Sunday, September 14, 2008

OH-MY-GOD- it’s Matt Damon!!!


3 days, 2 nights, and 2 calls to the U.S Coast Guard later, we are back safely on land (PARENTS do not panic and please let me elaborate!). What incredible journey what an inconceivable voyage! Scott and I left Neah Bay early Tuesday morning with butterflies in our stomach, we have never gone cruising this long. There’s 5 more miles in the Strait of Juan de Fuca and swiftly Cape Flattery welcomes you. There is hundreds of seals at the entrance of the open ocean, a sort of welcome to the land of the unknown.

We’ve been spotting this green 50ft boat that seems to be going our direction for quite a while now. The passage between Tattoose Island and Cape Flattery is rocky and narrow, but totally doable. However the driver seemed to be hesitating and was waiting for us to make our choice. Yes, we were going through it, and YES we had no doubt about it. Before going in, the green boat guys tells us his GPS is broken and could he please follow us? Sure! An hour and a half as now pass and this guy is still erratically tail-gating us!? You see, right about then, all these questions start going through our head… why is he alone on a 50 ft boat (twice the size of ours that can go TWICE as fast!?!?!), “buddy-boating” is quite fine, except if you want to follow us man, do it by a mile! He also told Scott that he was going to San Diego, hum… with NO GPS (go back home and fix it!!!!!)?? For all we know he could have stolen the boat! After him doing one of his most spectacular 90 degree angle move, Scott had to talk this bizarre individual…. just like, you know… about what the heck was he doing??? The guy understood, backed off, but still seemed oblivious. I just kept on repeating to Scott, just call the police, just call the police! If only for HIS safety. The cops of waters are the Coast Guard, and while Scott is talking to them about the situation on the radio, the guys is so desperate that he is just circling around us as murky fog was setting in. The U.S Coast Guard told Scott that he had contacted them already, and that he had no GPS and no maps, humm, serioulsy?!?…. ( En bon francais on appelle ca un “colon”, non meilleur encore un mechant TWIT!!!).

After this lil' incident, we're finally ready to go on with our cruise (phewf!!!). Oh, and no more motor ladies and gentlemen, all sail! The theme of that day was foggy. The night was cold but steady. When I wake up, it’s my shift and the morning is glorious. It’s pretty rare to see only the sun, only water, all around. We had a perfect sail all day. By the end of the day, the wind as picked up a fair amount. I won’t lie, that second night was long and rocky. The wind is up to 30 knots and Scott is awfully sea sick, it’s seems to be worst at night, when he can’t see the arisen. I, on the other hand, except of feeling unbelievably drowsy, seem to have somewhat acquired my sea legs. It’s really hard to see your boyfriend to be feeling SO bad, SO exhausted, and I wish at this moment I knew what HE knew about sailing so I could drive this boat in that much wind, but I can’t. So we had to stop so and "park" (the sail are still up but were not going anywhere) the boat so Scott could rest a bit.

At 4 in the morning, we decided to make to the closest port possible. We haven’t planned this entrance to Tillimuck Bay, which books say is hard to enter. For this reason, Scott calls the Coast Guard (call #2) for us to be escorted on our way in. Twenty Nautical Miles later, approximately around 10 am Friday morning, when the Coast Guard come to fetch us, am in a dream state and Scott complains of probable hypothermia (well, something on the line of being really cold!). There are magnificent rock arches surrounding us and sands banks too. The Coast Guard starts asking us questions. I blink my eyes twice, I put liquid in my contacts, I look away and look back, but no, it’s true, OH-MY-GOD I swear its Matt Damon! Then, at that moment, am thinking, geez weez, that’s what 3 days at sea can do to you…. I am now starting to have the most wonderful illusions!!?! Of course, I don’t want to mention anything to my boyfriend, I assume he is not in the mood for me to think this Coast Guard facial feature shares quite a resemblance with what I think is the most beautiful actor in the world ( everybody very well knows, including Scott, my feelings about Good Will Hunting). After arriving at the Marina, we’re dirty, hungry, our face’s blushed by cold wind and sun. A couple mandatory routine questions, safety check ups by the Coast Guard; we’re all good to go. We’re welcome here, in Garibaldi, OR. We both take a seat, am waiting for hotter-than-Matt Damon-boyfriend, to say something, anything our first lil’ leg of the trip. I imagine he’s gonna blurt something along the line of “Man! I am starving let’s get some food”, or “ Man! Hope they have public showers here”, but no what he says blows my mind: “ Man! Did that guy looked like Matt Damon or what??”. I can’t help it, I start laughing uncontrollably. I can’t stop, at this moment, in this instant, I am truly happy.

p.s: I want to thank everybody for the lovely comments they have made about the blog! It’s great.

p.p.s: Pictures will come!!! Internet connection is rare and more expensive that we thought and am still figuring out the in’s and lil’ bit of this blog. But they will come promess!

Till next time….. xoxo

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Wow!!! The "Matt Damon" Saga Continues... Please stay safe. We love you. I am happy your happy...

Anonymous said...

Hello Estelle & Scott



Following your adventure brought me back a lot of memories of trips (canoe or sailing) in the wildness, caught in another world.
Every instant is full of something new….Its make us feel alive…but sometimes unpredictable events push the physical and mental limits to an extreme…but then when everything calm down , the tension is gone, consciousness expands the awareness to a new state of experience…like having a vision of “Matt Damon”….this Is synchronicity where there is no random event !

Thank you to share your experience!

Paul/PaPa