Not Quite Smooth Sailing to James Island

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Decatur Island

Today was quite an adventure! We started the morning with a beautiful run on the island. Jeff, Calvin and I ran and Isaac followed us on his bike. Jeff ran 7.2 miles and Calvin and I ran 4 miles. It was a beautiful run through evergreen lined gravel roads, past grassy meadows and the little country store that just closed this year, past the tiny “airport” with a grass runway, and down to the dock. We saw deer, rusty cars and scenic vistas as we wound around the gravel and dirt roads on this small island. Jeff saw a whole herd of deer crossing the dirt road right in front of him. Running at sea level feels so much easier!

Around 10:30, Jeff and I left in the boat to head back across Rosario Strait to fuel up and meet Nana to get extra lifejackets and fishing gear. The ride was pretty rough and choppy with swells and white caps. I’ll be honest, we were a little nervous. I said a prayer while we Jeff steered the boat. Meanwhile, we had left the kids alone back at the island where they played “Lost Kids” at the beach and built a lean-to shelter in case we didn’t come back. It’s one of their favorite games. Should I be offended? Or proud of their independence?

We came back to all 5 kids sitting on the back deck painting sticks they had found at the beach to make them into warrior swords. Kira painted war paint on their faces and the little boys chests and backs and they prepared for their “Epic Sword Fight” and “Quest.” They were Fire, Water, Air and Earth and Kira was the Keeper of the Universe type person. (The one who was in charge and kept them from hurting each other). Kira is such an awesome big sister. How many 15 year olds would jump right in and create such fun games to entertain their younger siblings?

After enjoying a little nap on the hammock under the trees while the kids played on the swings and climbed trees, we headed back down to the dock for a little adventure before dinner.

There aren’t enough big bikes for everyone so Jeff went ahead and walked down to the dock (about 2 miles one way). We caught up later on the other bikes. Mikey still doesn’t know how to ride a bike so he rode on my crossbar. It was a little tricky on the hills, but we made it. It’s kind of fun to have to ride your bike or walk everywhere. It makes it more of an adventure!

Jeff decided we should put ALL 7 of us in the 4 man boat for a little joy ride out in the bay. Since we are pretty inexperienced, we didn’t realize that today’s weather was a lot more rough than usual today. Even though I grew up out here, I had forgotten that the water is almost always smooth and calm and these choppy waves are unusual. I think I just figures we were always in a bigger boat so maybe I didn’t notice as much. Anyway, it was pretty rough with such a full boat and we were rocking around more than I was comfortable with, and I’m not a scaredy cat on the ocean. So we headed back to the dock and dropped off Jeff and the three littles to fish at the dock. With a much lighter load, I decided I’d take Kira and Calvin around the island and go explore James Island. It’s a small island that is entirely a State Park and they have a dock you can tie up to while you explore the island. It sounded like an easy little adventure. It’s only about a 10-15 minute run from Decatur Shores to the East side of James Island so we headed out. The way over wasn’t too bad. The choppy waves were manageable. Docking at James Island was a little tricky with the wind and other boats already tied up. It took me several tries to get docked, even with the help of a nice couple on the dock ready to grab our ropes and tie us up.  It was a little embarrassing!

We explored the island and saw two little otters playing in the water (a Mom and a baby). They were so cute twisting and turning in the water and diving down to get muscles off the rocks.

The three of us explored the island. It looked like a rain forest with moss growing all over everything.  After about 45 minutes we started heading back to the boat, trying to be responsible with the weather and light so we could be sure to get back well before dark. Kira and I were talking as we were walking on the trail and Calvin was hopping over fallen trees, off the trail a few yards behind us. I glanced back and told him to keep up and then kept talking to Kira. We turned around 5 minutes later as we came to the end of our trail (which ended up being the wrong trail, not back to the boat dock) and he was gone. We couldn’t find him. We walked up and down the trail yelling his name for a while but we couldn’t find him. Kira and I said a prayer and then we started running up and down different trails yelling his name. We weren’t panicked. I knew we were on a small island and we would eventually find him but I also knew my phone was dead, the weather was getting worse and the sun was dropping quickly. We both felt like we should go back to the boat but were having a hard time finding the right trail since they were poorly marked and everything looks the same in the Washington woods. It’s so easy to get turned around! After nearly 30 minutes, we were pretty sure we were on the right trail, heading up over a steep hill when we heard him! We were so happy! We ran and hugged him. We were all very relieved! When he realized he’d lost us he figured he’d just find his way to the dock, through the brush, not on the trail. (Ironically he found the boat dock much faster than we did ON the trail). He had tried to call us with someone’s phone at the dock but my phone had died. He decided to go back the way he had come and had gone back up the hill to look for us. When we didn’t answer his calls, he started to feel worried so he knelt down in the woods and prayed. After he got up, he said he felt really comforted and knew he would be okay. He started calling our name again and we answered a minute later! We finally got to the dock to head home at 7pm. The nice couple and the old man who called me for Calvin told us we were not smart to head out in this weather. The nice couple told us we could stay the night on their boat and that they had extra pork chops for dinner. They were very worried about us. As we pulled away from the dock she said, “I will say a prayer for you!” She was so sweet. The other old guy with the Vietnam Veteran hat, pink, floral women’s reading glasses and a khaki kilt just shook his head annoyed and said that we “need to keep our group together on the trail.” And that “you  should have checked the weather. This was predicted!” Ironically, it wasn’t predicted. There was no small craft advisory and this weather had surprised a lot of people, including locals. The cranky old man seemed experienced so I asked him which direction he would head back around Decatur. He told me to go through Thatcher Pass, so I did. It was horrible! The swells were nearly 3 feet and water was splashing over the bow. We were slamming down off each crest and just getting pounded. I tried to tuck in closer to the shore but it was no better. The wind was so strong that when we were trying to get up on a plane, the bow felt like it was going to catch the wind and flip us over so I had Calvin sit on the bow to get some weight up there. But with each wave he was catching air and landing back down on his bum and just killing his back. It was a little scary. We said lots of prayers as we slowly made our way back around Decatur. When we finally got to the dock, the wind and the waves were pushing everything around. We struggled to get off the boat to get the dinghy. I was really worried that we wouldn’t make it back in the dinghy because it’s a good 250 yard row from the buoy back to the dock. I tried to just dock it overnight at the dock even though the sides said that was not allowed, but there was no room. So Kira and Calvin launched the dinghy in the storm while I held our boat on the dock and then we towed it out to the buoy while we tied up. Everything was hard. Even trying to just grab the ring on the buoy to be able to tie up to. We couldn’t stand up or even balance on the boat. I was trying to tie up to the buoy and waves were crashing over the bow. I was so worried that my knot wouldn’t be good enough and the boat would blow away during the night. I did my best with freezing fingers while I was being tossed around by the waves. I had to work quickly because with my weight on the bow, so much water was splashing over that I was worried the boat would start to sink. (Even though we were told by several people that it’s almost impossible to sink a Boston Whaler). After I secured the lines, we climbed into the dinghy with our lifejackets on and started rowing. One of the oar locks on the dinghy was broken so it was impossible to row. We had to do it canoe style with Kira and I each holding an oar. We rowed as hard as we could for nearly 10 minutes but we were going against the wind and the current. We had maybe gone 10 yards in 10 minutes. We kept trying for another 10 minutes or so but we were exhausted and making no headway. I decided we should just let the wind push us into shore and then tow the dinghy back to the dock along the beach. We finally beached on shore and we got out and pulled the dinghy through the knee-deep water over mud and rocks. We were about 200 yards down shore from the pier but then another 150 yards from the corner of the bay to the pier along a rocky man-made shoreline. It was rocky and windy and freezing. The waves were pushing the little boat all over the jagged rocks and I was worried we were going to damage the dinghy. My legs were all scratched up and at one point the water was up to my armpits and my hooded sweatshirt was sopping and heavy. I made the kids get out and walk on the road above the rocky dike so we wouldn’t all be freezing. When we got to the dock, Kira had the idea of rigging up the dinghy rope to the oar so we could pull it through the water from the pier above. It worked great! We finally got the dinghy back up on the dock. We were wet and freezing and tired and I had no way of telling Jeff we were okay since my phone had died. I knew he was so worried. I had borrowed a camper’s phone at James Island and called him at 7pm to tell him we’d probably be home by 8. I knew it was already 8 or 8:30 and we were still 2 miles away with only 2 bikes for transportation. Since there were 3 of us, I had Kira and Calvin ride and I just started running with my drenched clothes, flip flops and lifejacket still on. I ran the entire way, even up the big hill. I never stopped because I knew every minute longer, Jeff was thinking the worst!

We finally made it home at 8:45pm, just as Jeff was walking over to the caretaker’s house to have them help him go looking for us. It was a bit of a stressful day!

Jeff had a nice warm campfire going when we got home and we all sat around the campfire and told the stories of the day while we roasted s’mores and tried to warm up. I was so cold and exhausted that even my trickle of a warm shower felt amazing! I was just so grateful that we were all okay!

Crimson finding some delicious vegetation.

Running on Decatur Island.

What a perfect place to run/bike!

Our home away from home for the next few days.

Mikey loved the playroom. They had tons of toys! We've kind of stopped buying toys and Jeff has pretty much rid our house of toys so Mikey doesn't get to do this very much. He was in heaven!

Jeff riding down to the dock.

Row Jeff! Row!

Jeff driving our tiny little 15' Boston Whaler through the Marina.

The White Cliffs of Decatur. They look more impressive close up. They are probably 60 - 80' high.

We looked pretty sweet pedaling our bikes down to the dock in our lifejackets, loaded with buckets, backpacks and a fishing pole!

The tiny little grass airstrip on the island. Several planes take off and land every day. This is also how the residents get their mail.

This was our landmark to turn down to the dock. "Take a left at the Love Truck."

This is the little country store that went out of business last year.

Painting their driftwood swords for the Epic Sword Fight. 

Kira preparing the warriors for battle.

So many trees everywhere! I should have known it was a little too windy today by the way the treetops were swaying wildly above me in the hammock.

Enjoying a little island nap on the hammock.

Isaac is ready for battle.

The calm before the storm.

Air.

Earth.

Water.

Fire.

The Keeper of the Universe. (She's such a good sport)!

The epic battle begins. Within 15 minutes people were crying and it was chaos. But hey, it was fun while it lasted, right?

Kira and Calvin on James Island. 

The three musketeers exploring James Island. 

James Island.

James Island shoreline.

Into the woods... 

The fearless leader. More like the naive leader!

Our last picture before we lost Calvin.