Hi Everyone –
Here is a brief progress report from
Capt. Mike posted 10/13/2013
The sail down the coast from WA to San Francisco was the adventure I hoped it would be. The most challenging section came right at the start, when, at the end of the Straits of Juan de Fuca, we rounded Cape Flannery (most northwesterly point in the US lower 48) and headed south. Our intention was to beat a low pressure system coming into NW Wash. from AK, and get to the NW Oregon coast ahead of it, but Mother Nature had other plans for us. About 5 hours after turning south along the Wash. coast (during which time we had perfect NW winds, 10-15 kts.), the storm hit; the winds shifted to directly from the south, and the seas kicked. As our second night out approached we found ourselves motoring into 25-30 kt headwinds & 8-10 ft. waves, making minimal headway of only 2-3 kts.) We were trying to make it down to Grays Harbor, but after consulting by VHF radio the USCG we moved in closer to shore into shallower water, dropped the anchor and spent a very rough rocky-rolly night at anchor. The next morning, to our great relief, the seas calmed down and the sun came out. We motored into Grays Harbor, dried out, took hot showers, had a good meal. We actually enjoyed reviewing – in hindsight –the thrills and challenges of our first storming night at sea. All agreed that we had done well under the circumstances, standing up to what the sea threw at us, and that our boat, Sea Otter, had done very well indeed. It was one of those experiences, that, while certainly not enjoyable or comfortable one, was worth going through and a good learning experience. We were never in any serious danger and were pleased and proud of how we handled ourselves.. After finishing dinner and refueling at Gray’s Harbor, we headed out for another night at sea -- in much calmer conditions – and resumed our travel south. Unfortunately, although the storm had subsided and the seas had calmed down (which was good), for the next two days the wind continued to come from the south --- instead of from the northwest -- where it typically blows from this time of year. As a consequence, instead of sailing we did a lot of motoring coming down southern Wash. and the north coast of Oregon. That was little disappointing (and more costly, due to fuel consumption), but still a big improvement. After the rough first couple of days, we weren’t complaining. With the relatively calm seas were able to prepare and enjoy some good meals, and get some good sleep.
During the whole trip down the coast
from Cape Flannery to San Francisco the only harbors we went into for overnight
stays were Newport, OR and Bodega Bay, CA (40 miles north of SF). We
stayed two nights at Newport, waiting out a day of bad weather. That was
a good move. We had a good rest and a fun time during our one layover day
in Newport. For me the best part of the day was having dinner at the
Rouge River Brewery with two of my crew, my son, Martin, and Doug Welch, my old
buddy from public defender days in Sacramento. (Our 4th crewman, Peter,
from Bend, did not join us. He opted to stay and rest at the
boat). Mart, a craft beer expert and home brewer, enjoyed trying a
great many of Rouge’s brews, and I joined him. The food was also
good. But the best thing was just relaxing with good pals, having fun at
a cool bar with a great ambience. The Rouge Brewery bar/restaurant is in
the attic of the main brewery building, which is a large old wood warehouse
bldg. It’s located on the south side of the harbor near the OSU marine
science facility. We took the bus over to the “south beach” area, where
the brewery is located, and a taxi back to the marina, so
didn’t have to temper our night of serious beer drinking. It was a good
way to celebrate making it through the first two tough days of voyage.
Between Newport and Bodega Bay we went briefly into harbors twice, first in to
Crescent City for fuel and dinner, and then at Eureka to drop off Mart.
He had to jump ship at Eureka in order to make sure he would get back for
work in time. His mother Barbara (my ex wife) and her husband drove over
from Sacramento to pick Martin up and he flew home from
Sacramento. Regrettably (at least for Mart), after he departed the
weather turned nice and the wind shifted to a northerly wind, which meant we
could finally sail. After leaving Eureka, the NW wind
was very strong (25 kts, with gusts to 30) going around Cape Mendocino,
but that was expected (and good, since we were not heading into it) and made
for an exciting day of sailing. After getting around Cape
Mendocino, the final stretch from Fort Bragg down San Francisco Bay was close
to perfect. Sunny days (except for morning fog) and winds in the 10-20
kts range coming from the W and NW. On our 8th day from
the day we left Port Townsend, WA, sailing into San Francisco Bay, through the
Golden Gate and under the GG Bridge, on a bright sunny day, was a total
thrill. All things considered the entire WA to SF trip was a good
one and Sea Otter did great. For me, first substantial ocean voyage as
skipper was a great learning experience and confidence builder -- plus mostly
fun. And my crew was great. Doug’s wife drove down from Sacramento
and picked him up the evening of our arrival and a friend of Peter’s, who lives
in the Bay area, picked him up the next day.
2. STAY IN SF BAY AND THE AMERICA’S
CUP.
The marina where we stayed in SF Bay was Grand Marina in
the City of Alameda on the Alameda Estuary. I was there alone for the
first few days, and then Ben flew down to join his “Ole Man.”
Alameda turned out to be a neat place to stay. It’s located on an island,
Alameda Island, on the Bay southwest of Oakland. It’s a small
town located in the middle of an metropolis. And it has
a real small town feel to it – a very friendly almost Bend-like feel, except
with a greater mixture of ethnicities. Ben and I enjoyed week and a half
together in Alameda, during which I finished getting Sea Otter outfitted for
heading south to Mexico (installing a wind-vane steering system and a
solar electric system) and Ben got started on his Oregon Connections Academy
remote schooling program. We also went to a Giant’s game (taking the
ferry direct to AT&T Park from Alameda) and to the Cal v. Ohio State
game. And then the coolest of all was watching the America’s Cup race
finals between Oracle USA and Emirates New Zealand. The AC Race Regatta
started out as a big dud, with N.Z. taking an 8 to 1 race lead (needing to win
9 races to win and take the A. Cup off to Auckland), after which, against odds
of historic proportion, the Oracle USA team won 8 do-or-die races in a row, to
keep the Cup in the USA. It was an epic comeback victory!
According to the race commentators, the GREATEST SERIES COME BACK WIN in sports
history (outdoing the Red Sox’s 4 wins in a row comeback victory over the
Yankees in the ALCS a few years ago). And Ben and I (and at times with
few other folks) were there on the water watching several of the races, and we
were there in America’s Cup Park on the SF waterfront for the final race win
and victory celebrations. It really was an exciting AC Cup ending for SF
and for great fun for me and Ben personally, to be on the scene and part of it.
3. SAIL SOUTH
FROM SAN FRANCISCO.
Friday Sept 22nd Julie flew down to Oakland, after finishing up the move out of our house
in Bend (we’ve rented it out during the time we’re gone). Then with her
help we finalized provisioning and fitting out of Sea Otter and last
Thursday headed off down the Central Calif coast. After sailing
out of SF (spending our last night docked at Pier 39 on the SF Waterfront
– serenaded all night by an army of Calif. sea lions), we spent our
first night moored at Half Moon Bay, and then a night and day at Santa
Cruz. While in Santa Cruz, Ben – and mom and dad too –got to ride the Big
Dipper – the 4th oldest wooden roller coaster in the US (which
dad first rode in the late 1950’s when he was a young boy living in Gilroy,
just over the coastal mountains from Santa Cruz). Day before
yesterday, we left Santa Cruz harbor and sailed through the down the Big
Sur coast to San Simeon Cove, where we anchored for breakfast looking up at the
Hearst Castle, perched on a mountaintop. Around noon we sailed the 25
miles down the coast to Moro Bay, where we spent last night. A friend,
Mary Main, (with whom we sailed in Italy in 2008), who lives in Cambria
(on the coast just north of Moro Bay, picked us up and took us to dinner in San
Luis Obispo. The next day was a respite day today moored at the
Moro Bay Yacht Club. Then Marty picked us up to spend the
night at her The next day’s weather forecast was for a storm coming
through with high winds off Cape Conception, which is a major barrier for our
sail south to Santa Barbara. So the next day we stayed put at Marty’s
house for a second day of shore leave. The marine forecast for the
following day, Thursday, 10/10 was good one (NW winds, 15-20 kts, 3-4
foot seas), so we left Moro Bay Thur. p.m. sail around Point Conception during
the night in calm conditions and came into Santa Barbara the Friday
morning. Now, after two nights in Santa Barbara, it’s on to the
Channel Islands, Santa Catalina Island, Oceanside, and finally San Diego by the
17th of Oct.
On Oct 28th we will set sail from San Diego for Cabo San Lucas and La Paz, Mex. It’s been really neat to
experience all these Calif. Coastal communities for the first time -- coming in
from the sea, instead off from the land.
I’ll do my best to post further progress reports as we proceed south on our sailing adventure.
Warm regards,
Capt. Mike
