Back in the Saddle Again

“I`m back in the saddle again
Out where a friend is a friend
Where the longhorn cattle feed
On the lowly gypsum weed
Back in the saddle again

Ridin` the range once more
Totin` my old .44
Where you sleep out every night
And the only law is right
Back in the saddle again”

- Gene Autry


Gene Autry’s lyrics above capture my feelings, albeit the circumstances he describes do not fit exactly. Instead of back in the saddle, I am back on my sailboat, as the photo taken above of me today shows. Instead of longhorn cattle, I have the creatures of the sea. Instead of a .44 I have winches and a plethora of other sailboat hardware.

But there are similarities also. Just like for the cowboy on the wild range, we sailors a wild ocean value our friends. A friend is a friend both places, and we depend on our friends for survival.

So I am taking up where I left off, after a summer of unwelcome interruption. That interruption was not my desire, but rather was forced on me by my body’s sudden need for medical help. But after an operation, three hospital stays, many prescribed medications, a regimen of supervised cardio-rehabilitation exercise, and now attending my regular gym, I am ready. Ready to take up where I left off.

Where did I leave off? You may recall that after getting ill and going to the hospital in Victoria, I sailed S/V Ubiquity across the Strait of Juan de Fuca to Port Angeles, Washington. Ubiquity has waited for me in Port Angeles for over three months. But now I am recovered and re-joined her today.

After driving to Port Angeles today, I have lavished attention on Ubiquity to make up for the hiatus. She is now clean again, with sails once again hoisted. She is ready to depart tomorrow, September 16, with the destination of Astoria, Oregon, on the Columbia River. After that, I will bring her up-river to her old slip in Portland.

The weather forecasts suggest the trip out the Strait of Juan de Fuca will be calm, and mainly motoring. But coming down the Washington coast we should get some good sailing as the northwest winds increase. We expect to cross the Columbia River Bar and arrive in Astoria on Tuesday. Anyone wishing to follow our progress can do so here. You can probably follow us all the way in real-time using VesselFinder or MarineTraffic.

So I am back in the saddle again. It feels good.