"My Latest Obsession," by Mike

It's been awhile since I've written a blog. I admit it. My sincerest apologies. It wouldn't be worthwhile to offer up excuses either, so I'll just say I'm sorry to our small following of readers and we'll get on to the important stuff.

Having lived in the Pacific Northwest now, T and I have experienced all sorts of things the area has to offer: mountains, camping, hiking, running around with the dogs at low tide, great espresso, diverse cuisine, strong ales, and while we've been out on the water kayaking, nothing has quite captured my imagination thus far the way my newest, and perhaps, strongest obsession has.

That's right. We went sailing. On a genuine 50-ft wooden sailboat, nonetheless. Here it is:

The one on the left there, that's "Happy Talk." Captain Charlie is a long-time regular at the bakery where I used to work. Recently he hosted a group of travel writers for an overnight excursion out into the San Juans. He asked the bakery to produce some deserts for the travel writers, and in exchange he was willing to take the staff on a day-tour out to Matia Island, a small, boat-access only State Park and Wildlife Preserve. (The photo above was taken from the trail on Matia looking down at the dock, which was located inside a real cove!) I was thrilled for weeks before the actual event.

We couldn't have possibly asked for better weather. Well, that's not true. It could've been a bit windier. Captain Charlie did use half motor power and half sail power to get us out to the island, but I pretended not to notice. Instead, all of us enjoyed sunny weather with a 10-15 knot breeze; just enough to get the sails up and filled with the wind.

"How did you get out to the boat from shore, Mike?" you're probably asking youself. Well, funny you should ask, dearest reader. Captain Charlie has what is called a Zephyr (pictured above), which is basically an inflateable raft with a small motor on the back of it. Captain Charlie is big into making his boat sustainable, so the Zephyr is powered by an electric motor that he charges once a week. On the way back to shore after the cruise was over, the five or six of us found ourself in the Zephyr at the end of the week when the batteries nearly ran out. Beyond that, I was impressed when Captain Charlie explained to me that he has outfitted "Happy Talk" with a generator that produces power to the ship's batteries whenever the motor is running, and that he composts the waste that passengers produce. In fact, any passenger needing to go no. 2 was instructed to discard paper products not down the toilet, but in a receptacle nearby. Gross? Sure. But eco-conscious; especially in a part of the country where the human footprint can endanger all sorts of wildlife very easily. Furthermore, Captain Charlie is in the process of installing a water filter that would process salt water into good 'ol-fashioned drinking water from right underneath the ship. Pretty tech savvy there, Captain.

Of course, upon boarding the boat, I had to sit right up front. "Fore," if you will. Or perhaps "bow," if fore doesn't work for you. I didn't want to get stuck in the "stern" or "aft." As it turns out, neither did someone else:

Captain Charlie was nice enough to let me haul up the anchor, and with that we were sailing. On the way out to Matia Island, we spotted a couple of porpoises and a tiny island of seals, both of which were new sights to my eyes. Unfortunately, the critters were quick and we were unable to snap any photos.

Matia Island looked to me like a pirate island minus the pirates. We pulled into a cozy cove and docked right next to shore, which is actually pretty impressive for a 50 ft. boat. Most of the other boats we saw were about half the size and anchored further out in the cove. I suppose I expected Bucchaneers to run out of the woods and loot and pillage us, but there were only some fellow recreational boaters enjoying a mid-day picnic. Not as exciting, but at least no one found themselves at the business end of a cutlass. The hike around the preserve was short and quiet, as the only way to reach the island is by boat. This is the dock on Matia Island:

On the return cruise, Johnny and Jody--my former employers--surprised everyone with a bottle of beer, which was the perfect accessory to a day-long sail out in the San Juans. Everyone cheersed and we down to the galley to share a meal. When we reached shore back on Lummi Island, which is where Happy Talk is moored, we took the Zephyr back to shore and walked a few hundred yards to the ferry out to Lummi Island. Not having received my fill of boats for the day, I decided to snap one more shot of everyone walking off the ferry to our vehicles, tired, but fulfilled from an awesome adventure out into the sea.

Needless to say, I'm currently obsessed with sailboats. I check craigslist every other day to look for deals on a 25-footer that I can maybe clean up and steer out into the bay every now and then until I really learn how to sail, and then I can hit up the islands. Tera is not impressed by my loose talk. But a guy can always dream, and until then, I can watch the sailboats pass by whenever I want.