Pointing the Bow South
Saying Goodbye is Such Sweet Sorrow...
The last weeks in Anacortes and the San Juan islands had more visitors, sailing adventures, preparations for the upcoming ocean voyage, and even Orca sightings! Here is a photo overview. Yes, those Orcas were so close to the boat. Had one swim less than 50' off my bow. How incredible!
Sept 11th with two crew, Marie and Tara, on board Wahine Toa and I bid farewell to Anacortes and Washington State. Visibility was extremely restricted due to the horrific fires burning in Oregon. A low pressure system developing on the ocean kept sucking the air up from the south bringing with it smoke and stories of homes, towns, and lives lost. I felt fortunate to only have low visibility to contend with.
Heading out required us to cross the Strait of Juan de Fuca. I consulted the current atlas then chose a time that would see a favorable direction. I discovered that the current atlas sometimes lies!
We motored the whole way across the strait, bucking into 3-4 swells, and making poor time. This had us using more fuel than I had wanted to. To refuel and wait for the next shift in the current we ducked into Port Angeles. No biggie! We were lucky to have the option.
After 8 hours we were ready to go again. We continued to motor west to the Pacific. Unfortunately we continued to have winds right on our nose. The joke had already begun... "How do you know which direction the wind will come from? Because it comes from the exact direction you are headed!" This is not helpful for sailing. This time we got the current prediction correct and it was helping us along. Before we knew it we were out in the ocean making a left to head south.
It took us 4 days total to get out the strait and past the Washington coast. Some sailing took place however due to the unusual southerly winds we had to tack out in a southwest direction then motor sail back towards land. The seas were a bit rougher than we had expected which made it difficult fo the auto helm to keep us on course so we had to hand steer a good portion of the time. We were using more fuel than I was comfortable with, making slow time, and the fun factor was steadily declining. After making it 20 miles south of the mouth of the Columbia River, which I wanted to steer clear of because I didn't want it sucking me back in, I decided to turn us around and go back to Astoria to wait out the weather. Darn it! Yet, this detour reminded me that I had once promised myself not to push on in a rush but rather to stop and enjoy each step in the process. It felt like a necessary reminder.
Maria and Tara had timelines that prevented them from continuing on to San Francisco with me so they stepped off the boat in Astoria. I really hated to see them go. Those two were so stalwart and patient with me as a new offshore skipper. And, here I had to say good bye to my first offshore crew.
Being back so close to Portland had great perks. My bestie picked me up to take me to Portland so she and I got to spend a good amount of time together. Then I rented a car and drove around seeing other friends, my kiddo once again and running errands.
On top of that there were the gifts Astoria had to offer as well. From meeting some friends of a friend who helped me out with a couple of boat projects to meeting another friend of a friend who came down to say hi and talked me through my bar crossing exit strategy ensuring I was on the right track to make it out safely. Turned out getting sucked back into the river wasn't a terrible thing after all.
As fortune would have it I did, however, have two more crew lined up for the hop from Astoria to Newport, Or., just 100 nm down the coast; one guy from Seattle, Sven, and a friend of mine from Portland, Rosario.
So after spending 5 days tied to the dock in Astoria my new crew arrived and on Saturday the 19th we departed the dock, crossed the Columbia River Bar and turned south once again for the next leg of the journey.
This time sail was incredible! While in Astoria I met a couple of guys who helped finish setting up a self steering mechanism that uses the wind & its own rudder with lines attached to the helm to keep us on course. That was a huge blessing. Out on the ocean we were met with southerly winds again but more out of the SE which was better and calm seas. We were able to sail 3/4ths of the way to Newport. It was an overnight trip taking approximately 31 hours. We landed safe and sound at the Newport Marina and RV park around 7:45 pm.
Here I will wait for a big low pressure forecast to come our way and move past before making the next hop down the coast. Sven is still onboard but Rosario has returned to Portland. We may have one another crew member coming along. We shall see.
Until next time...
Much love to you all,
Cheryl