Out in a Sea

Going out on the water in a larger boat is always satisfying but nothing gets you to the core of being out on the salt chuck like going out in a small boat, especially if there is any amount of sea running. If rowing, you really have to work against wind and wave to keep any headway and not "catch a crab" which could be disastrous were it to cause a broach. Even with a small putt-putt on the transom, making headway in a large sea takes concentration and a certain amount of skill. But the thrill. Nothing is as heady as successfully negotiating a large, implacable sea.
 
From whichever quarter the waves are coming, from forward or from astern, your small boat rises on the water until the crest of the wave, close to the gunwales now passes under and you drop back into the trough. But you can't stop rowing; got to keep her headed to quarter the waves. Or if you are putt-putting, you need to work the throttle as the wave approaches, lifts, and leaves, so you don't stop forward movement going up the wave yet don't allow the motor to over-rev if the prop is out of the water when the crest passes.
 
My first experience in rowing in a large sea, 3 to 4 foot waves were large for me, was going out into the Gulf of Finland to haul a net with my uncle when I was sixteen. Small craft in that part of the country were hauled out on stages like they are in Newfoundland, because the shore is bare, glacier-worn rock. Small row boats fifty years ago were still all lapstrake with a wide beam, just smaller versions of the large viking craft that everyone is familiar with. Launching wasn't a problem and rowing didn't become challenging until we passed the sheltering island. Then I had to hold her quartering the waves while uncle pulled the net and picked the fish. That was just another step to my becoming a self-assured adult. Ask me if we had life jackets.
 
Flip forward 7 or 8 years to Caulfeild Cove in West Vancouver. I am heading out with a co-worker and his eight year old son in a 10 foot car-topper and a small Evinrude. The salmon were running and we were going to get some. The usual southerlies were blowing, unfortunately, right into Caulfeild and kicking up perhaps 2 - 3 foot waves, just big enough to make us ask "should we?". Well, we did but who said that you can catch fish on a rod and reel when the boat is going up and down like an elevator. The thing about being out in a sea is that after a while it becomes normal. Even if you are on the very verge of disaster, usually without realizing it, you start to feel comfortable in your negotiation of the waves. After about an hour the waves continued to increase in size and we ran for shore, landing through a good surf. Ask me if we had life jackets.