The Itch

Monday morning. Intermittent light rain, winds out of the southeast at 15 knots, 43 degrees.

On Thursday I went to a remembrance for an old friend for whom I used to do radio work. I really enjoyed going aboard his boat as he had a quick wit and didn’t suffer ignoramuses and idiots willingly. He never failed to make me laugh. I was a little embarrassed to not have recognized his wife but then she didn’t recognize me either until I told her my name. It was cool going through the photo albums there. It brought back a lot of memories.

Saturday night I went up to the Harbor Bar to watch the game and have a couple of beers. It was pretty dead as it has been the whole time I’ve been here. I left after the 5^th inning, thinking my watching was jinxing the Phillies. (I’m not a Phillies fan, more of a Yankee anti-fan) I had planned to go back to the boat, fiddle around with my guitar, surf the web and hit the sack. About 11, I noticed the moon shining through the portlights and went up on deck. It was a gorgeous night, neither wind nor rain and the moon was very nearly full. It being Halloween, I wandered back up to the bar, figuring if Petersburg had any kind of night life it would be tonight. I wasn’t disappointed. The 20-and-30 somethings were out in force and partying. It was fun to see the costumes and watch the mating rituals. What a geezer I’ve become.

The itch to move on is beginning to manifest and I’m seriously considering scratching it. As I wrote Susan, I went up to look around where my shop used to be. We moved out of the building in 1980, and it was still standing when we moved away the next year. It was gone by 1987, when I next visited Petersburg while on a boat delivery. At that time the lot was surrounded by a chain link fence with pale brown slats inserted in the links making it difficult to see what it enclosed. By 2000, while moving my newly-purchased boat north, the lot was unchanged except for the wear and tear on the fence. Now, the fence remains with the exception of the side that faces the harbor which is completely open. The portion of the building that housed my shop had a concrete slab floor and my hope was when they razed it, the slab remained, showing where the walls, workbenches, and doors were. Alas, the lot is now compacted gravel and serves as an open storage area for fish-processing detritus: scale-encrusted cleaning tables, corroded plumbing, stacks of lumber, pallets. The nostalgia I expected while walking through was absent until I faced north, across the parking lot to the Trading Union grocery store. It is still there and although it is not exactly the same color it was 30 years ago, a kind of faded baby-poop yellow, it’s close. The experience made me realize that, although Petersburg will always hold a special place in my heart, I will only be able to visit there in my memories.

I have reconnected with several people I knew then and the reminiscing is pleasant. But a lot of water has passed over the dam and the times we shared are three decades old. Everyone has been very gracious in giving me their time but they are busy living their lives and I hesitate to insert myself back into theirs. For that reason I have not phoned those who are still listed, feeling uncomfortable putting them in the potentially awkward position of thinking they should do something for an itinerant from long ago.

So, where to go. Several factors play into this decision. First and foremost is safety. Because I don’t have crew, I have made it my policy to restrict travel to daylight only. This time of year at this latitude daylight is from a little before 7 AM to a little before 5 PM. That means there is roughly speaking 9½ to 10 hours per day for travel and anchoring. Add to that (or should I say subtract) the days are getting shorter by 4½ minutes per day as we approach the solstice. What this means is Blue Note can travel about 45 to 55 miles between anchorages on any given day, less as the days shorten. When you figure in weather delays, the final destination will most likely be the harbor where Blue Note will spend the winter. Given all the places I still want to visit before leaving southeast Alaska next spring, traveling north rather than south holds sway. Sitka stands out as the destination. It is 4 to 5 travel days from Petersburg. It has an enroute destination of Baranof Warm Springs, a place I have wanted to visit since I lived here in Petersburg. And it is a known quantity as well as a place where I can easily entertain visitors who have expressed an interest in visiting.

What remains is deciding when to depart. The weather is decidedly unfavorable as I write this. The winds in Frederick Sound are 20 to 25 knots and from the southeast, making for an unpleasant beam sea. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, the forecast calls for a full gale in the Sound and in Chatham Strait. I talked to the harbormaster this morning and it looks like I will be able to stay where I am for another week. I have decided to weather in here rather than getting stuck out in some remote bay. We’ll see what the morrow brings.

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