The Oregon Trail

Days 9 and 10 - Neah Bay to Tillimook Bay, Oregon

Dawn on Wednesday morning appeared with a beautiful sunrise, a promise of things to come.

We left our anchorage at Neah Bay by around 7:15 AM, and motored out once more into the Juan de Fuca strait.  A short time later, we rounded Cape Flattery in light NW winds and moderate seas - probably what one would call "good" if not "ideal" conditions.

As the day wore on, the sun got hot and the seas got a little rough, but generally we were happy with the overall state of affairs.

 

We caught up to the catamaran that had left from Neah Bay a short time before us.  We had a nice chat with them over the VHF.  They are a family of 5, mom and dad and 3 kids, heading directly for San Francisco.  When we passed them, they were motoring with their mainsail up to try and get some stability - I don't think is was doing much good myself.  We did not put up any sails until about noon, when we launched the Genoa to assist the engine - not really enough wind for us to sail at anything faster than about 2.5 knots without the engine.  It was weird seeing the other boat disappear and re-appear as the swell of the ocean was between us - something we had not experienced before.

By 4:30 in the afternoon, the NW winds strengthened and we were able to sail with the Genoa sail alone, at a nice, comfortable 5 knots.  Susanne started getting sick before noon and basically was out if it for the rest of the day, just able to lift her head up every 10 minutes of so when it was her watch.  As the day wore on, the winds kept getting stronger and I kept reefing in more and more of the Genoa to keep our speed between 5 and 6 knots.  This kept up until about 11:30 PM, when the winds died down and I had to motor until about 3:00 AM.  At that time, the winds returned and we were able to sail until about 9:00 AM, when they effectively went away for the rest of the day.

With Susanne not feeling well, she spent the night on the sofa, not really able to come out to play at all.  So, I did the entire night watch myself.  This being our first overnight passage, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was not so bad - quite black out until the moon came up around 10:30PM, but boats and buoys are lit up and easy to see, and the stars give some sense of the horizon.  I think I only saw 3 boats all night.

By morning, I was very tired, and Sue was not doing much better.  She was able to come out to the cockpit and do a watch while I tried to sleep, but my body was not cooperating - I always find it hard to sleep during the daylight, and it was another warm, clear and sunny day.  After some discussion, we decided to scrap the plan for a 2nd overnight passage to Newport, OR.  Instead, we headed into Tillimook Bay (we had already passed Gray's Harbour and the Columbia river bars), which we were approaching  at just the right time (slack water at 6:00 PM), with reasonable "bar" conditions.  We talked to the coast guard and took their advice on using the south hole entrance, with no difficulties.  This particular "bar" has one of the worst reputations along this coast but we did not have any problems - at the time we came across they were not allowing any boats shorter than 24' to attempt it.

You know you are getting further south when you start to see Pelicans.  They seem to be quite plentiful here.

A short motor into the winding bay, following a dredged channel (with the pelican rocks lining the edges), took us to the transient dock at the port.  Lots of room to tie up.  Once we were firmly attached to the dock, we took a short walk into town, located a lively pub, and had a bite to eat.  Sue was feeling a little better and even managed a bowl of soup.  Then to bed for a much needed rest.

{GMST}45|33.405|N|123|54.7095|W|Tillimook Bay, Oregon, USA|Tillimook Bay, Oregon, USA{GEND}