First Leg of the Trip

Well here we go!  We closed our business and are ready to start some new adventures. While the house that Ralph is building in Albuquerque is not yet complete, the weather conditions for a trip down the west coast are right and we are feeling as if we don't do it now, we may miss our opportunity.  We are not getting any younger!  So with visions of Trinidad dancing in our heads, we are starting out by taking our shake down cruise to San Diego. In San Diego we can completely outfit our boat and then continue southward after hurricane season is over. This will be out first blue water sailing experience so neither of us know exactly what to expect.  We shall find out!  

Ralph and I left Olympia on Sunday, August 5, 2007.  Jim and Susie Rolland took us to Inspiration, a 47" Benetteau sailboat.  After a champagne toast, we headed north and spent the first night off Blake Island on a mooring buoy.  We then went to Seattle and docked Shilshole Bay Marina where we continued provisioning the boat.  I was able to spend an enjoyable day with my sister, Kathy, who is recuperating from hip and thumb fractures or we would have gotten her and Don out to join us.  However, she provisioned us with lettuce and basil which we enjoyed for our first week out.

Our friend, Ken Gollings, is accompanying us on our trip to San Diego.  He met up with us at Shilshole on Wednesday and we sailed to Port Ludlow and spent the night.  Then it was on to Port Angeles and finally, Neah Bay.  We have now sailed the wild and feared Strait of Juan de Fuca and the winds were stronger and the water choppier than any we'd had before.  We were discussing our ideas on what open ocean water would be like when we rounded Cape Flattery and Tatoosh Island and entered the Pacific Ocean on Saturday the 11th. The weather forcast indicated NW winds at 10-15 knots but that did not materialize and the mighty Pacific looked alot like a big bathtub. Nonethess, we were sailing the Pacific Ocean and there is no turning back.  

Because there was not much wind, we arrived in Westport late at night and were guided in the river area by beacons and lights.  That was a good "shake out" night landing but we found the dock we were looking for and spent the night.  After a big breakfast, we headed down the coast for Astoria, OR. It was fun to sail past the Long Beach Peninsula and view the landmarks (including our house in Surfside) that we knew from when we lived there. We called several friends who have houses with views of the Pacific and were able to reach Bruce and Patty Wood who saw us going past. Crossing the treacherous Columbia River Bar past Cape Disappointment (so named for the number of sailing vessels that sunk rather than made it past) was the very exciting. The conditions were good but there were still plenty of choppy waves and swells that kept the boat bouncing around.  The mighty Columbia River was flowing to the sea with great force and, thus, impeded forward progress.  However, we made it in good order with much excitement as we experience our firsts on this trip and the boat keeps on floating! 

In Astoria we did some cleaning, grocery shopping and laundry. We enjoyed the view of Jim Reichert's and John Berdes' house and conversations with both of them. Jan and Dick Grambo drove down from Long Beach to treat us all to dinner at Fulio's.

It was much faster to get out of Astoria downriver, but, once again, in spite of favorable wind reports, wind remains elusive. It is much warmer today, August 14, and I am not wearing the typical several layers of clothing. 

So far, so good. It is a simpler way to live-back to basics. Time is different on the ocean and it is impossible to be in a hurry. We find that we can fill a day being gently lulled by the waves and swells, and, before we know it, it is time for lunch, then dinner, then bed. We have spotted a few whales, dolphins, seals, and lots of varieties of birds.  And, of course, salmon and other fish are in seeming abundance.