The 2005 Carver cruising season got off to a wild start with a cruise to the Silverdale Marina - now called Silvergale by Gary and Jeannie Moen and the crew of the other four boats that survived the weekend!! 

Four boats arrived Friday under a sunny, blue sky - “Ebb N Ive”, “C & C”, “Only Time” and “Choices”. By the time “Lani K Too” arrived on Saturday, it was raining but still calm.  During the day Bob Swarm came to the aid of a young Navy intern, Dr. Malcomb Brown, and took him on a dinghy tour of Dyes Inlet to search for his missing, handmade rowing dory. It was a long, wet search but they were eventually successful and a very appreciative Malcomb got his boat back - just in time for Happy Hour! We were also visited by Harold Isaacson and Bob Stevens and enjoyed catching up with them.

Saturday evening, as we returned to our boats after dinner and a comedy show, the winds and waves started to pick up. From midnight to 4 AM the winds and waves continued to intensify and pound, making it too uncomfortable for most of us to sleep. There were some very tense and stressful moments during the dark hours of the night as lines broke and were replaced or fenders were added, or people moved - all while waves were crashing over the pitching floats that we were tied to. Around 4 AM, a peak gust of 60 mph blew through the area and for two more hours the wind blew strong before slowly subsiding.

By 7 AM it calmed enough that we were able to get a couple hours of rest before dealing with the new day. We managed to still have our pancake breakfast, but because of the rough water, Colleen cooked the pancakes on the “C & C” and Chris delivered them, along with butter and syrup, to each of the boats - rather than eating together on the dock as we normally do.

As Sunday progressed and the wind continued to blow, we stayed tuned to the marine weather channel. With strong winds predicted through the day and evening, the crews of three boats decided to stay over an extra night. After “Lani K Too” departed for Brownsville, we maneuvered “Only Time” and “C & C” to be bow to the wind and then settled in on “Choices” for extra, unplanned Happy Hour. Monday morning the wind was still blowing pretty steady over Dyes Inlet, but from the weather channel we could tell the winds had diminished in the areas we were headed to and we made plans to get underway. We had one last heart-pumping maneuver as each boat was undocked in the strong winds, but once underway it didn’t take long to get to more protected waters and a smooth ride home.

Friday: “Only Time” entering Port Washington Narrows under a sunny, blue sky.

Saturday: A bit wetter, but no wind as Arlene, Colleen, Bernie and Amy make their way back from town.

Bob and Malcomb return after a three hour, rain-soaked tour of Dyes Inlet in search of Malcomb’s missing handmade rowing dory.

Gary and Jeannie Moen host Happy Hour on “Choices”.

Happy Hour - the pre-dinner, dinner.

Bob modestly describing how he rescued Malcomb’s rowing dory.

Bernie, Amy and Karen were clearly impressed with Bob’s heroic tale.

The group dinner - enjoying the calm before the storm.

Bernie’s fancy footwork!

Does this mean disco’s back?

Sunday morning: Colleen, Gary and Bob adding more fenders to “Only Time”. Does something look odd with Bob’s feet?

Oh, its just his shoe liners. Rumor has it that he’s trying to get an endorsement deal with ZipLock.

Gary pointing to the stern line on “Choices”, which broke during the high winds and seas in the middle of the night.

Sunday morning and the waves were still strong - here crashing over the swim step of “Ebb & Ive”.

Gary holding a broken stern line on “Ebb N Ive”. In all, three boats (“Choices”, “Ebb N Ive”, and “C & C”) had dock lines break during the peak of the storm.

No broken dock lines, but Ken Fletcher holds one of four flattened fenders from “Lani K Too”.

Malcomb and his rescued rowing dory arriving for breakfast.

Waves washing over the dock.

“Lani K Too” heading to Brownsville during a lull in the wind.

With high winds predicted to return, the rest of us decided to stay put for the night.

Having the marina to ourselves,  we maneovered “Only Time” and “C & C” around so they were bow into the wind.

Once the boats were all secure and ready for the next storm, we returned to “Choices” for an unexpected Sunday evening Happy Hour.

The decision to stay over and come home Monday was a good one. The winds died down and we had a relatively smooth ride home.  Here’s “Choices” and “Only Time” approaching Rich Passage.