I havent been updating this as a blogger should. Sorry. But of course there really isnt anything too exciting yet.
The big thing was i did the 2-day drive to Washington, and: Boated.
I spent a few days inventorying, checking & figuring things out, etc. Slept aboard, not sure that was allowed in Oak Harbor Marina, so not only was i quiet & no lights, but i even moved slowly/carefully, as a rocking boat makes ripples.
Then the big day i'm to go out-there. Engine wouldnt start.
Realize i'm a sailboat guy past. I dont trust engines, despite i have a truck that almost always starts. And now here it was, my fear. I took a walk, wishing i never got into this at all, a stupid idea. Phoned the seller, i was calm and nice with him, because luckily he really is a very nice & honest man.
His best advice was i try again.
It worked. Soon i jockeying the power boat out of the slip. Even this wouldve been a bit embarrassing, had anyone witnessed, as i didnt really understand how to make the thing go forward & back.
(Realize i was, for 2 seasons, an actual Lake Patrol Law Enforcement Officer, in a fast powerboat. You'd think i'd know these things.) (It turns out there's an extra button at the base of the throttle. In, it's like neutral. Out, you go.)
Somehow i managed out.
Sunny, water glassy, a perfect day.
I havent tried its top speed, not important, but this craft cruises at 20mph, a low and economical 3000rpm.
The coolest part was the navigation display, something i've never experienced before. The detailed nautical chart for the area is on a computer screen display. GPS-enabled, my boat is a triangle center-screen. So it even tells you which way you're pointed. Truly, if not for fear of hitting a log or other vessel, one could never look out a window & still get there. Amazing.
And so i got there. Just a short few nautical miles, to a small bay i'd selected or its proximity and 'protection' from various wind directions. (It's what you seek in an anchorage. Tho the weather forecast was benign.)
I tossed the anchor over the side, not bothering to set it properly. It'll be fine.
There was a minor wind, less than 1' waves, but even that was enuf to blow me across the small bay, despite the slipping/sliding anchor.
No matter, i pulled it up, it slimy with grey clay & weed, motored back to where i'd started, tossed it nonchalantly back.
This time it held well for the silent nite.
Morning, fog. A swimming float near held gulls, later seals.
These actionless interludes, i stayed busy investigating the unfamiliar equipment, researching manuals, planning for the Big Trip.
But finally impatient, i navigated off into the fog, rightly trusting the GPS display, tho going a bit slower, maybe ~10mph, for safety, eh?(Funny, cuz with my previous sailboats, TOP speed was ~7, ha felt i was flying.)
Back to marina, inexperienced with this one, took me a few back&forths to to get into the slip, but no one watching, no damage.
A few days before, i'd climbed into the cockpit, for the first time there alone, the nitemare registration problem solved, and i was truly simply happier than in years. Happy to just SIT, exist, experience, be, in the moment. For the longest perfect time.
But finally it seemed i should DO something. ~Productive.
Too bad.
Every nite i wake, irrationally afraid, overwhelmed.
On, soon, to Alaska.
