The easiest thing we've ever done. Stupid Spinny. Stupid Chewy.

Spinny Escapes: Part Deux

After the arrival of Chewy, we decided that the safest course of action for boats was to anchor them offshore. Unfortunately, we may or may not have miscalculated the force of outgoing currents with the tide.

Emerging from the cabin after a satisfying lunch of soup and nut bread, Marilynn saw Heidi yell, “Shit! Where in the hell is Spinny?” and run down the hill as fast as one wearing waders and dodging hummocks can run. Mark the bear monitor spotted Spinny, approximately 300 metres offshore in the Arctic Ocean and well out of swimming range. Inside Spinny, there were floats, rope spools, and the depth sounder. Decision time.

Marilynn: Can we finish the work without that boat?

Heidi: Maybe, but we’d have to pull up a gill net without a boat, which may involve swimming down and cutting off the anchor and then dragging it from shore. Not fun. I think we should drag the zodiac down the rapids and retrieve Spinny.

Marilynn: Heidi, we then have to get the boat back UP to the lake, and Chewy chewed the cart. I think we should let the dingy go.

Heidi (pathologically stubborn): I really think we should get Spinny.

Marilynn: I really disagree with this decision. Okay, let’s go.

We proceeded to drag the zodiac down the bouldery rapids until we became permanently stuck about 2/3 of the way down. We removed the 4-stroke motor (which we were now cursing because it is extremely heavy to haul through bouldery rapids), and finished hauling both to the foot of the rapids. At this point, Spinny was out of sight but Mark the bear monitor had kept an eye on its trajectory. We followed the waves out into Parry Sound and spotted Spinny with the binoculars about 3 miles offshore.

Heidi: Well, we said we wanted to see the view from the ocean.

Marilynn: This is the most ridiculous thing I have ever done. Rescuing a DINGHY in the Arctic Ocean.

Heidi: THERE SHE IS!!!! And we’re actually rescuing the rope. We are fresh out of sideline without those spools.

Marilynn: So, this entire calamity can pretty much be blamed on our chronic shortage of sideline?

Heidi: Yup.

Whereupon we pulled up, deflated Spinny, and placed her firmly in Zippy. Upon arriving back on shore, Heidi said,

“Let’s take stock. The boat, boards, and motor weight approximately 700 lbs (as estimated by the helicopter while slinging). We have no cart because Chewy chewed the wheels. In other news, we can’t deflate the zodiac and take it apart because Chewy chewed the air hose so we won’t be able to re-inflate it.”

Marilynn: This is going to be the EASIEST thing we’ve ever done (this is our canned line whenever something is going to be ridiculously difficult).

Marilynn cunningly fashioned handles out of some random tubing we found on the shoreline and we hauled the motor (as pictured) 500 m up and down a hill in the sled sans wheels. The boat, well, we don’t have a picture of that. Basically, we took ratchet straps, hooked them around our shoulders, and started pulling 300 lbs of boat. For 500 m. Up and down a hill. Over tundra.

Spinny may be burnt at the end of the season. Grrrrrrr.