9:20 p.m. that evening I received a final detailed report from Liam:
Okay Canada = amazing
But we will really be testing that when we get back up here…
What?!?! Did that mean!?!? They were still stranded but had been invited to a Mooseburger Bar-b-cue and Happy Hour? They had been airlifted by the Royal Canadian Water Mounties to a doable destination? They had been elected honorary members of the Musqueam First Nation folks at a cove side Pow Wow?
I went to bed.
(Hint: the first option was closest to the truth but to learn just how totally “up the creek without a paddle” these 2 were, stop now and read Heather’s blog titled Stranded in the Broughtons for the full story of what was actually going on that weekend as they desperately tried to find a way to get themselves in a position to make the wedding. )
To my great relief, I received a photo the next morning, June 4th, of Heather on board an unknown boat,
Mom: 10:07 a.m Did you steal a new fancy boat?!
Liam: Haha not fancy it’s a little 27 foot trawler but extra cozy.
which was confirmed to be their rescue vessel of some sort, transporting them to Alert Bay, sans Karma, but putting them back within striking distance of their schedule.
With no further details, this last exchange in the evening was the final summation we received of the extrication escapades:
Liam: 5:50 p.m. So far it’s seemingly like you could get on entirely by serendipity and absolutely no planning in these smaller towns and islands
Liam: Be ready for a pretty serious amount of random finagling and serendipity from strangers to resolve the second half of this whole debocle when you’re up here.
Mom: Write it down!! Future best seller!!”
Liam Yup yup
Liam: But I’m warning you now so you can begin prepping mentally
Mom: Starting mental prep now. Lowering expectations!
Liam: “Not lowering expectations, but the trip is just gonna be whatever it turns out as to an extent idk if you’ve relied on in a long time haha
Mom: I am totally okay with ANYthing as long as I get to hang out with you and Heather!
Liam: At this point there is absolutely no way in which we can guarantee anything except that it so sounds like it should work out!
Mom: Given your life, it may be useful to know the correct spelling is debacle.”
Part Two of The Non Sailing Sailing Adventure takes up from where we do, in fact, corral the reprobate sons and able co-captain at Sea Tac airport for an escapade that in no way resembled our original plan…
