The Case of the Cursed Coveralls

Today Cap and I learned an important lesson that won't be easily forgotten.

We set 30 traps and were at the mouth of the Harbor gearing up to haul some traps. I was filling bait bags (as usual) when I looked up to find Cap searching all over for something. I asked what it was that he was looking for and it seemed that he was missing his oil pants (or "coveralls," as he calls them). I helped him look and, being unsuccessful, suggested that perhaps he left them at the dock the previous day. It was easy enough to "run in to the dock" and get them before we started to haul traps, as we were only a short distance away. But Cap, being easily frustrated with himself, became agitated. Turned out the tide was down and there wasn't enough water to pull in to the dock, so he'd have to put the boat on the mooring and motor to the dock in the skiff. An added step made him even more irritable. By the time he climbed on to the bow and tied off the boat, he was all flustered and dropped the bow line. The skiff drifted off in the strong nor'west breeze, gently bumping off of other boats. Cap's instinct was to kick the boat into gear and fetch the skiff, but at this moment, the boat stalled. She couldn't be persuaded to start up again. The screens went blank. Both of our stomachs sank.

Cap tinkered with wires, switches, and fuses all afternoon. Luckily he is a gear-head and has a mind for figuring out problems as well as much knowledge about engines. The most help that I could offer was handing him tools and flipping switches at his request. He figured out the part that was defective and ordered a new one. Meanwhile, I learned about fuses and how to trouble-shoot. The first thing we did when we reached land was to grab Cap's oil pants from the dock. They were right there waiting for him. All of that trouble for a pair of Grundens!

At times like that, I can't help but think of the name of Cap's boat. The proud word on her transom represents the feminine spirit of enlightenment in Tibetan Buddhism. The word translates to "sky walker" or "sky dancer" (Wikipedia). However, one of her terrestrial embodiments is the trickster spirit. Boats are inherently unpredictable and unreliable. She has certainly lived up to her name today and in the past.

The lesson of the day was: have patience with oneself. It is all too easy to be quick-tempered and disgusted with yourself, especially when your goal is to do everything as quickly as possible. But the fact is: we are human. We aren't perfect. We make mistakes. Therefore, we must do our best and accept the fact that we might not meet our expectations for the day.