the reverse curve of time

~ From Coop ~

Nate and I sailed Bunny Whaler in the 2018 Barefoot Raid, a European style of small boat race where they travel to different destinations most days between meals as a group. This Raid takes place in British Columbia’s Strait of Georgia and Gulf Islands.

Throughout R2AK in 2016, we realized our goals of small boat adventures included sailing and partying with other people and boats; our times with teams Excellent Adventure, Nordica, Can’tAnchorUs, and Squamish were highlights with fast, close friends. We were both super excited that this years Raid was on our cruising path. While we spent a few restful days in Gorge Harbor, hanging with Ron and his family, the rain came down in buckets and we looked out the windows wondering how the first couple days of the Raid were going (no wind and really wet, turns out). On Day 3 of the Raid, Nate and I attempted to go find the flotilla on the other side of Cortes, only to be pushed back by quite big breaking waves that were charging around the rocky southern shore called Point Sutil. Grasshopper is one of the most rough-water-capable boats we’ve driven, but there are some headings and sea state combinations that it doesn’t love – and 8’ tumbling wind against current waves are one of them.

The next day we got word the Raid was on the move toward us after hunkering down for a rain day.

We met them with Crow at the same spot we had been turned back the day before. Today it was oily flat, and the small boats suddenly appeared on the horizon, backed by snowy peaks and temperate rainforests rising into the clouds. Without enough wind to sail, they were towed behind the mother ships: a plywood landing craft called Poor Man’s Rock, and a converted fish boat, Julie May, that carried kitchen-style fridges full of amazing food, all prepared for the raiders by a hardworking crew of friends and family ranging from 3 months old to gray hair.

As the flotilla arrived In Manson’s Landing, the hugs and hellos from our floaty friends made it feel like the pandemic hadn’t eclipsed our friendships at all. A fire on the beach fostered lots of cheers and catching up with friends new and old as the tide rose up to our toes with green lightning phosphorescence.

The next morning we were invited to breakfast aboard Poor Man’s Rock (some say it should be called Mullet because it’s business in front and party in the back). After breakfast the small wooden boats and hot-rod beach cats used different methods to move their boats to the water (gently with lots of friends vs. how fast can it go down the rocks?) and rig up for a sail to Shark Spit.

One of the things we have always been impressed by up here is the way that most of these mariners don’t seem to stress about the little stuff (like I do). Boats are looselytied to each other and rafted up, dragged on the pebble shore, left up the beach at high tide… and it seems to always work out! I don’t mean that they are just careless and lucky, but that most of them have so much experience that they make it work without much fuss.

A couple days of lounging in the sun on Shark Spit, north end of Marina Island, and some racing around in Sweetpea with the fast boats was just as fun as evenings spent around the fire eating clams and oysters that were delivered by friends by the bushels.

It’s a wonderful mixture of family and festival, with reggae bumpin from the mothership and times connecting with some friends who have become like family, joined us return delivery legs from Alaska, and visited Puget Sound for our events like PT Wooden Boat Festival and Salish 100.

The last leg of the Raid was from Shark Spit across to Heriot Bay on Quadra Island. After the Raid drifted past the fin-like spit, we cleaned up the Crow and put up full sail to reach across to catch up and begin the hard process of saying goodbyes. Jugs (pitchers) of Fat Tug IPA and a good band helped mellow the sentimental feelings of “couldn’t we just keep doing this forever? Water World, anyone?”

We woke up and I made sourdough waffles with bacon and cheddar cheese with guests from another “fan boat” – Heidi and Tor who have been angel friends since we met in 2018. Another sailing cousin Eric T, joined us, and it was a perfect decompression session as the trailers in the beach and motherships pulled out of Heriot Bay to head back to their jobs and home ports.

Today we had our second showers of the trip (we have been swimming and using minimal water from solar showers) and did a load of laundry for the first time. We are fully stocked on food, water and fuel, and we are heading into Desolation Sound to visit a couple favorite spots and find some new ones. We have some wonderful recommendations from generous friends who have years of experience exploring these epic waterways, waterfalls, waterworlds. Service will likely be spotty but we will post pictures and updates when we can.

Thanks for the sweet messages and support from all of our friends and family. We feel very fortunate to have this time and experience together, and sharing it with some from afar and some in person as we float around together.