Flip Side of Good Byes

Yesterday morning I commented on how hard it is to say good bye to friends, but in the  afternoon I experienced the flip side.

I was walking along the jetty back to Pachuca with my recently released boat equipment when I heard someone call out my name.  I looked back and was too shocked at whom I thought I was seeing to say anything.  "It's Richard from Firewater, with Doris" he said.  What a wonderful surprise.

Arnold and I had met Richard and Doris when we were at anchor in Radio Bay at Hilo.  About 2 months later Richard arrived at Ala Wai Boat Harbor and we were boating neighbors for about two months.

Doris then flew back to Ucluelet BC and Richard set sail for BC via Kauai.  It was to be the 16th time that he had made the trip and as usual he headed north to 41or 42 degrees latitude to reach the Westerlies.   I left Oahu about two weeks later and we kept in daily touch via the HF radio.

Soon it became apparant that Richard was going to have a difficult transit.  He wound up on the north side of a low that pushed him west, then the fog and calm air set in.  From Richard's experience I decided to pass more to the south, just skirting the center of the unstable Pacific High that was squirreling around all over the place.  Every day I would pass to Richard weather information from my grib files and weather faxes and every day Richard would complain about the fog and light airs.  He tried motoring north, then south, but nothing seemed to work.

He came very close to being run down by a ship.  He had just shut down his engine from a battery charge run but he could still hear an engine noise.  Ship!  By the time his old radar became operational it would all be over, so he got on the VHF.  When Richard told them his position he could tell that they were shocked - they were right on top of him.  Yesterday Richard told me that the fog was too thick to see the ship as it passed but he pointed to the fence which represented a boat length.  He could hear the ship's blowers as it went by.

Richard made it to Ucluelet after a 46-day passage, one day before I made Neah Bay after my 30 day passage.  Even then he was forced to use the last of his fuel to motor all night against an adverse wind.

I kept in touch with Richard until Pachuca was lifted out of the water in Port Townsend and my HF radio became useless because there was no ground.  Arnold went to the trouble of bringing a spike from his home, which we drove into the ground and connected to the HF radio.  Unfortunately that didn't work and I lost touch with Richard, who is not into computer, email, mobile telephones, etc.  I sent an email to the harbor master at Ucluelet and got no response.

Richard arrived a La Paz a few weeks ago and they are at anchor on the Mogote.  It didn't take long for him to spot Pachuca as they motored to and from the dinghy dock, but he could tell that I was not on board.  By sheer luck he caught sight of my profile yesterday as they were preparing to get into their dinghy. 

When I expressed shock at seeing him he asked why, because this is what they do.  In winter they work their way down the West Coat to La Paz then they set off for Hawaii and after that he heads back to Ucluelet.  Maybe it is from Richard that I got the idea of perpetually sailing the Juan de Fuca - La Paz - Hawaii triangle.  He is certainly living that dream.

Richard and Doris expect to be in La Paz for another week and I certainly want to see more of them before they depart.