Not in the mood to rent Perfect Storm

Last night was a rough night on the houseboat. The wind and rain sounded fierce. I curled up in bed and tried to sleep, but I ended up dreaming that the boat was rocking so much that I had to grip the sides of the bed to keep from falling out. When I woke up, the pelting rain and howling wind made it sound like a hurricane outside. But the houseboat was not moving as much as in my dream and it didn't look as bad outside as it sounded-- though the wind was blowing the flags straight and the plants sideways.

I woke up several times in the night and finally got out of bed around 5:30 a.m. It was dark, the boat was rocking, and I was groggy. I was off-balance and I knocked my shin against and missed a step as I was going down the ladder. I have several bruises on my shin from knocking that ladder, and I have whacked my head on the bulkhead several times. A houseboat is not a place for uncoordinated people. It's probably not that comfortable if you're tall or big either.

It just reminds me that safety is one of those things I take for granted when I am on land. Just walking from the parking lot down the dock requires some care at the houseboat. Lake Union is so deep that anything dropped in the water is gone forever. Plus the floating dock is uneven and moves a lot when there are waves.

The houseboat owner called me tonight and said that last night is about the worst that it gets. I'm glad to hear that. She said that she was scared the first night she experienced a storm like that and even after all of these years she sometimes worries about the houseboat staying seaworthy. During the storm I started to wonder what would happen if the ropes came loose and the houseboat became free of the dock and started to drift off on its own.

I don't have the energy to go through another night of rough weather so I decided to sleep in my land apartment. I can hear the wind blowing through the trees but it doesn't scare me one bit on solid ground. On the other hand, I need some time to get used it on the water.