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.
Seems so relaxing, you are just like regular tourists not like your sail out of Ilwaca!
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