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.