Monday, August 24, 2009

Marooned in the San Juans

Well, not exactly, but I could have been after crashing the Ulithi into concealed rocks at Matia Island. But that’s not how our ‘relaxing’ weekend trip with Kurt and Ginger began. At first, it was all light winds, sunny weather and delicious sandwiches.

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The scenery was stunning, seals popped up around us and porpoises frolicked in the distance.

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Even I briefly managed to look as though I knew what I was doing. Sadly, it was not the case, and late in the afternoon we ploughed into rocks to the sounds of screams, shouts and a grinding keel.

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Luckily, my pride was damaged far worse than the hull and we managed to moor safely for the night in the shelter of Matia – a gorgeous little island at the northern tip of the San Juans.P8150048

Shore parties discovered huge slugs, enormous cedars, delicious berries and a rather fine composting toilet. Oh, and these stunning starfish.P8160075

Kurt and Ginger tried to escape from my terrible piloting, but were drawn back on board by our superb selection of biscuits, and the prospect of a nice game of bridge.

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