Starboard Mysteries
It was a starboard kind of a cruise.
Preface: 0630 (Morning, for landlubbers). It was a bright and early morning. Mr.
Sterling commanded the Orion. All hands rose early to prepare the boat and complete the required checklists. We were ready to depart. Time was crucial, as the tide would leave us aground within the hour. The engines were serviced and warmed up, food stowed, personal gear in the lockers, navigation prepared and on the chart, all hands at their duty stations . . .
Derek, Jessica and Eric, alert on deck and prepared to follow orders.
"OK, Are we all ready?"
"Aye, sir! All ready!!"
"Prepare to cast-off lines"
(Cough)
"Did you hear that?"
"What?"
(Cough, Cough)
"It's the starboard engine."
"It sounds like it's not getting enough fuel."
"Did you forget to open a fuel valve?"
"No, not me. (pause) Let me check. (quick trip) Nope, all open."
"Well, the starboard engine just quit."
Thus began the investigation into the Starboard Mysteries.
Chapter 1: Note that the engine is green (starboard's color is green) with red hoses attached. The port engine is red (port's color is red) with red hoses; the port engine ran well the entire trip. Maybe the starboard engine was confused?
Chapter 2: The fuel lines were bled and cleared. All looked to be well. Could we go? No - remember the time? We were aground in the Petaluma Marina - again - waiting for the tide to raise the boat so we could test the engines - again. 1100 (Before lunch, for landlubbers), there was enough tide to go. Did the engines run? YES!! We were off to explore exotic places and meet fellow voyagers.
Westgate Landing at dawn about half way through the cruise.
Chapter 3: At the mouth of the Petaluma River the Starboard Mysteries surfaced again.
The starboard engine coughed again - and again. While Mr. Sterling and Nick re-investigated the fuel lines, the boat made a lot of turns to starboard (with only the port engine running, a boat turns to starboard). Eventually, the starboard engine agreed to run once again, and we were off across San Pablo Bay and up the Sacramento River.
First stop Rio Vista: we ordered pizza at the local pizza place, even though we were loaded with all kinds of food. Amanda despaired of the eternal food disorganization, finally taking pity on the KP staff; she organized ALL of it. Please note that food storage is on the starboard side of the boat. Was that why it was so disorganized?
Chapter 4: There were no fuel problems at Sacramento, which gave the crew time to tour Old Sacramento and socialize with the crew of the Sea Scout Ship Seahorse, a new unit from Suisun. Eric pretended to be Elvis, and Mr. Sterling fished - successfully.
Devon discovered he and Mr. Sterling were twins. Tristan practiced his Apprentice rank requirements.
With Mr. Sterling in command, the crew readied the boat for cruising. Before departure Mr. Sterling annotated and checked checklists for engineering, deck, and navigation.
We headed for Georgia Slough, realizing that we had settled into a routine. Things seemed to happen more easily. The crew was now accustomed to the on-board routines. Nick and April implemented a workable command structure, and all seemed to operate smoothly. Just to see if we were paying attention, the starboard engine ran quite well.
Chapter 5: The Orion tied to a tree with a stern anchor somewhere in Georgiana Slough. Swimming ruled the day, and cards and star-gazing ruled the night. We hoisted anchor to cruise to Brennan Island. Things were going so well.
Chapter 6: Brennan Island afforded the crew a chance to shower, relax, and make ice cream for the first time. Mr. and Mrs. Rogers brought needed supplies and home made chocolate chip cookies. We were self-confident, prepared, and content as Nick began his 48-hour command of the Orion, which is one of the final requirements needed to earn his Quartermaster award. Nick planned to take the boat to Lost Isle for one night, then on to Westgate Landing. His command began at dawn . . .
Chapter 7: 0630 (Morning, for landlubbers). It was a bright and early morning. Nick commanded the Orion. All hands rose early to prepare the boat and complete the required checklists. We were ready to depart. Time was crucial, as the tide would leave us aground within the hour. The engines were serviced and warmed up, food stowed, personal gear in the lockers, navigation prepared and on the chart, all hands at their duty stations . . .
"OK, Are we all ready?"
"Aye, sir! All ready!!"
"Prepare to cast-off lines"
(Cough)
"Did you hear that?"
"What?"
(Cough, Cough)
"It's the starboard engine."
"It sounds like it's not getting enough fuel."
"Did you forget to open a fuel valve?"
"No, not me. (pause) Let me check. (quick trip) Nope, all open."
"Well, the starboard engine just quit."
This time the Starboard Mysteries had ceased being an adventure. Nick asked Mr. Sterling if this has been preplanned as a drill for his first command. It had not, so Nick made an excellent command decision - he turned over emergency repairs to Mr. Sterling. This time there was no simple line repair. While Eric, Tristan, and Devon pumped air into the starboard fuel vent to see if it was plugged, Mr. Sterling and Nick tore up the starboard deck in the lazarette. Yup, took the whole starboard deck right off the boat.
The emergency repair crew discovered that "someone" had turned off one of the auxiliary valves to the fuel tanks. As good detectives, having eliminated all potential suspects, we realized that it had probably been accidentally closed as we shuffled cold chests and cooking gear on the lazarette deck. It was comforting to know there are no pirates aboard. Since the investigation had taken so long, the tide's height was not an issue and we had plenty of water.
Chapter 8: So, we were off again, but this time with a bit less self confidence, and a bit more information on how the boat systems worked. Nick resumed command . . .
Nick, there's no one at helm. Nick? April, as OD assigned someone to helm, and we arrived without incident at Lost Isle.
Lost Isle - photo taken from the starboard side of the boat.
The Orion crew met crews from the Tradewind, Intrepid, and Compass Rose. They spent the evening swimming and playing on the island.
The next morning, we began the now-familiar checklist procedure prior to starting for Westgate Landing. Nick was still in command with April as J.O.D. Eric completed navigation plans. Just to see if we were paying attention, the starboard engine ran quite well.
The hardest part of having Nick in command was having Mr. Sterling not in command. Mr. Sterling vowed to not interfere. We all laughed at the thought, but Mr. Sterling was as good as his word.
Chapters 9 and 10: Each day on the cruise, someone of the crew presented a lesson on one of the boat's systems. After each lesson, there was a test. Here the crew takes one of the tests. They are sitting on the starboard side of the boat.
The crew also set goals for rank advancements, including swimming requirements. These are not bad pictures, this really is all you can see of them in the water. April is doing the mile swim. Eric and Derek are having a bit of trouble with using t-shirt and jeans as life jackets. Perhaps it is because they are on the starboard side of the boat.
Mrs. Strohecker arrived to replenish our dwindling food supplies and stay the night. She also made it possible for us to inflate the inner tubes.
When it came time to use the Sunfish, the crew decided to take it off the starboard side of the boat. Hey! It's upside down!
Nick, in command, commanded the crew to right the Sunfish so everyone could play. Derek agreed to teach Jessica to sail. He neglected to tell her that tipping a small sailboat over is part of the teaching routine, as long as you can bring it back up and sail it away. He also did not tell her that when the student has learned "enough", the instructor dives off the boat leaving the student to return to the dock alone. He probably should have mentioned that.
Then Derek agreed to teach Devon to sail - with success.
Meanwhile Mr. Sterling still made repairs so Jessica and Amanda could learn to run the Orion's dinghy. Why do they look so grim? Perhaps they were on the way to fight fierce pirates? Probably not.
Amanda floated in the inner tube while the rest of the crew posed for our best group shot.
There was no water skiing, so the crew improvised.
Dawn at Westgate Landing
Chapter 11: A tired but happy crew completed the cruise at Hogback Island where we rafted up to the Point Weber for Saturday night. Chef Amanda and Chef Jessica competed in the Spaghetti Contest. We later made ice cream for our visitors, Anne and Adrianna, former crew members who came to visit. Sunday morning - before dawn - found Nick again in command for the completion of his Quartermaster cruise requirements. He successfully guided the Orion through the dark from Hogback to Rio Vista, and down the Sacramento River. When daylight came finally, we cruised through Honker Bay and Suisun Bay, past Carquinez Straight, through San Pablo Bay, up the Petaluma River to our home. The starboard engine gave us no more trouble, the mysteries being solved long ago, and the stories that accompany any good cruise began to be told.