Crescent City
10 August 2009
Heidi
We were so happy to have Crescent City to come into last Saturday -- it meant we could get out of the building wind and waves that came up and were forecast to last through today. In our previous trips down the coast we've taken the offshore route and just had to take what came along. Nice change to pull in to a dock and sleep easy with no night watches!
The best part was that it is also an easy entry. No bar conditions to worry about, just a straight shot in after rounding the buoys. We had some pretty gusty winds still, even though it is protected from the nastiness out at sea, but we were also lucky to have friends that had gotten in earlier in the day and could tell us what the conditions were inside and that there were slips available. And, it was the 1st port we've entered without fog since we left Garrison Bay in the San Juans!
It's a fishing boat harbor with lots of character, but the docks are in disrepair following a minor tsunami 4 years ago. It was a 5 foot surge that ripped docks apart and displaced boats. Luckily they just received a FEMA grant to restore the marina. Despite the quality of the docks, we've really enjoyed our stay here. It's also a good price, only $17 a night, including power, for a 35 -37 foot boat. We couldn't use the onshore showers until today when the office opened (M-F 8-4).
It's a short walk to town where there's a couple good grocery stores (including Safeway). There's a real nice park not far from the marina, right near the lighthouse set out on a small island so we've had some great walks.
So once again, I'd highly recommend this as a stop on a trip south.
We've been watching the weather to plan our next passage which originally was going to be to Eureka where we would wait for a good weather window to round Cape Mendocino -- an area noted for it's high winds and steep seas. Right now it looks like it will be good until Thursday when things pick up again -- so now it's "leave eve" and we'll head for Ft. Bragg tomorrow. Fort Bragg is about 1/2 way between Cape Mendocino and Point Arena (another blowy spot) and we can be there by Wednesday to hopefully tuck in before the predicted heavy winds and seas come up. So the plan is to sit there until things calm down again.
Today's been busy getting ready to go -- doing some laundry, preparing food, entering waypoints, studying charts and gathering weather info. It's been nice to have our friends, Jim and Ellen, on Galatea to share info with on all the weather scenarios.
We're ready to go -- just hoping they don't change the forecasts on us again!