Susan Ann of Poulsbo has been an avid rower since faculty, however it was the demise of her beloved canine that impressed her to sort out essentially the most troublesome rowing occasion she’d ever accomplished — the Salish 100.
When her labradoodle Mistyrose was severely harm some years in the past after what she known as an “unexpected accident,” she was advised the most suitable choice could be to place her down. Ann has a background in nursing and determined to provide Mistyrose a second probability at life by intensively rehabbing her for the subsequent few years till she ultimately handed away.
“I saw it in her eyes, and she deserved a chance,” Ann mentioned. “Basically, I rehabbed her single-handedly. It took months, but eventually, she was standing and walking. She had a good life for another 3.5 years after that, which was a miracle. All the odds were against her.”
It was the combat and perseverance of Mistyrose that impressed Ann to tackle the Salish 100, which occurred July 20-27. Each summer season, the rowing occasion is held with numerous fleets cruising from Olympia to Port Townsend in every week, with in a single day stays alongside the best way. Ann mentioned most vessels had been bigger sailboats or boats that might maintain a number of individuals. So it was a shock to many when Ann determined to beat the 100-mile journey in her small rowboat named “Misty Rows,” an ode to her former furry companion.
“They looked at me like I was crazy,” Ann mentioned. “I named the boat after her so she’s always with me in spirit.”
Along the best way, skippers expertise all the things the Salish Sea has to supply comparable to currents racing by means of slender channels, tide rips, sandbars, rocky shores, altering wind situations and encounters with wildlife. Since Ann’s 14-foot-long rowboat was not meant for racing and solely seats one, the occasion was tougher for her than these in bigger vessels. But that was one thing Ann needed to embrace in honor of Mistyrose, who needed to overcome many challenges towards the top of her life.
“Really, what you’re racing is Mother Nature,” Ann mentioned. “I needed to be extraordinarily conscious of the tides, winds and currents and make these changes. As it progressed, I shortly discovered that I needed to form of department off by myself as a result of I needed to observe the tides, and everybody else was following the wind.
“It took all the strength I had during a couple points,” she continued. “There were a few days that were pretty tough. The south Sound was a lot more calm than the north Sound. It took a lot of mental courage and stamina.”
The journey
Ann and all the opposite skippers began the Salish 100 at Swantown Marina in Olympia. The first evening the group stopped at Henderson Inlet in Thurston County, and the boats might solely use anchors since there was no dock. While all the opposite boats had cabins or a delegated space to sleep in, Ann needed to pull her boat as much as an area seashore the place she pitched a tent.
The second day they saved heading north to a personal dock in Longbranch the place Ann camped on the dock. The following day is when situations started to get harder as Ann went by means of open waters close to the Tacoma Narrows Bridge en path to Gig Harbor. “That was an unknown for me; it’s a huge waterway,” she mentioned. “There’s a lot of strong currents.”
The subsequent day led them by means of Colvos Passage to Blake Island, with situations solely getting worse. Kingston was the subsequent vacation spot as Ann handled extra open waters and needed to strategically keep away from the ferry routes. “That was a pretty long day,” she mentioned. “If you end up getting stuck going against a tide you can’t outrun and a ferry is coming, you’re in big trouble.”
When she docked in Kingston, her son met up along with her to provide some phrases of encouragement and to see how she was holding up. The last stretch of the journey would show to be the hardest as she headed for Port Ludlow the subsequent day. She deliberately left early within the morning earlier than the sailboats since her rowboat didn’t transfer as quick. What she didn’t know was all of the skippers had talked about altering their plans as a result of incoming climate whereas she was sleeping the evening earlier than.
“It doesn’t look like much when you look on a map but I can tell you it’s a lot,” Ann mentioned. “They had all discovered the climate was going to be altering. When I left the climate regarded fairly good however what I didn’t know was how a lot it was going to vary.
“It took a lot longer to get to Foulweather Bluff than I expected. Because it took so long, I hit it right when the north wind came about. It was scary. In theory, I shouldn’t have been out there. It was like being in a washing machine. My little boat even caught air a few times. All my energy was spent when I got to Port Ludlow.”
After finishing essentially the most troublesome day of rowing in her life, Ann nonetheless had yet another day to finish the journey to Port Townsend, which she admitted she was dreading. “Because I had my goal, that was the only way I was able to push through,” she mentioned.
Luckily, situations had been significantly better. She handed a few of the tribal canoes that had been a part of the Paddle to Muckleshoot. Upon reaching Port Townsend, Ann was utterly exhausted however happy with herself for pushing her boundaries to perform a aim by means of love, hope and perseverance—one thing Mistyrose did in her last years.
“I really did get that sense of peace that people are looking for at the end of it,” she concluded.
