Wandering the Wet West (Chapter 2)

(09/15/15)  We launched early at the Stateline ramp to avoid the usual mess that occurs when a lot of folks hit the ramp at the same time.   We warmed the engines then headed up river.  One of the other CDory folks was a day ahead of us, so we tried contacting the Lost Petrel.   Alas, the petrel remained lost, and we didn't get a return hail.   We had about 40 miles to cover to get to the Dangling Rope marina for fuel and anything else we needed.   With the RPM at 3,000, we chugged along at a bit under 8 MPH.   Dangling Rope appeared at just over 4 hours of cruising.   The port tank was the only one we used, and it took right at 8 gallons.   Not too bad for a boat, a heavily laden boat at that.

With another hour, we hit Oak Canyon and met up with Thataway, and our old friends Dr. Bob and Marie Austin from Pensacola, Florida.  Anchored stern to the beach, then got off the boat to see Bob and Marie.  Lots of talk and catching up after a year.   I got the little Yamaha generator out and charged the battery for the Engel freezer (Jay, it worked like a champ!!  Thanks again!).   Quite a bit of wind, but no rain.

(09/16/15)  Up a bit after 6:00.   The wind was rattling the burgee, so I got up and took it down.   Then I couldn't go back to sleep.   It was kind of nice watching the sun come up.

A whole lot of splashing going on...  Wow, a striper boil.   They were really going after the thread fin shad, so grab the rod and start thinking about dinner.   First cast was a 10" smallmouth bass, and then I started hitting the stripers.   I kept two for dinner.   One about 2 pounds, and another that was pushing 4 to 5 pounds.   A quick fillet and release, and we had enough fish for the four of us.

It's still windy, in the low 80's, but lots of sun.  The forecast was much the same for the rest of the week.   Thataway took off for Dangling Rope, and we found that our anchor lines were crossed.   They reset with no harm.   Bob left his lines attached to the dinghy, so they just had to grab them when they returned from getting ice and other supplies.

Bob gave me a copy of "The Very Hard Way - Bert Loper and the Colorado River".   what a great read!!!   Loper was one of the pioneer river men on the Colorado and its tributaries.   He started before 1900, and met his end on the river in 1948 at the age of 80.   He was one of the few people who got to see and run it all, before it was lost to the dams.

(09/17/15)  Again, up early to watch the sun creep down the canyon walls, and to wait and see if there would be another striped bass boil.   At about 7:00, the water erupted with fish going crazy.  Marie wanted to get a few fish, so I knocked on their boat and let them know the stripers were in.   It was just a few minutes before each of us had two really nice fish.   That was enough to put on the table for the get together, so it was time to put the rods away.  Here's Marie with the days tally.

Jay, on Hunky Dory arrived a little later in the day.   He and his bride Jolee, along with Brent and Dixie on Discovery had just returned from nearly 90 days on the water in SE Alaska, plus stops at Yellowstone Lake and other places on their return.   Hunky Dory is a 22' boat like mine, Discovery is a Tomcat 255 (and roomy!).   Here's Diana, Marie (with Miss Angel),  Dr. Bob and Jay.

Another CDory arrived just after Jay.  It was John and Grayle on Hallelujah, a beautiful CDory 25. Something didn't seem right as John couldn't respond on the VHF.   He finally understood where we wanted him to anchor, so set he the hook and started backing down...  right at my boat.   We started screaming for him to go forward, but the cabin door was closed, so it took a while for him to understand what was happening.   There was less than a foot to go before his kicker would have speared my boat.   Close...

Bob and I took the dinghy and helped John set the hook, then got his stern lines to temporary ties.   John likes to use sand stakes, so he grabbed a couple, along with a good sized hammer and started to hammer them in.   About three swings, and John collapsed.   Bob is a retired physician, so we got John into the shade and reclining.   He was dehydrated, but other vitals were reasonably good.   Bob, Jay and I got the boat secured.

After resting for a bit, John was well enough to get into the boat with assistance.   We left him to rest, with Grayle giving him liquids.   When we checked on him again, he was beginning to vomit, so Bob made the decision that Bob needed to be evacuated.  Bob and I took the dinghy out to a place where we could get a cell signal, and called 911.   Since it was NPS jurisdiction, we were directed to them.   Bob got them on the line, advised them of the situation, and asked for a ranger to come up from Dangling Rope.  The NPS also had a helicopter standing by.  It wasn't long before we saw his boat, so  Bob went with the ranger, and I brought the dinghy back.   By the time I got to the boats, the helicopter was less than 10 minutes away.   In addition to his other symptoms, John also had elevated carbon monoxide levels (CO).

We got all the tarps and awnings down, and the helicopter was there.   After some initial diagnosis by the medical team and Dr. Bob, they agreed to take John to the regional medical center at Flagstaff.  There wasn't room in the helicopter for Grayle, so she had to stay behind.

The ranger after a lengthy discussion with his supervisor received permission to take Grayle down to Wahweap that night, so she could rent a car and drive to Flagstaff.   I have nothing but true praise for the NPS.   Ranger Eden Wynd did a fantastic job of managing the situation, coordinating with the medivac team, and ensuring that Grayle was cared for.   This is how I like to see my tax dollars used.