Cruise of the Confidence 2013-09-17 to 23

Newport to Brookings 42*02.78'N 124*16.03'W

Total travel time: 34 hrs. 11 minutes

Total Distance: 159 nautical miles. A long day!

0700: Left Newport Beach

Winds WNW but nothing to speak of.

Skies are cloudy with a little bit of rain at the dock - just enough to make everything wet.

Rain stopped as we passed through the jetties with blue skies in the north - should be coming our way.

Pelicans came out to guide us again and the sea lions were hanging out on the buoys to wave us on our way.

We were able to put the Genoa up and sail for about 3 hours but then the winds died and the motor was turned back on.

1200: lunch was served. Roast chicken sandwiches with cranberries, lettuce and mayo. Wherever possible buy one of those roast chickens at the grocery store. Not only are they cheap - usually cheaper than the raw one - but they provide endless possibilities for meals. This one provided us with chicken quesadillas, sandwiches and chicken broda (Italian chicken soup with tortellini & asiago cheese) If you want something to warm you up that is the soup to make!

1305: abeam of Cape Perpetua. Captain has gone to bed and BA has stripped down to a T-shirt and leggings.

1448: abeam Heceta Head Lighthouse and averaging 6.6 knots with the motor. I will have to talk to Dave about naming our motor also has he has been doing an awesome job and being used more than we had wanted him to be.

The coastline is very clear, unusual for this part of the coast. It is quite spectacular with forested hills, rock outcroppings and many lovely beaches. 

There is one lonely commercial fisherman and us.

For most of the journey we are keeping within the three nautical mile limit.

1615: abeam Florence, a possibility for a stop but decided against it. Bar was closed to vessels less than 30 feet due to the swells and the fog.

1715: sighted a humpback whale about 2 miles off our starboard side frolicking in the water. Close enough to see but not close enough to get a picture.

1924: Sun has set. 

Moon is up at 86%

2027: abeam the Yaquima bar at Coos Bay. Lots of commercial fishing boats on the horizon 

2134: abeam Ten Mile Creek. Had to adjust the course a little to avoid Cape Aragon light. But for the most part we are steering a course due south, give or take 10 degrees.

2350: David relieved me at the helm. He commented that it was a nice night, full moon but no wind.

0000: one mile abeam the safe water buoy that marks the start of the channel into Coos Bay, David checked the weather report again. Winds were light and continued to be northerly so he made the decision to press on to Brookings and make up for the extra days that we had to spend at Ilwaco.

 0557: abeam Cape Blanco and BA is back at the helm.

0611: watched the orange moon set. Orion looked as if he had shined his belt buckle, he was so bright. 

0701: watched the sun rise. There is something magical about watching the sun set, the moon rise, the moon set and the sun rise again as you pass from one day into the next.

0724: Mr Humpback whale came by to wish me a good day. He blew and raised his tail. He was just off the port side, quite close this time. I think I may actually have woken him up!

 1023: abeam Rogue River Reef. Me and the Dixie Chicks -"Taking the Long Way Around".

I thought of putting on the GoPro but I did not want to wake up David. But imagine me and my iPod dancing away in the cockpit to Dixie Chicks and Phil Collins and Elton John - well I kind of looked like a crazy person with a smile from ear to ear. No I am not a crazy person, just thought I would get some aerobic exercise!

Sitting in the cockpit taking it all in and listening to my music. I actually forgot how much I love just listening to music. During ones normal day to day activities music is often part of it but it serves more as a background. Out here you really hear the music - Jessie Cook's guitar and Ackerman's piano never sounded so pure! 

1200: grabbed a few hours sleep. David raised the Genoa and we basically sailed all the rest of the way to Brookings.

Beautiful end to a long run.

1711: tied up at the transient dock . Hours on motor 2559.4

Total distance travelled: 159 nautical miles.

Total time : 34 hours

4 day visit at Brookings: due to weather. Can't really say that this is an exciting place. We spent it reading (I finished 3 books), making stew and sandwiches for our next run, which could be a long one.

David did an adjustment on the steering, it was a little too tight causing the autopilot to chatter. The water tanks have been filled, all batteries and electronic devices charged, lee cloth rigged and provisions topped up. We had hoped to rent a car and check out the giant redwoods - no major car rental agency - just a used car salesman. In order to rent us a car we needed a copy of our ICBC insurance. Well, iI no longer have a car and consequently do not have insurance. And all of David's papers are in his truck in Victoria. By the time we could get Carolyn to fax us a copy we would have lost most of the day. Oh we'll - just as well as it poured rain for most of the afternoon and it would not have been pleasant.

We were hoping to get away today, being Monday, but the bar was closed. It is deceiving because it feels quite calm at the marina. But the entrance is not very wide and a 4 foot swell seems bigger. Below are a couple of pictures of the surf!

The entrance is that small opening between the pointy rock and the cement marker. Not a lot of wiggle room. 

And more surf ...

We finally left Brookings on Tuesday. After 5 days we were just itching to get back on the water.

One interesting bit of information about Brookings. Brookings and Crescent Beach (27 miles further south) were in the news a couple of years ago when the earthquake hit Japan. This was part of the west coast that was hardest hit by the tsunami. In fact the tidal surge came right into this marina and wiped it out.

Cruise of the Confidence 2013-09-24 to 26

Brookings, Oregon to San Francisco, California

Total time: 55.5 hours

Total distance: 285 nautical miles

Engine hours 2591.1

0900: Finally left Brookings. Winds were light and still coming from the south/southeast but we decided to chance it.

1000: another milestone. 40* 00'00" N 

The equator is getting closer! We are in California!

Winds have started to turn. They are still light but at least they are blowing from the north. Swells are about 6 feet but there is very little wind wave. This makes it comfortable for motoring but we would rather be sailing. We knew that this was probably going to be a long day so I climbed into the settee - we had rigged up the lee cloth so we could sleep midship rather than the v- berth. When there is a lot of wave action on the bow, the v-berth is not the most comfortable place to sleep.

1140: passing abeam and a mile to seaward of NW Seal Rock. This is one of several pinnacles

 5 miles offshore of Crescent City.

1505: whale sighting

1539: abeam of the weather buoy. These are located up and down the coast to collect weather information. The skies are starting to look quite active. That is the thing about being out here - you can see the weather systems coming from miles away. We were lucky enough to pass between two large rain squalls. But there is one coming from the west that we may not avoid.

2015: the system has caught up to us but it had pretty well rained itself out by the time we met. We only experienced a few drops but the winds have picked up and it has gotten pretty rough. The swells are now between 8 - 10 feet and the wind wave about 4 feet. This took its toll on the auto pilot - sheared off the pins so now it was back to manual steering. There were a few good waves into the cockpit and a fair amount of surfing. It surprised me that I wasn't scared - just getting tired of keeping myself from sliding around. Yes - my safety line was attached. And I had to change into my one piece survival suit as I was getting cold.

Abeam Trinidad Head 

0220: and it is now Wednesday.We finally passed Cape Mendocino. The winds are northerly but still too light to keep the jib full. Otto has been engaged - he still needs some manual assistance to adjust his course but it at least gives you a bit of a rest from being on the wheel all the time.

0730: BA up. Captain down. Sun coming up. It could be a sunny day. Looks like the high is starting to fill in.

1010: the wind has picked up 10 - 15 knots. Jib is out. Motor is off. Captain has arisen. Soup is on. That left over Mulligatawny soup sure tasted good! 

1315: keeping an average speed of 6 - 6.5 knots. Blue sky. We were rocking. 

Abeam the entrance buoy to Fort Bragg's. Decision was made to carry on to San Francisco and take advantage of this high.

As the day progressed so did the high. We had to keep reducing sail as the winds had now picked up to 20 - 25' gusting to 35+. We reduced sail and I went down below. I was just getting into the berth and one of those waves hit, rolling me to port and then flipping me to starboard. The force caused the extension slats (expand the berth from a single to a double bed) to come out and even though the lee cloth kept me from flying across the cabin, it did not prevent me from pushing against the table. The force caused the screws to come out and the table to fall over onto the other settee. No damage to me except for an extra bruise here or there. The good news - remember I mentioned before that a good use for your socks is to store your bottles of wine in them? Well the centre of our table is also our wine rack. It holds 12 bottles of wine. The upper section holds the scotch. And not a bottle was broken!!! So Otto had to steer the boat for a while  David and I tied down the table to be repaired at a later date. Then I went back to trying to sleep in the V-berth.

0330: BA back at the helm. When the gusts hit we were over 8 knots and during one of them I touched 10.7. Time to reduce even more sail. At this point in time we only have the jib out at maybe 10%. It looked more like a big hanky. After my watch was over I must admit to not feeling so well. I had the dry heaves but did not actually get sick. But I took a couple of Gravol and then proceeded to bed, where I actually   slept for two hours solid. That was the only solid sleep in 55+ hours. When it is rough like that you get relieved off the helm and you do lay down but you do not actually sleep but rather fade in and out of this semi-conscious state.

0737: By early morning the winds eased off a little and there was a beautiful pink sunrise. Hey, wait a minute - David - what is that saying pink sky in morn sailors be warned?  Thank goodness it did not prove to be right this time. Our speed was reduced to a pleasant 5 knots and it even settled down enough for me to make coffee and toasted tomato and cheese sandwiches. 

1035: Rounded Point Reyes and you could see the hills of San Francisco.

1422: Into Bonita Channel between the Potato Patch and Fourfathom Bank. So named because of the schooners from Bodega Bay who frequently lost their deck load of potatoes while crossing the shoal.

1530: The Golden Gate Bridge is ahead of us and we are about to go under it. It is a picture post card day for entering San Francisco Bay! Called Paul. Left a message. Called Susan. Left a message. Called Carolyn. Left a message. Called Mom - finally someone to share this moment with. 

I got it on the GoPro and you should be able to view it on YouTube at Cruise of the Confidence: Entering San Francisco Bay Sept. 26.

Lots of boats in the bay. Bit of a race going on.

1629: tie up to the fuel dock to register at ClipperYacht Marina in Sausalito. We had to be there by 1630 before the office closed.

1700: secured at 427 Gate 3. We are dirty and exhausted but we are smiling. It is warm and sunny and we are in California!

First things first - a shower. We grab our stuff and head up to the facilities. Compared to the last couple of places, it was like walking into a five star hotel. Marble and tile and clean! And the wonderful scent of lime tree blossoms - nature's real aroma therapy! Then we went next door to the Seahorse and had an excellent dinner of pasta. No wine - I think if we would have had even a sip we would have done a face plant in our food.

Then back to the boat where we proceeded to sleep for 12 hours solid. I mean - I don't think either one of us even rolled over once.

Cruise of the Confidence 2013-09-13

My cousin Ron was asking about the boat and it reminded me that not everyone out there knows what a Tayana 37 is. So I thought that I might take this time to introduce you to "Confidence". 

They say (those suspicious seafarers) you should never leave port on a Friday the 13th! The topic did come up but we decided to throw caution to the wind and believe the weather forecast. 

0635 sky is Gray

 and the winds are light ESE

It's a parade: needed a turn signal to get in line to leave the marina. The tuna and salmon are in and the fisherman are heading out - counted over 40 that went past our spot before we could slip in. The Honda dealer must be a happy guy for it does seem to be the motor of choice.

The bar is flooding till 0800 with a 1-2 knot current so we got a bit of a push.

0800: full sails with winds ESE at 5 - 10 knots. Otto has been put to work. Must be muffin time!

0845: abeam of Three Arch Rocks

0934: dolphins are sighted. David is going to start up the water maker and make some water. The winds have died and the only wind we have is the stuff we are generating ourselves.

Seeing a lot of Murre : a black and White Sea bird with a real pleasant chirp. Hoping to find a bird book somewhere along the way to identify and keep track. Del - maybe that will entice you and Carol to join us somewhere along our journey!

1015: abeam Cape Lookout.

Winds 5-5.5 knots Gentle swell with no wind.

About 2 miles south the sand dunes extend inland quite a ways from the beach. Some pictures included but they do not do it justice. 

Whalen island State park bounded by the Sand Creek Estuary. It is a natural estuary opening into the ocean.

It is a popular dune activity area for ATV's but a lot of it is protected as it is a critical habitat for salmon.

Most of the area is virtually untouched ecosystem with woodland, fresh and salt water wetlands, grasslands and rare native sedge lands.

1053: Gray whales sited off the starboard side frolicking in the ocean. Looks like about 5 of them. Yes - I am jumping up and down and squealing! I cannot help it - I just get excited!

1145: Cape Kiwanda where the action of the wind and the waves has formed the cape. Lots of haystack rocks evident.

Captain says that it is time for chowder. We are still motor sailing - on a slow boat to China.

1230: Captain back to playing with the water maker. Salt water pump was closed and as a result the water maker was dripping and not producing any water. Duh! Lesson for the day - look for the simplest solution to solve the problem before assuming the worst. It works perfectly! We can make 2 gallons in an hour.

Observation of the day: I am under the belief that when David is awake it is impossible for him to sit still for any period of time. Not like me who can sit at the helm and look around at all that is around me for hours! So I timed him - 13 sec - and then he is up adjusting the sails, or the blocks, or Otto or whatever.

1410: an IMPORTANT moment - 45*00.00 N - midway between the Equator and the North Pole

1705: put in a call to Carol at the marina. They have a spot for us on J dock. But before we made it in we got a good look at Yaquina Head Lighthouse.

1840: at the dock. All in all a good day for the water maker was working, the auto helm was adjusted and working well and nothing broke or was lost.

We had to spend 3 days, 4 nights at the marina. David wasn't as impressed with the marina but comparatively speaking I did not mind it at all. The showers and laundromat were clean and accessible. They also had the best wifi signal that we have experienced to date. I was able to get caught up on my blogs, Skype my mother, sister Debbie and brother-in-law and Roz.  Technology can be frustrating but when it works it is wonderful.

We went for fantastic halibut and chips at the Rogue Brewery. - it was kind of funky as you had to actually walk through the brewery to get to the pub. We took the free bus loop around town and checked out the marine section of town. Next day I finished my chores 

- laundry, groceries - as it was raining so not much else to do. And David did some maintenance on the motor. Last day I went into town by myself to check out Nye Beach - it was great with some very nice shops - in another life time I would have done some damage there. The road goes right down to the beach so I sat there with my latte and watched the surface - like I'm not getting enough views of water!!!

Tomorrow we are off to ports south. Not sure how far we are going -will be weather dependent.

Cruise of the Confidence 2013-09-10

Ilwaco to Garibaldi (Tillamook Bay) 59 nautical miles

46*18.32N

124*02.35 W

1540: departed Ilwaco to catch the start of the ebb @ 1630. Not a cloud in the sky.

2 foot wind wave on top of a 4 foot swell. Very pleasant with winds NW 8-10 knots.

I took watch from 1900 - 2300. The sunset was the substance of many a photograph. Crescent moon came up. I watched it change from white to yellow to bright orange!

First 3 hours we were averaging 6.5 knots but then slowed for the last hour to 4.5 with winds NW 5 - 10.

2330: David took over and I went to bed and then the shit (sorry Mom) hit the fan. Winds turned southerly, one day earlier than forecasted, 25 - 30 knots.

We lost the dinghie during that ride - pulled the rings right off of the raft. One of those should have, could have, didn't moments when we talked about putting it on deck but never got around to it.

Notification sent to Coast Guard so they wouldn't be looking for a body.

0300: David made the decision to turn around and ride it out until the winds diminished or it got lighter.

Our original plan was to sail through to Newport but we were forced to pull into Tillamook Bay instead.

0700: I took the helm about an hour after we had resumed our course south. That was work. Someone (BRB) told me that it is good to manually steer once in a while, especially in bad weather, so you get a feel for the boat and learn to be comfortable with it. Well there was no comfort but I did get the feel of it. Had one nice wave break over me in the cockpit. I don't believe it even registered with me until the next day. I was too busy concentrating on the compass and keeping our course.

0800: Put in a call to the Coast Guard to get a bar report - favourable with a 2 - 4 foot swell. We're they serious? Don't they look outside? But once we found the entrance buoy and headed in, we discovered that they were correct.

Oil pressure light was chattering again. David had a look at the harness and found a spot where it had been rubbing against the edge of one of the bolt heads that secure the motor mounts, causing intermittent ground contact. David wrapped the harness in a rubber sleeve to solve the problem.

1030: tied up at Garibaldi.

Facilities were not the best. We cleaned out the shower stall on the boat and used our own. Moo rage was $30/night for power and water.

Did not bother going into Tillamook as there was nothing that we really needed. I had already been to the cheese factory and every place in town and most places in the state sold their cheese and ice cream.

The town of Girabaldi satisfied our needs with a fairly decent grocery store, pretty good bakery and home of the Mertle Wood factory.

The Cruise of the Confidence 2013-09-08

Gray's Harbor to Ilwaco: 50 nautical miles

46*54.62 N

124*11'W

 0735: Past the breakwater with seas about 3-4 feet. Almost feels calm compared to what we experienced coming in. Visibility about 6 miles

1130: sun is breaking through and the job is out.

Decided to do some motor sailing in order to time our entrance to the Columbia bar.

SOG is 6-6.5 knots

Course is 160

Winds NW 5 - 10

Seas 3 foot chop

You can just make out the shoreline at about 7 miles.

Nice treat at coffee - I found someone who makes cinnamon buns (frozen) almost as good as mom's! 

So I heated them up in the oven for 10 minutes and they were delicious. Only complaint was the fact that I only bought 2. What was I thinking?

1323: Looking at Long Beach Washington - the world's longest beach though they say. Making great time to meet up with the end of the flood at the Columbia bar.

Made some crab and shrimp chowder for lunch. No cream on board so I had to substitute with milk, sour cream and a touch of butter. Captain have it the thumb's up.

1510: conditions at the bar are light with winds 5-10, seas 2-4 with no restrictions.

Too much rolling to keep the sail full but were eventually able to get the genoa up. Pretty good sail all the way to the mouth of the Columbia - keeping hull speed.

1430 arrived off the Columbia River Bar - conditions were light. Spent some time dodging the dredger "Stuyvesant"

1540: entered the narrow 2 mile ditch between Sand Island and Cape Disappointmnet - so named because The seal hunter, Captain Meares was unable to find the entrance.

1630: arrived at Ilwaco

We found Ilwaco, another small fishing port to be a bit cleaner and better organized than Westport. Moorage is getting cheaper at 16.75/night and 3.25 for power.

Met Steve on another Tayana 37 (1983 version) called the Victoria Rose. Lots of good information on Mexico and other boat related stuff.

I took a bus to the town of Long Beach for a whopping 35 cents. Just to let you know how things have changed for me. I hardly spent any time in the crafty shops - my money was spent in a hardware store buying muffin tins and a cookie sheet that would fit in our oven.

Then I walked down to the beach and started walking back toward Ilwaco. After about 2 miles on the beach I walked up to the grasslands and continued on the walking,biking trail laid out by the parks. 

The mile countdown started at 6 plus I had already walked 2. But I figured if I got tired I could walk up to the highway and get the bus. It was beautiful with the occasional vistas do the ocean and beach. But I was quite tired by the time I made it back to the boat - yes that beer tasted real good!

Next day David decided he wanted to walk up to the lighthouse . I backed out and stayed on the boat to make granola and muffins in my new pans! 

Here are a few pictures of Cape Disappointment Lighthouse. 

The Cruise of the Confidence 201-09-05 to 2013-09-07

Neah Bay to Grays Harbor and Westport Marina: 127 nautical miles 25+ hours

Neah Bay: 48*22.77'N 124*35.29W

0715: anchors up. Seas rippled. Cloudy with blue patches and a bit of fog. Winds light and variable.

Engine hours 2466.8

Some interesting shoreline

0830 Susan we are turning left! Susan we have found the Pacific Ocean. Tatoosh Island - for many days of the year is never visible due to fog. David has been past this island 3 - 4 times and never saw it. So we will count ourselves lucky.

0950: Abeam of Point of Arches and Father & Son: rock protrusions -Washington State's version of  Australia's 12 Apostles.

6.7 knots and Otto is steering a perfect course.

Sun is out. Blue skies. This is Friggen' beautiful!

Engine hours at 2477.8

1500- passing abeam of LaPush but the wind is freshening and the swell diminishing so we made the decision to press on to Gray's Harbor overnight. Unfurled the genoa and set up Otto (we have named the Monitor wind vane steering system) for the downwind run. 

We could not make out one of the west buoys so we went down to the south channel and picked up the buoys there. Winds were moderate and bar was closed to vessels under 20 feet. The seas were a about 8 feet but conditions settled down once we got in between the jetties. The surfers loved it as the swells were quite large crashing onto the sandy beach. 

Arrived at Westport at 0930. It was a bit of a slog for the last part of the run from Neah Bay but we made it. I was not very helpful for most of the run as I was not feeling well. Tums were doing the job until we heard a crash from down below - pantry door latch came undone and there was Raisin Bran all over the cabin floor - along with some other things. After spending a half hour down below sliding back and forth across the floor and picking up the stuff - well let's just say my stomach had enough. One trip to the head and then I was okay. But the captain was fabulous! Engine hours 2498.0 

Dinghy required a small patch as it hit the sharp edge of the wind vane rudder blade.

The Marina: moorage is cheap - $20 dollars plus $4 for power. The Pacific Cruising Guide is fairly accurate but a few things need to be noted.

The visitors pier is #6 and the showers are #17 so expect a bit of a walk. They are located at the boat yard so I would recommend that the women on board do not go unescorted. The only good thing about the showers is the fact that they are free and the water is hot. As David said - Prison showers are probably in better condition. Warning - make sure you have some shower footwear!

Laundermat is run by the local RV park and you will have to ask permission to use it. $10 to do 2 loads. You will make an appointment with Joe to open the doors and set the machines but do not expect punctuality. We had set a time for 0930 but he did not arrive until after 10. You pay him directly - no quarters needed. I guess he had some vandalism on the machines - someone came in at night and removed all of the copper piping from the machines so he is very protective of the laundermat. But this was a good time to get all of my input to the log up to date.

Gray's Harbor is a true commercial and sport fishing town. The place was very busy with sporting charters bringing in their customers with successful catches. Our neighbour Bob on the Malolo from Gig Harbor brought in 24 albacore tuna. 

David was sleeping so I played the inquisitive dumb chick routine - got the guide to show me how to fillet a tuna (you actually skin it). Then Bob said he would trade a tuna for some Bailey's. I think he was kidding - no liquor store close by and he wanted it for his  morning coffee. So I went below - no Bailey's but we did have a bottle of Carolans. So I brought it up and asked if that would do. I was willing to give him the entire bottle but he only wanted enough for the coffee. So he gave me 2 large fillets and we had fresh sashimi for an appetizer to go with our lamb. If I would have had the real thing he would have given me 2 - but we didn't have the room anyway! I like this kind of trading.

Went up to the local restaurant called the One Eyed Crab and had an excellent bowl of seafood chowder. Next day I went to Merino's and bought some crab and shrimp so I could make my own chowder. www.merinoseafoods.com to check out their selection of canned albacore tuna, shrimp, oysters,crab,salmon and sturgeon!

Checked out Harbor Marine Supply otherwise known as Junky's" - the used and new marine store. Virgil was a character - could get you just about anything and knew everything about everything. He gave David some hints to figure out the alarm problem. Success - found a ground fault in the wiring harness which was causing the constant alarm.

Other repairs and maintenance:

     Changed the engine fan belt

     Checked fuel filter bowl - completely clear

     Check starter battery bank

     Put a better door button on the pantry so hopefully no more cereal spillage!

     Reorganized the freezer.

     Removed old Washington license from the pulpit.

Ended our visit with a walk about town taking in the music from the Blue's Festival.

All in all - not a bad visit!

What is a bar? The area where the deep waters of the Pacific Ocean meet the shallower waters near the mouth of the river. Yes it is also a place where fishermen meet to tell their tall tales about the fish that they supposedly caught and drink a few beer. But for now and until further notice I will be referring to the first definition! 

But when you are cruising down the west coast of the United States the bars are no laughing matter and are to be taken very seriously. Good planning is required so that you enter the bar on the end of the ebb or at low slack or on a rising tide. This is contrary to what most books will tell you  - they will say to cross during slack water. But sailboats do not have the advantage of a powerful motor so crossing with a bit of the ebb or flood helps to give you a little push. And always try to do it in daylight as the entrance (so far as we've seen) are not a straight route in. Also the west coast gets a lot of fog so visability can be reduced. But it is nice to know that the U.S. Coast Guard are always available to give you assistance if required. 

As per U.S. Coast Guard:

Do not get caught on the bar during a strong ebb current.

Always know the stage of the tide.

Avoid getting caught on the bar during an ebb tide.

Always wear your life jacket!

We have crossed 3 bars to date and they were mostly uneventful thanks to the planning by my most trusted captain! The Columbia bar was the most active with the surf reaching 8 feet plus. 

Up at 0500 to get ready to leave. I went up to use the head on shore and you would have thought that it was 1 o'clock in the afternoon. There were people all over the place getting ready to go fishing! They do take it seriously around here.

Bar conditions were light. N - NW

Sun peaking through the morning fog was beautiful!

A flock of pelicans and a sea lion escort us out of the marina!

The Cruise of the Confidence 2013-09-04

Port Angeles to Neah Bay: 40 nautical miles 11.5 hours

0730: Left Port Angeles with seas calm, cloudy and no fog (a big deal this time of year) Winds are light

1000: Crescent Bay and I saw 5 pinks jump out of the water at the same time. Then 2 in unison like synchronized swimmers. What a show!

Fog up ahead and the air is moist so survival suit is on

Radar shows a ship 5 miles away but no visual.

Sun is trying to come out!

David has already lost one hat - will keep a tally for this adventure and see how many he loses!

1036: 4 miles from Twin Rivers and the fog has lifted. The sun is out and I am getting my last sightings of Vancouver Island off Sheringham Point. Captain is leaving me on my watch so he can get some sleep. The Olympic Penninsula looks very lush with no snow on the upper peaks. There is a beauty to this that I am not sure that I can describe. It's like me and Confidence have become one with the nature around us. I have no fear or apprehension, just an unbelievable sense of calm (for now) There is a bizarre site at the fog line which I have never experienced before - it looks like the fog is erupting - kind of like Old Faithful in Yellowstone Park. It is kind of weird approaching a fog bank but never actually catching up to it. I guess that is a good thing!

1053: there is a freighter about 3 miles away called the Ultrabulk - I can see him now instead of just a blip on the radar screen.

The water is an oily charcoal grey - shiny like oil but not because there is oil on it.

Keeping watch is the correct term as the auto helm is doing all of the work. That pesky alarm is still making irritating music.

1111: sighted another freighter. Getting a bit of the flood against us. Speed on the display says 5.3 but we are actually doing 4.7 over the ground (SOG).

Also sighted some dolphins. Survival suit has been removed because it is too warm.

Note to all you: for the well seasoned sailors who are following this blog - you may find some of my comments almost juvenile however this focus of the blog is really for those people who are doing this for the first time and for my family and friends so that they get a feeling as to what I am actually feeling as this adventure progresses.So bear with me. 

Like right now - trusting your boat and your autopilot enough to leave the helm and go squirt (pee) might seem like a normal experience for some - for me it turned a normal everyday bodily function into an event, not to mention relief.

Now the freighters are gone. There are no boats in sight - just me and Confidence and the terns and the dolphins and the salmon. It's as if this entire Strait of Juan de Fuca is all mine!

1200: 48o12'N and 123o59'W

Captain arises and he is hungry.

So I made up some Mulligatawny Soup - cheater version. My friend Kelly gave me a deli prepared dried package of soup mix that she obtained from the Red Barn Market in Victoria. For those who are putting together supplies for the galley - this is a great idea. A few additions of whatever you have in the fridge can turn this into a healthy hearty soup. I added some diced chicken, onion, carrot and some canned corn and boxed low sodium chicken stock.. The only mistake I made was not reading the suggestions on the package that said to mix the ingredients and divide in half for smaller portions. So I have ended up with enough soup to feed the marina. I did pass on a good serving to our neighbour - Dan - a blind man on his Norwegion Tug. He was very grateful. This is the nice thing about cruising - helping others out and sharing what you have! Good thing the freezer is working well as this surplus soup will come in handy later on.

1240: Pillar Point by the Fish River

Steering 285 5.3 SOG

1440: Callam Bay

1830: Neah Bay where we discovered not only no WiFi but no cell coverage either. This could become the norm so oven though I will try to post this blog every weekend it may not be possible.

We are anchored with boats from France, Sweden, US Coast Guard and Canada.

Sweet and Sour chicken for dinner because the one chicken breast had thawed. guess this will be the determining factor along with weather as to what is on the daily menu!

Tomorrow will be an exciting day as this is when we turn left and wander into the big Pacific Ocean. To bed early as it. Should be a long day!

The Cruise of the Confidence 2013-09-01

Friday Harbor to Port Angeles: approx. 50 nautical miles

Woke up to a sunny morning. So far the weather man has been wrong! 

The tides were flooding til 15:30 so it will probably be a slow go to Port Angeles. 

Winds are variable with some patchy morning fog.

1025: Left Friday Harbor at a course of 75 E

1048: passing between Turn Rock on San Juan Island and altered course to 155

1405: entered into Juan de Fuca with seas calm and no wind.

We saw a Minky whale and the pinks (salmon) were jumping all over the place. I stopped counting after 22! David said they do that in order to get rid of the sea lice. I was wondering how he knew thar they were pinks? Apparently when they jump they land on their side - is there nothing that this guy does not know?

Things were calm so we decided to practice putting in a few reefs in the new main sail. Good workout for the biceps as I was on the halyard.

1440: the winds were picking up so we put out the jib. We have been having trouble with the alarm on the oil sensor

- alarm comes on when ignition key is on

- once engine starts, alarm 'chirps' at any rpm

-if oil pressure sensor is disconnected, alarm still audible

- oil pressure is OK

- alarm strength varies when boat is rolling

- charge light and water temperature light not illuminating

Til 1830: had a great sail for the last part of the crossing

- that was good as the alarm was starting to drive us crazy!

- arrived at Port Angeles into the Boathaven Marina

- nice docks

- $155 for 5 nights moorage and one night power

- good town to provision

- Safeway about a 15 minute walk

- reminder to anyone calling a cab to use Green8 and NOT Blue Top as they charge twice as much

- no laundry close by

- no WiFi at Marina so had to find a coffee shop

Note to anyone following this blog - WiFi access and sometimes even cellular phone coverage is very sketchy.

I can write this blog daily and was hoping to post once a week but that may not be possible! So just keep checking. And just because you have not heard from us does not mean you have to start worrying. We will try to contact Susan or Carolyn as often as we can and will have to depend on them to pass on the message!!!

Next couple of days we went over to Victoria on the M/V Coho as foot passengers to say our final goodbyes to friends and family. Had a wonderful send off dinner at Bob and Mary's. Pat, Kelly and Roz came over to Lillian's for a final toast and then we had a nice dinner at Ming's with Pat, Carolyn, Paxton, Sadie and Lillian.

Then we hung out with C,P & S for a little longer the next day as I messed up with the departure time of the ferry. It ended up being a good thing as we got to have another look at their new house and play with Sadie. We miss her already!

This was our last view of the Inner Harbor in Victoria aboard the Coho on our way back to Port Angeles to continue on the adventure!