6. June 2018: Sailing Lessons!
John and I drove to Bellingham, Washington at the end of June 2018 to take sailing lessons with San Juan Sailing. We had signed up for the 6-day live aboard course out of several options. Our goal was to get our ASA (American Sailing Association) Certification for levels 101, 103 and 104 (I think 102 became combined with one of the other ones). This will allow us to skipper boats that are up to 45 feet long. Before the class started, we were supposed to read three sailing books. (I didn't quite meet that goal, but I was pressed for time).
We were assigned to Kallisto--a 39 foot Jeanneau--with Captain Bob. Allen and Jo were also on board. Kallisto seemed huge at first, and the thought of steering her was intimidating. John and I split a Dramamine before we got on board, and that's the only one we had in 6 days, so that's a positive! We first did a "treasure hunt" to locate where things were on the boat, then we headed out to the San Juan Islands! We first stopped in Echo Bay on Sucia Island. We "docked" next to mooring lines, which are nice because your boat doesn't spin around. We took the dinghy to shore for a short walk across the island. After we returned, we took our first paper test, and we all passed.
Allen made a delicious supper: chicken with capers in a lemony sauce. He's a firefighter, and he's definitely made use of his down time! Besides being an awesome cook, he's a scuba diver, pilot, aerial photographer, and currently working on his helicopter's license and his sailboat instructor's permit! Jo and her tattoo-artist friend have a dream of living on a catamaran in the Caribbean and naming it The Tat Cat. :) Captain Bob went over navigation, and how to use a parallel ruler on a chart. Later, John and I got to share the V-berth with it's own head (toilet), Jo and Allen each got their own berth, and Captain Bob slept on the cabin's bench, which turns into a berth.
On Sunday we took our second paper test, then we learned about currents and worked on points of sail. We sailed to Reid Harbor on Stuart Island. We were each assigned a job, and I was Mechanic for the day. I learned to check the oil, made sure the sea cocks were closed and checked the sea strainer for seaweed.
In the afternoon we went to shore where several families were camping. We followed a trail to a school house and a library, where we took our last paper test. It was a humdinger, but I got all my navigation questions correct--wooohooo! It felt great to be done with the paper tests, but now it was on to the "hands on" test.
We went back to the boat to go over questions we'd missed. John was Skipper for the day, and the boat was heeling at nearly 35 degrees. That wasn't so great as I was down below trying to do math computations in my head. I finally had to tell Captain Bob "I gotta go outside!" After breathing in fresh air and watching the horizon for awhile, I was okay.
On Monday we sailed to Roche Harbor on San Juan Island. Wow!! What a great place for a honeymoon or anniversary! It's a tiny but breathtakingly beautiful town. We ate at a restaurant, and watched the evening flag ceremony, complete with a cannon shot.
On Tuesday the Phecal Phreak (great name!) came by to pump out our black water (sewage). Washington State provides this service for free, which is a wonderful way to keep sewage out of their waters. Then we sailed to Friday Harbor on the other side of San Juan Island, where we provisioned (and even got ice cream). I was Skipper today, so I learned about docking. (I still need WAY more help with this. Luckily ASA also had a course just on docking!) We went to Parks Bay on Shaw Island, just across from Friday Harbor. We did a stern anchor (tied to a tree) as well as a regular anchor.
As we headed to Rosario on Orcas Island on Wednesday, we worked on our Man Over Board drills (MOBs) and Heave-To's (setting the sails in such a way that your boat stays fairly stationary without an anchor). Rosario is another stunning town, and home to the gorgeous Moran Mansion, which now houses a restaurant (amazing clam chowder BTW!), resort, museum and spa. We went inside, and someone was playing Danny Boy on a huge, antique organ. Beautiful! We walked up to the lake above Rosario, and when we got back to the marina we saw an otter near Kallisto, eating a crab!
We left Rosario on Thursday and headed towards Lummi Island. On the way there, we practiced more MOB drills. Then Jo, John and I were up on deck, sailing by ourselves on a beam reach. It was so amazing that in a few short days we'd gone from newbies to sailors! We'd taken in a ton of info "like an 800 pound gorilla was stomping it into our skulls", but all in all it was an amazing time. The worst thing about the trip was that I'd forgotten my non-SPF chapstick, and my bottom lip felt like it had a crack the size of the Grand Canyon. We sailed into Inati Bay where there were two other sailboats. We needed to tie a stern anchor, so I had to tie the bowline to a tree with a 4" tail. My "miracle knot" held all night 😁. It's a good thing that Jo had shown me her version of how to tie a bowline! We had steaks that night to celebrate all our accomplishments, and for all getting certified!
Friday dawned calm but chilly. It was a cold, cloudy motorsail back to Bellingham Harbor. I decided then and there that we would NOT be looking for boats for sale in the Northwest. I want to do my sailing in WARM water! After we docked Kallisto, we rinsed her off and did some light cleaning. Captain Bob told John and I that we make a great team. I agree!
Join us in “7. Our Shakedown Trip” as we visit friends and family before leaving to find a boat of our own!
