Each year’s Cottage Life ends when you Shut Down For Winter; this sad task includes tidying, sealing, draining, and then going away. We left it later this year than any before, into the season of storms and rain and darkness.
Of course, when the sun breaks through that darkness it makes the mountains and so on look awfully good.
When the rain sets in it’s still very beautiful, but hard to photograph properly. Best to stay inside, light a fire in the stove, and get on with the Shutting Down; also reading, eating, and napping.
All of which we did. But when darkness arrived the wind picked up and the rumble and crash of the waves grew louder and louder; my thoughts turned to the mighty ship Bodoni tethered to our little floating dock in among the big waves. So I stumbled down through the darkness and was horrified. The boat was lurching back and cruelly forth, and though tethered with three lines, only one was doing any work and it was fraying fast.
The morning after.
I scrambled aboard for more mooring lines and managed to bring two into play, scared on the float as it pitched wildly; waves came over the edge and up to my ankles. Thank goodness for modern flashlights with brilliant LEDs and endless battery life, small enough to clamp in your mouth while you wrestle soaking ropes. Damage: That rope and a nastily-bruised index finger; it’ll recover.
Back inside, the waves weren’t getting any quieter; I’m a novice boater and had no idea if the ropes would hold, thus found it hard to sleep. I woke repeatedly, eventually at 5AM to find the sea calm and the boat still there.
The voyage back was smooth and trouble-free; it’s such a privilege to see our mountains and islands, and then the city, from the sea. More next year.
Comment feed for ongoing:
From: Dustin Q (Nov 24 2012, at 13:01)
Grab yourself a headlamp for the next time. Save your teeth and can't get dropped. Fun story.
[link]