I departed Shelter Island Marina the other day with a plan to visit English Bay and False Creek. The backup plan was to just come back up the river if conditions changed or if I had to.
I went down on the outgoing tide and arrived at the Pacific Ocean at 10:00AM. I was well clear of the light house and the buoys and I could see a Ferry a few Nautical Miles away. It triggered my harbor setting alarms on the Vesper XB8000 for being less than CPA .5nmi and TCPA less than 10 minutes and target speed exceeds .5kts. Lesson learned there should go out with the right AIS profile set up.
Anyway at that point I decided to hang a sharp turn to Starboard and save some time. I ended up motoring into or partially onto a shallow area of water with the prevailing winds up around NW15-20. It seemed fine when I first started but half and hour later I was in some serious trouble going windward into 15' breaking waves.
In what seemed like an eternity I decided to turn around and run with them. I was not getting wet or anything going to windward (incredibly dry vessel) but my goodness I just couldn't handle the interval of the waves at less than 15 seconds between waves. I would no sooner go over one than have to go over another one. I became concerned some of the gear in the cockpit would break loose and injure me. I believed I was still making headway at 40amps a side. Zero need to be there at that time other than the quickly forgotten plan for a few nice days around Vancouver Harbour.
The trip back running with the waves was certainly an interesting experience. I could see the waves traveling beneath me and they wanted to come in the back of the catamaran. The water would fill the rear cockpit and then I could hear it draining. It never once got onboard enough to swamp my motors but I was still very much worried almost to the point of calling out PAN PAN PAN PAN PAN PAN.
I kept my cool though and did my best to steer at angles up and down the waves and make my way out of the shoal and back into the entrance channel. I knew it was slack low tide and that if I could just make it back to the entrance I would be able to manage the current back up to Steveston Marina.
At 2:00 I arrived at Steveston Marina somewhat shaken by my experience and wanted to just deploy my GPS anchor and say a few prayers and charge the batteries up some and prep for the remainder of the trip back up the river. I steered in up by the restaurants by the docks cut the motors and so cocksure walked up the front of the catamaran and before the bow stepped clear off the vessel falling waist deep into the water banging my right knee on the way down. Well embarrassed to say the least I caught the gunwale with both hands and was up like a shot.
Then I deployed the trolling motor but the thing did not want to work for some reason. So eventually I drifted back down into the marina until the depth was reading less than six feet and then had to motor back up to the restaurant area and drift back down broadside to the wind while I tried to diagnose the trolling motor again. No luck again the second time.
Reluctantly I motored back up this time and tied up behind an aluminum bass boat that had just pulled in. Those guys took my lines and were amazed at my boat asking if I had just come from Hawaii or something. I got along pretty good with the one fellow and he was with a contracting or landscaping company that was just out for a company day off. They all went up to the restaurant for refreshments and food. I declined the offer due to my bad knee.
Eventually I discovered with Jim's good advice over the phone to just try disconnecting the power. It was as simple as that to get the trolling motor back to receiving a GPS lock. Control returned motor functioning as new. Still I'm a little perturbed.
There are tourists everywhere and I end up getting myself and the boat photographed probably a hundred times or more during the course of an hour even posing with old ladies in front of the boat. Anyway I eventually get the Honda 2000 out and throw some quick 45amps at the batteries for an hour and prepare to disembark.
Buddy comes back from the restaurant and checks on me before I started the generator. We shoot the breeze some and he goes back up to the restaurant again offering if I wanted a beer or some food. Rather nice of him I thought. After 45 minutes he returns with the other five people on the boat but now my generator is just balling and I'm back up to good levels on my bank to overcome anything I see going back upriver with the current.
I step off the boat and go sit on there bass boat with them for awhile and be sociable. They were very sociable and I left feeling quite relieved and in less pain and with a dry mouth.
I keep making preparations to disembark and now have to wait for some people to hold my lines as it is windy again and I don't want to risk untying the front line and stern line and then missing my footing getting onto the boat. Eventually a two nice sailing couples come along and they look like very seasoned pacific northwest boating people and I briefly make their acquaintance and give them directions to which they comply.
Throttle applied I'm pulling away for 10amps of power and I hear the ladies talking to each other, "That's it for our unique Steveston Maraina Experience!" I replied thank you so much have a great afternoon. In hindsight I could have given them a great solar electric cruise 8.25nm back up the river with the tide. I know it was relaxing for me. Still losts of debris though and again in hindsight I should have taken someone aboard as standing was becoming difficult on my knee as the muscles in the back were beginning to cramp up for favoring the front of the joint.
Lessons learned, lessons learned. I attach the track back from Steveston Marina to Shelter Island.
Sorry no videos of this trip - no time and no crew. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6BAWH7F1cixqeoS1XlLYww/videos?shelf_id=0&view=0&sort=dd
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