When preparing to drive across Canada a ‘Things to Do’ list becomes a vital component to the organization of this event. Dean and I had a list for the motorhome, a list for alert bay, a list for my boat which I was lending to a friend for the summer, and finally a list for the farewell dinner we had arranged to have with our friends Robyn and Jordan. We have been parked beside them for the entire winter and it feels as though we are now part of their family.
It was a sad start to the day. While having coffee with Jordan and Robyn, Jordan checked his email and recieved bad news. A friend of his back in Alberta had died in a kayaking accident. It is incredible how news travels fast within our cyberworld, with easy access to communications. One moment you can be sipping coffee, excited about your day, then a moment later you receive bad news that could change your entire life. Shortly after hearing the news, Jordan began his daily chores. One of them was to clean the chimney. It wasn't before long that Robyn and I heard a bang and a crash. I glanced outside and saw Jordan hanging from the gutter with the fallen ladder below him. Thankfully he has great responses and is a good climber and recovered from the mishap instantly. Robyn got a big fright, probably feeling rather tender after the recent sad news. I announced..."There is something weird about the energy of today". Everyone agreed.
Dean and I had one day to go before our departure, our car was loaded and the final touches were being done to the boat which I just had serviced from a local marine mechanic. Dean and I cleaned and scrubbed it, new lines and a battery was installed and two brand new tires and rims were put on the trailer. Rhian pulled up in her rental truck, having driven up from Comox. With the trailer secured onto the tow hitch, stern and bow lines securing the boat to the trailer even more, away she went on a journey back south.
Seven minutes passed and my cell phone rang. Rhian was on the other end. “I didn’t make it very far” she said, sounding unhappy. The trailer had disconnected from the tow ball and hung on a chain thread as she steered the unruly tow into the shoulder of the highway. Luckily she was still in cell phone range.
Dean and I made our way to her and we were surprised how little damage there was to her rental truck and to the trailer. We needed a new female part which connects the trailer to the tow ball. Rhian and I zipped into town, purchased the part then joined Dean who in the meantime tried to reshape the trailer stalk.
It wasn’t long before Rhian was on her way again. We followed her to check that all was well and although everything was holding together, the weight of the boat was still putting pressure on the new trailer hitch to a point that it was pulling, lifting and nearly bending it out of shape. The boat was simply too heavy for this particular trailer. With our heads hanging low we headed back into Port McNeil deciding not to risk the journey south with an unsuitable trailer.
Dean, Jordan and I put our thinking caps on to try and come up with a source for another trailer. We pondered ideas over pizza and beer and Jordan came up with the perfect solution…Eric the harbor master in Alert Bay. A short call brought success. The best case scenario was to have the trailer in Port McNeil by early morning so Rhian could be on the road and still make her noon appointment with returning the rental truck. The only way to make this possible is if we catch the next ferry going to Alert Bay this evening, pick up the trailer and return immediately on that same ferry. We looked at the time. Too late, the ferry would have already left. Jordan glanced out his window and announced excitedly that the ferry was just docking. Dean and I raced outside and began trying to disconnect the boat and trailer from the tow bar, it was stuck on real good. We were running out of time. Jordan came running out carrying a heavy duty jack which immediately released the connection. Rhian and I drove hastily towards the ferry terminal, arriving just in time.
As we sat on the ferry it felt like the calm before the storm. Once on the other side, we had five minutes to drive off the ferry, meet up with Eric and place his Tandem axel, heavy duty trailer on to our truck, then drive back onto the ferry, all before its departure. It would be tight.
Once we docked, Rhian sat eagerly in the drivers seat and as we exited the ramp, I noticed Eric had parked right next to the ferry. Good thinking Eric! After a quick instruction as to the workings of the trailer we hitched it onto the trailer with ease and drove back on board just as the gates were about to be closed. We made it. We felt pleased with ourselves having come up with a solution, leapt into action and made it happen.
We still had a few more things to take care of and we were losing light. The sun was well and truly down and dusk was upon us. Once we arrived back to Port McNeil, we unloaded the borrowed trailer then went to pick up the old trailer which still carried the boat. We needed to launch the boat, put the old trailer in storage then place the boat onto the borrowed trailer. We thought it would be the easier part of the chores so far….wrong.
As we lowered the boat into the water, ‘boat tragedy’ occurred. The hand winch failed and the boat began to lower not in the water, but onto concrete, close to the waters edge. I was standing inside the boat, ready to drive. It was surreal celebrated by a moment of silence that lasted five seconds.
An 18ft fiberglass boat with a 90 horse powered engine sitting on concrete is not good.
With the bow still connected and slightly onto the trailer, we winched the bow down using a ratchet strap. This brought the stern off the ground ever so slightly. Rhian backed the trailer carrying the limp boat into the water until it was floating. I held on to it like I would a child and secured it to the dock. I waited, so far so good. The boat was not sinking. I turned on the bilge pump to see if the boat was taking on water, still good so far.
While I waited for Dean to take the old trailer to storage Jordan and I sat on the boat and pondered. I suddenly remembered the tragic news he had heard this morning. These thoughts soon put the days events into perspective. A boat falling off a trailer onto concrete, is absolutely nothing compared to the tragedy of losing a friend, a life. The boat situation suddenly became meaningless. I shared this thought with Jordan.
It was time to put the boat on the borrowed trailer with hope that it fits. It did, perfectly. Phew. By now night had set in and at 11pm we were all feeling relieved but still wired from all the excitement. A beer while going over the afternoon and evenings events was shared, soon followed by bed.
This was going to be a relaxing afternoon, sharing a lovely meal with our friends who we may not see for a long time. However, the strange thing is, we could not have come up with a better way to reinforce the friendship we had developed over the winter. These series of mishaps forced us to work as a team, use our ingenuity and come up with a solution using the resources that surrounded us. It was a neat feeling in amongst the anxiety.
By morning Rhian was on her way, soon followed by Dean and I. We hugged our friends Robyn and Jordan, gave little Neeva a long cuddle and kissed five month old Ayvn on her soft welcoming cheeks. We are leaving good people whom we shall miss very much.
Here we are on the road again, this time in a vehicle a few feet shorter than our now stored motorhome, Deans Mercury Sable.
Hmmm, I wonder what events will occur on this road trip. I will keep keeping you posted.
Cheers H and D
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