Things That Go Bump In The Night

At 11:30pm I put down my book, turned off the lights, and fell asleep. Outside it was calm. No wind, a light drizzle here and there, and the river was smooth as glass. The cabin heater was keeping the inside of the boat toasty and dry and it looked like I was in for another peaceful night aboard Aramis...

2:30am I woke up surrounded by chaos. The cabin was dark, I was confused as to where I was, everything was rocking, there was a banging coming from above me, and the wind was literally howling. It took me a few seconds to figure out what was going on, but eventually I understood ... there was a windstorm outside. The weathermen hadn't predicted any windstorm that I was aware of. Score another point for Oregon meteorologists.

After I got my bearings I decided I should probably check on things. What I should check on, I had no real idea. My biggest fear was that the mast which had been "hand tightened and wouldn't be going anywhere" was about to come toppling down on me. I stuck my head out of the hatch and was relieved to see that the mast and rigging looked to be holding up just fine. I also discovered that it wasn't as bad outside as the noises inside led me to believe.

I guess Aramis loves to exaggerate.

Down below again I could feel the gusts of wind pushing the boat up against the dock and lightly rocking her. The unsecured mid mast shrouds were beating against the mast. The sound reverberated through the hull. I decided I wasn't going to be getting much sleep with this racket going on, so I flicked on a light, picked up my book again and started to read.

And just like that, the storm was over. The howling went away, the boat calmed down, and the banging noises stopped. I popped my head out of the hatch again just to make sure.

The wind was calm. A light drizzle was falling. The river was smooth as glass.

I never even would have noticed mother nature's little outburst had I been in a house. I fell asleep again with a smile on my face.

I dreamt of being tossed about in a stormy sea.

Until Next Time
~Adam
S/V Aramis