Day 6

As I left Kristin, Jeff, and Charlie's house, I was in a bit of a rush. I was supposed to have my truck ready to load at Ferry Terminal in Bellingham, WA by 3PM, and it was going to be close. I arrived at the vehicle loading area at 2:15, but the man in the little shack didn't have my name on his manifest, so I had to proceed to the terminal to purchase my ticket first. I ended up getting back to the vehicle loading area exactly at 3PM. They asked that I remove my extra fuel cans and place them in the paint locker on the boat. Afterwards I drove the truck onto an elevator inside the boat and I was hoisted to the upper car deck. A couple of crewmen came by to guess the year of the truck.

I grabbed a change of clothes, tent, pad, and sleeping bag, and threw it all in a large duffel, which I lugged out to the rear decks where tents were allowed. On first sight, it appeared there was no room left, but I squeezed in at a spot near the rail on the starboard side, middle deck. I met a couple of ladies in their late 40's, Sue and Claudia, who helped me set up the tent and advised me on how to use duct tape and straps to secure the tent to the deck.

Claudia said she had arrived at 9:30 AM to get a good spot for her tent. As it neared time for the ferry to leave, there came an announcement that a mechanical problem would delay the departure. For two hours I wandered around, talked to tent neighbors, and played with the video camera. We left the dock at 8:00 PM, and the wind picked up so that it flapped the sides loudly about and blew the tent out of shape. Soon I found myself standing and holding my tent, fearing that the tape and straps would not hold. I was trapped, and I couldn't leave the tent to look for another space (which there were none), because I had to stay and hold the tent. Some of my neighbors-Claudia, Sue, Anne, and Steve-tried to help, and soon a crewman came by to say I could set up the tent on the lower deck (where tents were not usually allowed), under condition that Sunday morning I must awake before we arrive at Ketchikan and remove the tent. I really didn't see that there were many other options, and besides, after some people get off in Ketchikan, there will probably be more tent space. I set up the tent on the deck below, and found that it was terrifically sheltered from the wind, though right over the engine, so the floor rumbled, but I was tired and had no trouble falling asleep.