[Public-List] Misery Trip 2017

[dan walker]

Guess  my only response to your tale would be "jealous".  Always enjoy reading about the miserable misery cruises.Dan

Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android 
 
  On Fri, Oct 13, 2017 at 9:50 AM, Gordon Laco via Public-List<public-list at lists.alberg30.org> wrote:   Hello friends,

 

Yesterday about midday, SURPRISE was romping south, close reaching under her high clewed blade jib and reefed main.  What a wonderful end to the 2017 Misery Trip.   (an old and overused device in writing is starting with the end... so there it is)

 

Some of you may have discerned that two ‘Misery Trips’ or ‘Misery Cruises’ have developed.  One, which I think of as the real one, involves SURPRISE on her own, brave and solitary, sailing on a late season expedition.  Risks are always carefully assessed, we’d never want to be foolhardy, but we are attracted by late season conditions; better wind, no bugs, no other boats around.   The second ‘Misery Trip’ is another annual event with a long history; this one started by friends at our sailing club before I knew them.  This one involves a group sail to a particular island for a late season fireside ho-down.    It’s fun and worthy, but somehow appropriated the name of the other annual event.   

 

So the ‘real’ Misery Trip happened this week... on the 28th we’ll be doing the ‘other’ one.  Here’s the story of the real one.

 

Weekends being clogged up with family and other obligations, Pim (skipper of WINDWARD, a fine A30) and I decided we’d better steal a couple of week days for our ordeal.  We settled on Wednesday and Thursday this week and accordingly began preparing.

 

Aboard SURPRISE I purposely left the high clewed blade on the headstay (as per the earlier exchange, switching sails on the fly while out there would be easy and quick) and stocked her up with provisions.  Two steaks for Wednesday evening, ice, beer, solid fuel for the woodstove, and a freshly dried and aired ‘Big Red’, a very old woolen blanket my Mom made part of my kit when I went away to school.  Big Red has accompanied me as a supplement to my sleeping bag on many Misery Trips.   

 

One of Pim’s responsibilities is serving as an officer in one of Canada’s most prestigious infantry regiments, and duty kept him in the city Tuesday night... but early Wednesday morning he was at our door ready to go.  We moved into SURPRISE and in short order were motoring out of the club, dinghy in tow.  The wind was blowing from an ominous ESE at about 15knots... there was rain in the forecast but who cares about that?  We motored at 5 knots into the chop till we could lay Midland Point and the course out to Georgian Bay then set the full main and uncorked the jib.   SURPRISE was happy despite the short headsail, and with judicious flattening of the main, the helm was well balanced.  We galloped down Severn Sound, passing Rod’s C&C Frigate at her mooring (hello Rod) and in very short order we were lining up the range marks at the channel at Minnicogneshene.  There was enough south in the east wind that we remained on starboard tack while threading the channel (at high speed), bore off for the dog leg, then reached and close reached past Hotchkiss Rock and Lambert Island.   I was delighted to see the peaks of Orville Wright’s summer home still visible behind the monster house built on his island when the property was partitioned.  Yes, the Wrights were Americans and this is Canada, but they were interesting historical figures who were in the thick of competition at the beginning of powered flight (probably not first, but let’s argue that elsewhere)  I hope someday their house is protected...

 

So back the story.   We lined SURPRISE up on Ship Island, looking for that hard to spot green pin marking a turning point in the entrance to Muskoka Channel.  Pinney pin pin, where the f#ck are you, pinney pin pin?  (With no wives aboard, our language was already degenerating.)   Ah there you are you bastard, must have moved again!  And so around, easing sheets again and rocketing at hull speed past Sugar Island (RIP Joe Sterioff, who loved the place) toward the bay at Bone Island.   

 

Once entering the bay, we spotted a large yacht behind us (oh no, solitude not for this year?)  The big boat turned out to be EMERALD NIGHT from our club with good friends aboard.  They very politely came to anchor in the outer bay leaving the inner to us.  Nice.

 

In due course Bill from EMERALD came skipping over in his RHIB inviting us to drinks later.  He had a bit of a start as he approached and realized that my companion was not my wife...  but then I saw his face relax as he realized that my crew wasn’t even a girl... ha ha.  Visit invitation accepted, he shot off back to his boat and we settled down to sampling Pim’s special issue regimental scotch and book reading.  

 

It rained, but we were snug under our cockpit awning.

 

On schedule, Bill returned and we clambered into his dinghy for the shot back to his boat.  We brought a bucket of beers and shrimp to lay on the table over there.   We had a nice visit, accepted congratulations for being stalwart about beating into the anchorage under sail (ah it was nothing) and eventually it was time to go back so we could bbq our steaks before dark.  Bill’s wife came with us;  being a big boat girl, she was incredulous that we were content to stay overnight in our ‘tiny’ Alberg 30 rather than accept their invitation to use the spare cabins (yes that’s an S) in their boat.   Bill scolded her gently saying ‘Alberg 30’s routinely sail around the world, they’re great lovely boats...’  Thanks Bill.

 

So back in the boat, steaks on the Q, onions and peppers chopped up, corn on the cob bubbling on the stove... great feast on the cockpit table after.   No pain at Bone Island (again)  I gorged myself on the remaining shrimp... did I know that Pim doesn’t like them?  Honestly I didn’t.  I really did NOT bring the mainstay of our snack food in a category he won’t eat so I can have it all to myself....

 

After dark we retreated into the cabin and buttoned up... soon the woodstove was cheerfully hot and we settled in for some renewed sipping of spirits and book reading.   For myself I have to admit I didn’t manage a single page, fell asleep as soon as the stove died down... slept like a log all night.

 

Awoke before dawn in a frigidly cold cabin.  I got the fire going and lay back again... when Pim woke up over on his side the cabin was warm again (see how I look after my crew?)

 

He took over galley duties and rustled up a terrific breakfast of scrambled eggs and sausages... I managed to make coffee.  By 1000 we had the main up and recovered our anchor... spread the jib and glided out of the cove.   While we passed EMERALD NIGHT in the outer anchorage... they waved and took pictures of us.

 

We found the 25 knot ESE wind still blowing... which meant we had to beat out around the dogleg at Minnicog.  We lost count of how many tacks we made advancing 300 meters directly to windward... we think 12 or more, most of them only a couple of boat lengths in duration in the very confined waters.  Visible rocks to port, more sinister invisible ones to starboard... oh my how long can we hold this tack... another few yards... another...a little more...we’re really gaining on this one... then nerve breaks and ‘ready-about-helm’s-down!’  Around we’d go... perhaps just in time, perhaps we could have gone a little further if my courage hadn’t cracked...  SURPRISE is very handy with that close winded headsail, but still it was a bit of work and we felt very pleased with ourselves when we made it to where we could lay the channel out to the open.

 

We close reached out past Brebeuf Island, Gin Rocks, and the mouth of Outer Penetanguishene Bay at high speed.  There we found the wind and seas getting enough that we decided to reef the main, which we did while hove to... then got her galloping again.  In short order we were back at the club packing up... Pim was on his way back to Toronto by 2pm.  

 

Wonderful trip.  That gallop home was about the best sailing of the season.  Now for the ‘other’ Misery trip on the 28th...   Did I forget anything Pim?

 

Gord

#426 Surprise

 

 

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