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THE PRE-SEADOG SAGA ©1999 Jeff Lindeman August 6 thru 8, 1999 Vessel: Juanderer - 26ft Ciera 2651 Express Cruiser Captain: Jeff Lindeman First Mate: Steve Noe I'm going back to the Ship's log to pull something to put here. It will be brief, but fill a void for this first Boy's Out adventure - the proverbial testing of the waters for our now annual sojourns. Day One - Don't know where we're goin', but we'll be there soon  There being thunderstorm and squall activity, we decided we should immediately find our 'harbor' for the night in case our currently beautiful and relatively clear day should deteriorate. It being 'The Season' we had no luck at Deer Harbor or West Sound, so we called Roche Harbor on the cell and headed there.
After securing our slip we headed for Davishead on San Juan Island's north shore and dropped 2 crab pots. Then as the weather continued to deteriorate we made for Reid Harbor on Stuart Island where we dropped 4 rings before setting anchor and taking the launch (I like that word - launch, OK it's an 8 foot inflatable, but it's MY "launch") and exploring the island bit. After pulling ALL the gear, we came up with 2 crab. :-( But as Steve said, "Lousy weather, lousy crabbing, great day!" When we returned to Roche we had dinner up at the gazebo lounge, boiled our 'catch' and retired for the night as thunderstorms lit the surrounding areas. Day Two - Kiss (the frog) And Tell (the tale) We arose to a beautiful morning, showered and departed after fueling up. Dark clouds were forming to the east and south and as we headed south toward Friday Harbor the weather in San Juan Channel turned cold, gray and windy. After getting a slip assignment (D-62) we sidled into town about 11am for a fine breakfast at The Fat Cat. About 2pm we made way for Blind Bay on Shaw Island's north shore to try a little more crabbing. We steered 41° for the green marker off Trun Island and came to 27° to head up San Juan Channel. At approximately 2:20pm, as we sipped our drinks and BS'd, I looked up after a brief distraction to find a full-on (no fish story here!) 16 foot log dead in our path about two boat lengths ahead. I exclaimed, "OH SHI*!" and cranked her hard to port, followed by hard to starboard - hoping to keep the outdrive and other expensive bits dangling off the stern (speedo wheel and depth-sounder) from making contact. We struck a glancing blow to the starboard bow - fortunately parallel to the log - and settled to a full-stop in the busy channel to assess our damages. The motor was still running and I automatically tripped the bilge pump and jumped up to raise the engine access lid to make sure water was NOT pouring in. We had "kissed the frog" and miraculously come out unscathed. I ran her up on plane a few times carefully listening for new vibrations and such and all seemed in order. (note: when I hauled her at Hilton Harbor on Sunday the only evidence was a superficial 6-inch scratch at the waterline about halfway up the bow on the starboard side.) Phew. Dodged a bullet, as they say. After many hearty "arrrrghhh's" we continued up the channel into Blind Bay. We set our pots and drifted to the sounds of Bob Marley as the sun screamed down from a deep azure sky. Bliss. When we returned to our slip that evening we took a relaxing cruise around the marina in the dinghy and supped on T-bones and crab. Continued bliss. Day Three - Where the crabs tremble in fear After rising around 7am we cooked a manly breakfast of bacon and eggs with cheddar, coffee and fresh OJ. One more short cruise of the marina and off we headed to our home waters. We spent the morning crabbing in Chuckanut Bay and after lunch we pulled all the gear to the tune of 17 crab - one short of what we officially call "A Shi*load". Macho hunters return to homestead to feed families and bask in hunter's glory. Ugh. Epilogue - A great weekend. The first of many adventures to come - each more bold than it's predecesor. Maybe not-so-bold for some and yet unthinkable for others, but for two gracefully aging 40-something year olds, just the ticket. ;-) Cheers, Jeff |