Home Sweet Home

Well, we made it. The final night was a little fogging but ok.  The sails were doused in the evening as the wind slowed and the engine was started.  I was planning to arrive no sooner than 09:30 a.m. at the jetty for the start of the flood tide, so we slowed the engine for a SOG (speed over ground) of 5.0 knots.  As we got closer to Coos Bay we heard the bar report as fishermen were calling the Coast Guard and it was favorable. So we revved up the engine to a normal cruising RPM and were able to arrive at our slip at 09:00.  I had planned to fill up the diesel tank before tying up at the slip but we were to tired.  After making sure Summer Place was tied up securely, we took showers and then laid down for a well deserved nap.  We made it home safe, the boat preformed very well, we performed very well.  I am ready to go again to a different place and a new adventure.
Sometime soon.....................

Total Stats:
Days: 52
Total Miles: 1,448
Average Miles per Day: 27.8
Total Engine Hours: 224
Total Fuel: 254.5 gallons
Gallons Per Hour @ 6.5 knots @ 1,900 RPM: 1.1 GPH
Total Gasoline for Dinghy:  8 gallons
Total Water Maker Hours: 73 Which equals about 1,350 gallons of fresh water made
Total Nights at Anchor: 41
Total Nights at Marina: 9
Total Nights on Passage: 2

Pacific Ocean

08:30 Anchors away, mild amount of sand, but no problems. The Bay was clear but as we left the bay the fog engulfed us. The GPS and radar worked well, and we also followed a commercial fishing boat for a while. We motor/sailed untill midnight, then turned off the motor, and have been sailing ever sense. We have seen some wildlife: 2 Whales, small pod of dolphins (that came up to the bow and played for a while), sea gulls, and a few albatross flying around. The seas are quite lumpy, with 22 knot winds, 10' swell every 7 seconds (very steep), and wind waves galore. It makes it hard to do anything but sit. Susan and I take turns being on watch up in the cockpit, while the other one rests or sleeps. Auto, our autopilot has done the majority of steering, but yesterday while susan was on watch, he just shut off and said no power. This was a complete surprise to both of us as the boat rounded up into the wind faster than Susan could get back to the helm and self steer. All is good now, just turned off and on the circuit breaker to the autopilot and Auto was once again happy steering the boat. Last night was very interesting, for as the sun set the full moon rose. No fog or clouds to obscure the moon light, as it bounced off the waves and into the cockpit. We did encounter crab pots, and commercial fishing boats during the night. I did turn away from one of them as they were getting to close. Susan wanted you to know that as a large ship gets closer and closer it looks like the Sun is coming up, with all their lights. It was a long night with all the rocking, one is not able to stay put in their bed. Today, still rocking with 22 knot winds, big swells and lots of white caps. We were able to see mount Olympus with its snow covered peaks. And today we can see the hills along the shore from 22 miles out to sea. We traveled 175 nm in 24 hours with about half sailing no motor.

Stats: GPS 45.09.613N 124.31.016W, Sea Temp 55.4, Air Temp 62, Wind Speed 19.2 knots.

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Port Angeles / Neah Bay

August 18, 2013

We're here in Port Angeles for another night at dock. Brad is getting the boat ready for the last leg of our trip, cleaning and changing filters. I'm taking a walk into town to get provisions. It's a warm day and the little bits of shade are appreciated. It's a long walk, two hours, including shopping time. Brad talked to some boaters last night who were in the Coho hoho and then had to drop out. The Coho hoho which began a few days ago in Seattle, goes to San Diego. Some boaters are as far as Eureka. We're hoping to have better winds at this time. Another boat came in from Canada today. They are also going down the coast, a day later than us and about twice as far off the coast. We called for pizza delivery tonight, yum.

August 19, 2013

Up and off the dock by 05:00. It is still dark. There are bright lights from town and the ships at anchor which don't help our night vision. When the sun finally comes up, we have good visibility until we get close to Neah Bay, and have low fog with less than four miles visibility. We each take long breaks from the cockpit. The wind is 2-8 knots mostly on the bow. The current is ebbing and we get as much as a 3.5 push. At one point we run into some seaweed that fouls the prop. A few trials of reverse seems to shake it loose. Anchor down at 12:30 just off the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, where we anchored last year. There are some boats at the marina, but we have the bay all to ourselves, with the exception of a couple Makah canoes that cruise by during their evening workout. Today's stats: sea temp 48.9, engine hours 7.5, nautical miles 46.9, total trip miles 1,145.6, GPS coordinates 48.22.402N / 124.37.068W.

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Port San Juan / Port Angeles

Friday, August 16, 2013
Left Effingham Bay in Barkley Sound at 08:30. The vacation part of the trip is over. The rest of this voyage will consist of long days and some overnight passages. It is still raining. The good thing about the rain is that it limits the amount of fog. The sea is not too rough. It helps when we are going with the swells and the wind. We're taking turns taking breaks from the cockpit. There are odd jobs to do. Brad cleans the bilge filter. I read some. Brad watches a DVD. Our course is fairly long and straight. The coastline curves in and back out again. We arrive at Port San Juan at about 16:00. There really is no protected place to anchor here. Last year we went all the way into the head and bounced all night. This year we're anchoring just inside in an indentation on the northwest shore, called thrasher cove. There are several tents and hikers camping on the beach. I'm baking brownies and making MacNCheese with hotdogs for dinner. Today's stats: sea temp 54.7, air temp 66, ocean temp 49.3, engine hours 7.5, watermaker 6 hours, nautical miles 45.7, total trip miles 1044.6, rain 0.38 inches, GPS coordinates 40.33.496N / 124.28.120W.

Saturday, August 17, 2013
The wind was calm last night, but we bounced from the swells and wakes coming in from the Strait of Juan De Fuca. I'm pretty sure I slept because I remember waking up. Brad doesn't think he slept. The anchor held well and came up clean. We left at 10:30 to catch the flood tide. A few sprinkles and minimal fog. We have set one long straight course from Port San Juan to Port Angeles, but decide to cross the shipping traffic lanes more perpendicularly. We have more than 2 knots in our favor for much of the trip. Turning into Port Angeles Bay we have about 14 knots of wind against us. The Boat Haven is all the way inside. It takes that long to ready the fenders and dock lines. The customs agent meets us at the dock and comes aboard after I get the boat secured. Brad has already called in all our information, so it doesn't take much time to pass through customs. Pushing off of the customs dock, Brad backs out and turns 360 to get us at the fuel dock on our starboard side. We take on 68.4 gals at a price of 3.64/gal. So much cheaper here than in Canada. After fueling we push off the dock again and Brad does another 360 to get us pointed into the wind to dock on our port side for the night. 16:30 Today's stats: water temp 54.1, air temp 57, sea temp 49, engine hours 7.7, nautical miles 54.1, total trip miles 1098.7, GPS coordinates 48.07.504N 123.27.076W. We have water and electric at the dock for 0.86 per foot. The internet costs 5.95 per day.

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Effinham Bay, day two

Waiting for the winds to change. We take the dinghy to shore. A sign at the trailhead warns of wolf activity in the park system. It is hard to image running into a wolf on a small island in the middle of all this water. I decide not to find out and get back in the dinghy. After a ride around a nearby island we head back to the bay. A Nordhaven has anchored about 100 yards from out boat. We stop and chat with the occupants who are from Portland. After lunch we take the Monitor Wind Vane off the arch and reinstall it on the back of the boat. With Brad in the dinghy and me on board, the installation goes well. Now that the wind vane is on the stern, the dinghy needs to go on the bow. This is where we kept it all the time last year. We're getting the boat ready for the ocean voyage. Sheets and lines are tidied, the steps and dinghy are lashed to the deck. All we need to do is rig the wind vane. The wind vane is an alternate method used to steer the boat. At 20:00 temperature is 61. The humidity is high, so it feels warmer especially when he sun is shinning and the wind is calm. Getting a few sprinkles this evening. All is well.

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Effingham Bay

Woke up at 5 this morning to the sound of the four fishing vessels getting ready to depart. We didn't leave dock until 11:30. It was a little tense coming out of Robbers Passage. The tide was ebbing and the course tight. I could see the bottom from the bow. Brad said the minimum depth he saw was 20 feet. It just started to sprinkle as I was bringing in the dock lines and fenders. We're heading down Treavor Channel and over to Bamfield. Bamfield looks very interesting and might be a nice stop over spot if it weren't raining and we didn't have other plans. We're thinking of making out last stop in Barkley Sound at Dogger Channel which is a little area west of Diana Island. We had planned to stay here last year, but had to shorten the trip, so it was cut. The wind has picked up to about 17 knots at times. The weather is calling for gale warnings in this area. The predominant wind will also be coming from the southeast for the next couple days which really isn't what we want to head into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. We alter course for Effingham Bay which a proven good ancorage in a storm. There are already two sailboats tucked into the spot we had wanted, so we anchor a little further out in good holding ground. We are joined later by another sailboat and three power boats ranging in size from 26 to 96 feet. Today's stats: sea temp 57.7, air temp 60, rain 0.47 and counting, engine hours 2.6, Nautical miles 14.4, total trip miles 998.9, GPS coordinates 48.52.507N / 125.18.469W.

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PAYC, Robbers Passage, Barkley Sound

Good night at anchor. The weather looks promising. Leaving at 10:30, we head south across Mayne Bay, then turn east past the Pinkerton Islands. We set the sails to cross Imperial Eagle Channel. We're going slow enough to fish. I'm able to get a short video of Brad bringing in his catch. When we near the far side we tack back out and then back in to shore so we can get a little more water made while we are moving. We tuck into a small bay on Tzartus Island just northeast of Marble Cove. This area is nearly open to the swells rolling in from the Pacific. The anchor seems to hold at first, but when Brad tests in further, it gives way. When we pull the anchor up, it is loaded with kelp. Moving on to Marble Cove, the area is large, but not very inviting with a marine farm on one shore and crab pots set every other place. Next we head to Robbers Passage. The Port Alberni Yatch Club has a small marina there off Flemming Island. At 15:00 we are greeted by two members at the dock who catch our lines. The moorage fee is only a dollar a foot. There isn't power, but they do have chlorinated creek water if you need it. There are extensive trails from the docks onto Flemming Island. Instead of getting the dinghy out, we walk the trails and are treated to old growth forests with dense foliage, and some lovely vantage points. We are lucky to have this spot for the night. A group with three boats from Bellingham have reserved much of the space. We heat up the Tex Mex Chicken Casserole for dinner. Aside from hamburgers, hotdogs, and fish left to grill, I have only two more meals left in the freezer. It is quiet now except for the creek of the fenders against the dock. The twilight is beautiful with the silhouetted mountains. Today's stats: sea temp 58.5, air temp 64, engine hours 3, sailing 90 minutes, watermaker 4 hours, nautical miles 20.5, total trip miles 984.5, GPS coordinates 48.53.380N / 125.07.056W.

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Bazett Island, Pipestream Inlet, Barkley Sound

Wow, what a day! We awoke early to thunder. We placed our hand held electronics in the oven and in the microwave in the event of a lightening strike. As luck would have it, that didn't happen. More rain this morning, 0.44 inches. The plug is out in the dinghy and we can hear it draining when the boat rocks to port. We leave our very pleasant anchorage at 10:30. We only have 6.5 miles to travel today, but since we are low on water, we have decided to take a side trip up and down Pipestream Inlet while the watermaker runs and the batteries recharge. The Inlet is deep and bordered by high mountains lined with trees and rock cliffs. There are a couple pretty dramatic land slides. We're going slow. It is comfortable to be on the bow while Brad steers from the cockpit. I motion to Brad that I see a waterfall, and I think he says, "look at the deer". What he really says is "look at the bear". It's our first Black bear sighting. Brad steers closer to shore and I start taking pictures and videos. Brad gets a few photos and videos too. After quite a while the bear heads back into the woods and out of sight. Coming out we also stop to take pictures and a video of another very respectable falls. At 14:30 we arrive at our new anchorage in the south west cove behind Bazzett Island which is at the mouth of Pipestream Inlet. It is very nice here. The water is so clear we can see all the way down to the anchor bridle and a bit further. Hardly another boat anywhere. It is still overcast, but very calm. We put the dinghy in the water and head across to the other side of the channel. There is a place called Lucky Creek that is worth a visit at high tide. The creek meanders back and forth for a mile or two. There is an old growth forest on either side with low hanging branches touching the water. At the head of the creek is a beautiful rock cliff and waterfall. More pictures and a video. We leave before the tide ebbs and traps us in its shallows. For dinner we have some more of that fabulous salmon that Brad caught. Today's stats: sea temp 60.3, air temp 66, engine hours 4.2, nautical miles 22.3, total trip miles 946.0, watermaker 8 hours. GPS coordinates 49.00.912N / 125.18.368W.

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