Alaskan Sailing Adventure

by Charles Kaluza & Philip Kaluza

  Day 10

  The sound of the Captain making his coffee was enough to rouse the boys. The smell of coffee was almost enough to make them hungry but the constant rolling and pitching of the boat made them all settle for some more of the Sailor Boy hardtack with peanut butter and honey. Mikey realized they were all below and asked, “Who’s at the helm?”

  The Captain replied, “Otto has the helm.”

  “Who’s Otto?”

  “The auto pilot.”

  Quinn asked, “Why didn’t we have Otto drive all night?”

  “Two reasons really. You needed to learn to feel the boat and helm. Time alone at night is the best way to learn. Otto also eats up a lot of battery power. Without the engine running the battery would be depleted in a few hours.”

  Kade said, “I saw another boat on the RADAR last night. What would Otto do if there was another boat?”

  The Captain smiled his small smile and said, “Theoretically, Otto is smart enough to sound the alarm if something shows up on RADAR. I never trust him for very long without looking myself. The electronics are nice but the helmsman remains essential on a sailboat.” He added, “Kade, pop up and check the RADAR screen.”

  Kade climbed up the companionway and looked at the screen. Just a general green haziness with no targets visible. He called out, “All clear!” as he climbed back down into the salon.

  “Did you hear anything while you were up there?” asked the Captain.

  Kade had to think for a minute before replying, “I heard a pump which I assume was Otto but nothing else. Why do you ask?”

  “When visibility is this poor we should be sounding the ship’s bell or whistle. Large ships are pretty good at it but most small boats never remember or get tired of the racket and stop. I suppose RADAR has made us lazy.” He added, “Can be a bit frightening when you hear a ship’s whistle and are not sure where it is in the fog. Those big ships move amazingly fast and can’t change course easily. Sailboats get run over by the huge container barges and the ship’s crew never even knew it happened. That’s one of the reasons the new radios all have the ability to send out position information.”

  Mikey asked, “How could they not tell that they had run over another boat?”

  “If you are riding your bike and run over an earthworm can you tell? About the same effect especially if the seas are a bit rough.”

  “Never thought about myself as a worm but I guess I understand.”

  Quinn piped up, “Easy enough for us to think about you being a worm.”

  This was enough to start a verbal brawl and before it could degenerate into a food fight the Captain said, “Best you use some of the energy to plot our course back to port. We need to decide if we just want to make way to Resurrection Sound or maybe stay another night in Phil’s cove.”

  The boys started studying the chart and Kade said, “If we head back to Phil’s Cove we could stop and fish Granite Island again.”

  Captain John responded, “Might make more sense to fish the Chiswell Islands if the wind stays reasonable.”

  Mikey spoke up saying, “I would rather extend the adventure as long as possible and avoid other boats. No use going back until we have to.”

  Captain John responded, “I agree with you but a prudent sailor always leaves a margin for when things do not go as planned. The choice is yours. I am going aft. Inform me prior to your course correction.”

  The decision to head for the islands was made and Johnathan began doing the math. Kade just used a piece of paper on the chart and ball parked the course and distance from their estimated position. He said, “Looks like we should be at the islands about mid-day and might be able to make it by high slack tide.”

  Johnathan just ignored the intrusion into his work and not until he had checked everything twice did he say, “We need to take a heading of 23 degrees magnetic and if we can make 5 knots then we will arrive at the islands before high tide. The incoming tide should give us a boost back to Phil’s Cove.” He added, “Returning to Phil’s Cove will add about 12 miles to our trip but if we time the tides right only about 2 hours.”

  Quinn said, “Good plan. Let’s do it.”

  Nobody disagreed so Quinn called aft to the Captain saying, “Course correction to 23 degrees coming up with a planned anchorage in Phil’s Cove.”

  “Make sure you turn Otto off and watch the voltage. If the batteries drop to 12 volts we will need to run the engine for a while.”

  The wind had been abeam for the run towards Hawaii but as they came about the boat went from heeling to starboard to heeling to port. This allowed things not fastened down to relocate themselves to a lower level…like the cabin sole. From the Captain’s berth came the call, “Clean up the mess you just made of the cabin and learn to secure things. A place for everything and everything in its place!”

  Quinn was at the helm. He was managing to keep a fairly steady heading but it was hard work. The fog remained so thick that he could just barely make out the bow of the boat. He called out a few minor sail changes and soon the Sea Shanty was pretty much sailing herself. After about an hour the fog was starting to lift. All but the top of their mast was now in the clear. Those not at the helm started to read or think about taking a nap when Quinn called out, “Look at that huge seagull! It is flying without flapping its wings.”

  From below came the call, “It is not a seagull. It’s a black footed albatross and they glide for hours without ever flapping their wings.”

  “How come it is following us?” Mikey wanted to know.

  The Captain came topside and explained, “They are great flyers but lazy feeders. I expect they follow boats to see if they can get a free handout. They also like to steal food from diving birds.”

  Soon they had another smaller bird on their port side and Kade decided to see if he could feed them. He took a piece of leftover fish and tossed it off to the side. Both birds swooped down to get the morsel and tussled for a few seconds before the fish disappeared down the gullet of the bigger bird. The Captain was smiling as he explained, “The smaller bird is a Shearwater and they are pretty good feeders but they always seem to pay the “albatross tax” and share their catch.”

  Johnathan was fascinated by the way both birds would glide right along the waves and then swoop up when they had built up sufficient speed. He never saw the albatross flap its wings other than when it was fighting over the fish Kade had tossed. He asked, “How far can the albatross fly?”

  The Captain rubbed his chin for a bit before responding, “Nobody knows for sure but they have documented 10,000 mile nonstop flights. If I remember right some tropical albatross circumnavigated the earth three times in one year. About the only time, they come ashore is to breed.”

  The boys got use to their companion and the sun finally started to burn the last of the fog off. Naps seemed in order. Mikey was at the helm and the Captain was reading in the other main seat. Mikey asked, “How come you aren’t married?”

  The Captain did not respond for the longest time and Mikey was about to repeat the question when the Captain said, “That was then and now is now. I was married for a while but was so intent on being a success and making big money after I got my MBA that I forgot what was important. It cost me my marriage which forced me to think about what was important in life. I came to Alaska to start over. Life has just rushed by without a second chance at marriage. Now I am too old and decrepit for anyone to want.” After a moment of silence, he continued, “I suppose the reason I keep teaching is that you students become my family.” With that the Captain went below leaving Mikey to the helm.

  The wind kept dying down and soon they were making so little headway that the high slack tide would be gone before they got to the islands. Quinn was given the task of broaching the subject of using the engine with the Captain. He looked up from his book and said, “OK by me. You guys know what to do.”

  Quinn took time to do the engine
room checks before heading into the cockpit to start the engine. While the engine was warming up the rest of the crew lowered and secured the sails. By the time, they reached the islands the ocean was dead calm except for the small rollers from some far-off storm. Kade had been studying the chart and selected the reef he wanted to fish. When they arrived, they decided to spread out from the bow to the stern and all drop their lines at the same time. The standard nickel bet on the first fish was made. As soon as Quinn got the boat stopped and cut the engine, the countdown began…3,2,1 fishing. All the lines went down simultaneously. Johnathan was at the bow and had just hit bottom when he yelled, “Fish-on.” This was followed by a surprised exclamation, “I lost it!”

  Quinn was next in line and almost immediately was yelling “Fish-on!” This was followed by “Fish off!” as he reeled in a limp line. Mikey was fishing next to the cockpit and took his turn yelling “Fish on” followed by some German words that everyone seemed to understand as he too reeled in a limp line. He had lost his grandpa’s homemade jig.

  Kade was fishing off of the stern and laughed at his fishing partners as they each hooked and lost their fish saying, “Looks like I’ll be getting the nickel.” His rod bent down and he was yelling something about showing them how it was done. It was a big fish and then it was gone and Kade like the others reeled in a limp line.

  The Captain was in the pilot house watching and said, “Well, it looks like a clean sweep. Fish 4, boys 0.” “I expect we should move some ways and let the shark find something else to eat besides your bait.”

  Quinn fired up the engine and they moved closer to the island which was nice because they could watch the 3 zillion sea birds while they fished. A couple of small halibut and several undersized ling cod and then it was time to head for Phil’s Cove. The Captain did not even look up from his book as they steamed through Pete’s Pass. Nobody enjoyed motoring but there wasn’t enough wind to sail. The Captain listened to their grumbling for a few minutes and said, “When it gets calm this time of year it usually means there is a storm brewing out in the gulf. In a couple of days, the weather will go downhill quickly.” He added, “Just think of the old-time sailors who had to put up with the doldrums and were becalmed for weeks at a time. All they could do is bob out in the ocean and drift with the current.”

  Naps became the order of the day as they rotated the helm position with even the Captain taking his turn. The tide push helped and they made 7 knots over the ground, arriving at the cove a little late for dinner by Quinn’s built in hunger clock. While setting the anchor, Johnathan asked, “Why are the mountains so steep?”

  The Captain explained, “These mountains are islands that drifted across the ocean. The islands were mountains and so they remain. The glaciers have sculpted them more. The intense pressure from the weight of the ice means that the bottom layer is actually liquid and it is always searching for a way out. Tiny cracks in the rock gradually grow as the liquid refreezes and pushes against the rock. Eventually the water wins and the rock face collapses. In time the mountains will be gone.”

  Quinn was much more worried about eating than mountains disappearing and took it upon himself to start cooking. The fresh halibut was fried up and the Captain even opened up his secret stash of precooked wild rice so they could have wild rice with their fish. Mikey wanted more of the sea asparagus but the steep shoreline did not support it and they made do with a seaweed salad. When they had finished eating Johnathan asked the Captain what needed to be done to retrace the journey of Captain Bligh?

  The Captain said, “Get the place cleaned up and I’ll talk about it.”

  Quinn spoke up saying, “Who’s turn is it to do dishes?”

  The boys looked at each other and realized nobody had broken the word rule. They turned towards the Captain who was trying to avoid responding. He finally broke down and said, “Guess maybe it is my turn.”

  High fives and laughter from the boys lasted only a minute or so when Mikey asked, “What’s that noise?”

  The roar could now be heard by everyone and they all scrambled topside to see what was going on. The sun was getting low but to the northwest a grey black cloud was forming and seemed to be advancing towards them. It took the Captain only a glance to realize that the Holgate Glacier had just had a major event. He began yelling “Quinn, get the engine started! Kade and Johnathan get the anchor raised! Mikey secure the cabin hatches! Now!” The boys frantically tried to do as they were told but the anchor seemed to be stuck on the bottom. The cloud was getting closer and with it the tsunami caused by the mountain side giving way and with the mountainside the million tons of ice let free from the Holgate Glacier. The Captain was trying to get out a mayday on the radio but got no response.

  They could now see a grey line in the ocean headed their way. He ordered the boys to don their life vests and lie on the cabin floor as he put the motor in gear. As he tried to drag the anchor free into deep water. There was no more time to try the radio and then the wave was upon them. The anchor chain held for a moment and then snapped like a kite string wrapping itself around the prop which brought the engine to a sudden stop. The boys lay curled up on the floor trying to protect their heads.

  The wave threw the boat against the rocks like it was a paper cup and then kept pushing it ever higher onto the hillside. The shock threw the Captain through the companionway head first along with enough water to fill the boat with over a foot of water. The wave just kept coming pushing the boat ever higher on the mountainside as those trapped inside were tossed about like ping pong balls, bouncing between the walls and seats of the salon. The sound of trees snapping resonated through the hull as did the scrapping and crunching sounds as the boat pushed up the hill. It felt as if they were going to flip over at any second but the boat stayed heeled over at about 60 degrees. Finally, the rush up the mountain stopped.

  The respite was only temporary though because as the wave receded the boat began sliding back down the track it had cleared on the way up. Without the full support of the water the trip down was even bumpier than the trip up. It was over in a few minutes and they came to rest on boulders right along the shore. The bow was pointed somewhat uphill but they were still leaning at 45 degrees to port. The initial wave was followed by smaller waves which would lift the boat up and then let it crash back down onto the rocks. This did at least help level the boat. Mikey had crawled over to the Captain and was holding him up out of the water the best he could. Light was fading and Mikey said, “The Captain is hurt. We need to get him out of the water and into a berth that is out of the water.”

  They lifted the Captain as smoothly as possible onto the forward berth which was wet but out of the water. He groaned with pain but did not otherwise respond. Mikey was doing his best to hold pressure against the large scalp laceration and told Quinn, “Try and straighten the Captain’s crooked leg.” This caused a muffled scream from the Captain but Quinn persisted because Mikey said it needed to be done. With the Captain fairly well stabilized on the tilted berth, Mikey and Quinn tried to get a better look at the head wound. It was still bleeding profusely but the bone seemed intact. Mikey told Quinn, “You are going to have to sew this up. He is losing to much blood.”

  Quinn yelled at Kade, “Get me that emergency kit you always carry. I need the suture stuff.”

  Kade rummaged through his completely wet back pack and brought the emergency kit to Quinn. He said, “Hope you remember the sewing lesson dad gave us.”

  Quinn responded, “Do you want to do it?”

  “No, you were a lot better than I was. What can I do to help?”

  “We need more light and the damn bulkhead lights don’t want to come on.”

  Kade left for a moment and came back with his super-duper flashlight. Quinn picked up the small needle driver and opened the suture package. He had trouble getting the needle to penetrate the thick scalp but finally got a couple of sutures around the area
that was bleeding the most. They only had two suture packages so he had to put the sutures farther apart then he wanted but it almost stopped the bleeding. Mikey did his best on applying a dressing and then they worked to warm the Captain up. The only dry sleeping bag was Kade’s and they stripped the Captain of his wet clothes and covered him with the dry bag.

  While the medical stuff was going on, Johnathan did his best to inspect the ship. The aft cabin and engine compartment were pretty well flooded but the water level seemed stable. He took a look topside in the fading light and found the pilot house gone and a tree top wedged in the top of the mast which was bent over at the top. The salt water seemed to have shorted out their electrical system and nothing would power up. They were in tough shape.

  When Quinn and Mikey had done all, they could, Kade called a ship’s meeting. He naturally assumed the role of leader and nobody challenged him. He asked for reports and then opened things up for discussion. Mikey was adamant that they needed to get medical care for the Captain but he did not know how. Johnathan thought that surely someone would be out looking for them. He added, “Sure wish we had our emergency locator.”

  Kade asked, “Any chance the life raft might have one?”

  Johnathan responded, “I am sure it did but it was on the pilot house roof and the pilot house is gone.”

  Kade was quiet for a bit before saying, “I think we need to plan on rescuing ourselves and hope real rescue comes quickly.” After the discussion settled down Kade said, “We need to organize our responsibilities and stabilize the boat.”

  Mikey said, “Kade, you need to act as Captain. Quinn and I will do our best to help the Captain. Johnathan, you have to come up with a plan.”

  Johnathan said, “Well, first we need to stabilize the boat and clear out all of the water.”

  Kade spoke up saying, “I agree. I want someone watching the Captain at all times. The rest of the crew is to form a bucket brigade. Let’s dry up this boat and see what we got.”

  The only bucket they could find was the 5-gallon bucket for trash behind the ladder in the companionway. Kade would scoop up a bucket full and hand it up to Quinn who would pass it on to Johnathan who dumped it on deck allowing the water to return to the ocean. For two hours, they passed buckets with the second hour having to lift the bucket up through the rear hatch. About the time, they thought they were done, Kade insisted they lift up the floor boards. Another foot of water to go. They rotated watching over the Captain. That was their rest period.

  It was midnight before they had the boat somewhat dried out. They were rightfully exhausted but finding sleep in a wet sleeping bag on a soaked mattress was not easy. At best, they shivered in a light sleep and dreamed of the wall of water that threw them up on the mountain.

  Captain’s Log

  Day 10

  This is Kade, acting Captain of the Sea Shanty. While anchored in Phil’s Cove we were hit by a tsunami and thrown up on the mountain. The Captain has been seriously injured by the glacier he hated. We are hoping for rescue with the coming of day. Our plan is to proceed with saving ourselves while we wait for the rescue. The Sea Shanty has been seriously damaged but the hull seems intact. We have dried up the boat and done our best to stabilize the Captain.