July 31 to August 3, Sucia to Roche Harbor

Woops…it seems we’re not up to date on the citrus rules. We thought cut up fruit was okay; but Customs boarded the boat, asked us to open our refrigerator, confiscated our lemons, limes and oranges and questioned us for a bit. Nothing else taken, but it is difficult staying up with the rules.

We headed over to Sucia Island where the gang was rafted. Six boats ended up together, the stern tie transferring to Reflections. It was great fun to see everyone and catch up over shared hors d’oeuvres and cocktails. A few of us went to the beach to roast hot dogs, but the cool and now drizzly weather discouraged others. Back at the boats we continued to visit and yes, share wine. That might have had something to do with what happened next: Doug, heading back to Mirage, grabbed our swim ladder which happened to not be firmly attached to the handrail and both ladder and Doug fell in slow motion into the frigid water. No major damage at the time, but he’s had a very sore back ever since.

No sooner had things settled down from that near disaster when the wind and rain picked up, the boats began rocking noisily against each other, and the stern lines pulled loose. Actually, the log to which they were tied pulled into the water at high tide. So Nat and Jim Matheson spent the next hour in the dark and stormy night retrieving the mass of line and setting a stern anchor to keep the raft secure. It could have been a real disaster. We finally went to bed around midnight…not a very restful night. The next morning the weather had improved, but it took well over an hour to untangle the rat’s nest of lines and seaweed…check out the picture.We knew we’d missed these guys…such entertainment is provided when we get together!

We discovered one final problem before heading to Roche Harbor: while trying to keep some of the seaweed from the tangled lines off our stern deck last night, Nat turned on the hose, leaving it on all night and completely emptying our water tanks. So we had no water until we could refill at Roche and then bleed the lines. Oh well…such is boating.

The Colors cruise began Friday the 1st and was a great time. We shared fun stories, cocktails and hors d’oeuvres all weekend, played some bridge on Mirage, had a pet parade on the dock and a dinghy parade around the harbor. I went to the spa for a massage and manicure, and last night we all enjoyed a Cajun gumbo dinner. The highlight of Colors cruise is always watching our Bridge officers join in the ceremony. It’s a moment of both pride and laughter as the tradition has them jumping into the water (nasty, dirty by the fuel dock as well as cold) following the ceremony. The pictures show them holding the flags just before jumping and then Jeff Kroeller, Steve Driscoll and Bob Maruska after getting out of the water. So many of us were on the old fuel dock to watch we heard a loud crack as the dock itself began to break. We got off before it did so, though. It was a great cruise with 54 club boats in attendance and 139 people.

The night ended Saturday with a gathering on Reflections flybridge (the weather, by the way, improving greatly). With the new moon the stars were brilliant, and we danced under them joined by Larry & Wendy Meyers and Jeff & Laurie Stewart.

This morning we said our goodbyes over beignettes served on the dock and now are preparing to shove off to spend a couple of nights at anchor in Reid Harbor, Stuart Island. Mirage and SeaJay will be joining us as well and we’re looking forward to a quiet, somewhat more sober night. But it has been fun!