End of Downriver Cruise
28 May 2013 | St. Helens, OR
Captain Dave / partly sunny
From Dave:
We had a great 6-day cruise with Freddi and Flo, and were very sad to see it end. The weather was not so great -- typical May weather in western Oregon -- but that did not slow us down too much. After 6 days on the boat, the girls had really settled into life afloat. We were afraid they would get bored, but they really seemed to enjoy the trip and life aboard Elara. What's not to love? The trip was enriched by the company of Andy, John and Leslie on Meriwether, Andy's Grand Banks 42. Dinners aboard Meriwether each evening were full of fun and laughter. Our trip out to the Bar was awesome! The weather that day was mostly sunny, and the waves were modest. We loved the sea lions on Buoy 8, where we turned around to face 5 knot currents all the way back to Astoria! Last night at Batwater Station was excellent -- Karin and Michael were great hosts. Kayaking in Rose Pond was the best -- full of wildlife. The stop is just around half way between Astoria and St. Helens, so it is a perfect place to spend the night. Now we are back at work, and once again Dreaming of Sailing!
From First Mate Mari:
It was a sad day, indeed, leaving the sweet Elara and saying good-bye to the swabs, "Ready Freddi" and "Go with the Flo". After spending 6 days on a boat in the rain, with every article of clothing and every towel soaked, I ask myself how the trip could have possibly been so much fun? There's just something about being on a boat that makes you smile, in spite of any adverse conditions. Those grins from Captain Flip-Flop and Captain Andy are contagious! We shared so many special moments with the whole gang, so many smiles and laughs. There is a feeling on a boat that you can't escape: Don't Worry, Be Happy! And sharing the week with Freddi and Flo was an absolute dream! We are going to miss those girls so much!
A part about boating that always impresses me is the generosity and the "lend a hand" attitude of other boaters. There are those who will run down a wet and slippery ramp to take the bow line when they see us docking in a tight space. There is the teamwork of all crew on board to just make things happen. There was Mr. Kiwi, who invited us to go out on "Miss Molly" to experience the servicing of the huge cargo ships who enter the port. We got to ride on his boat while enjoying hot coffee and home baked cookies, just because we were in the right place at the right time. We learned a lot about the shipping industry and got to hear boating stories from Mr. Kiwi.
There were several highlights on the trip, an obvious one being the friendship and camaraderie shared with our swabs and the Meriwether crew. Every dinner aboard Meriwether was an absolute hoot. Kayaking with the girls in both Astoria and Batwater station was also a riot. I think the girls paddled twice as far as we did as they ziz-zagged around, paddled through the tall grasses and ran into pilings. There was the walk in the tall, wet grass to find the beaver dam, only to find that the grass was too tall to really see anything. We stood on top of the beaver dam and fortunately, none of us fell through the dam, where we could have been eaten alive by a ferocious beaver!
Sailing out beyond Buoy 8 was definitely a thrill, as this was our first "crossing the bar" and we got to share the moment with our friends. Buoy 14 was the furthest we had gone in prior adventures. Yes, the waves were modest, but still big. "Big Waves", as Mari would say! As we enjoyed dinner at the Wet Dog Cafe later that evening, the table and the world around us was still rocking from our day of sailing.
And Oreos, I must discuss Oreos. Did you know they were invented in 1912? Well we had such an Oreo addiction going on that we actually walked 6 miles in the pouring rain (that's no exaggeration) to buy more Oreos. OK, we had some other things on the shopping list but it was an opportune time to stock up before leaving civilization. Obviously, we didn't know how far away the store was or we might have had second thoughts.
All in all a fabulous week. Freddi and Flo did a great job of capturing many of the fun and funny moments we shared in their blog posts below, so please read on (start at the bottom of the page).
Freddi and Flo -- you're part of Team Elara now and we hope you'll come back and join us for some sunny sailing.
Last day on the boat :(
27 May 2013 | The boat
Rain, rain and sun !
Grüß Gott or Coucou !
Today is a sad day, our last day on the boat. We woke up in a station named Batwater where there is a singing fish in the restroom and we arrived in St Helens where Dave and Mari keep their boat. Yesterday we went kayaking, Dave and Mari on one boat Freddi and Flo in the other ! It was pretty funny to watch us apparently ! Freddi had the brilliant idea (or not) to go on a hike to see a beaver dam, the problem was that the grass was taller than us and that it had rain right before we went, so we came back all wet, we could only stand and not see any beaver dam because of the grass !
To conclude this week we can say that we had a lot of fun ! And we would both like to thank Dave and Mari to take the time to take us on their boat and made us discover the columbia river !
P.S. we ate 8 boxes of Oreos or 280 Oreo cookies Haha !
Tschüss or Adieu.
Crossing the bar
24 May 2013 | The Bar
Rainy, windy and Sunny !!
Guten Tag or Salut,
Friday, we went to a trip to a big cargo, to deliver mail and inspect the boat. We went there with Mr. Kiwi from New Zealand. We got to go really close to the cargo ship and it was really impressive. After that we went sailing, with Captain Flip Flop, Mary, Captain Andy, Leslie, John and Swabs Freddi and Flo. Right after the departure we hit a big log ! Fortunately the boat is fine, Dave ask the swabs to dive but they refused. After the log episode we continued our trip to the bar and went to the buoy 8 ! Which is apparently in the ocean. The part where the river meets the ocean is really powerful. We got to feel the waves quite a lot. They were gigantic. We even change the lyrics of the song ''wheels on the bus'' into ''boat on the waves'' (Goes up and down). Freddi and Flo had a lot of fun laying down on the bow and they just followed the flow ! We got to sail without the motor for about 2 hours. On one of the buoy we saw sea lions, and Freddi (nice like always) said to Flo that they are really aggressive and that they could jump on the boat, which made Flo run away, inside the boat. Coming back to Astoria we went out to dinner to the Wet Dog, we all had fish and chips and it was really good. That is pretty much what we did on Friday !
Bis Morgen or A demain !
More adventures in the rain !
23 May 2013
Freddi and Flo / Raining Hard!
Hallo or Bonjour !
Today, Thursday, was wet, really wet. We went from Cathlamet to Astoria. We got the chance to do some sailing, even though the wind wasn't great. Freddi was really happy with all this rain, she felt that she was back to Germany for a while, but now she is ready for sunshine again. We saw some sea lions ( first time for Flo!). Freddi and Flo sat in the rain for a while and to get them warm again captain flip flops (dave, who wears flip flops all the time not bothered by this rain!) is going to introduce them to some of the best cinema on the boat, the Goonies. While we are writing he is playing some guitar singing his favorite song "Hog calling time in Nebraska".
See you tomorrow for some more updates !
Bis dann or à bientôt !
First day on the boat
22 May 2013 | Cathlamet Washington !!
Rain,Rain, Rain, Raining hard.
Hi everyone it's Freddi and Flo or Flo and Freddi !
We are right now in Dave and Mary's boat in Washington state for the first time. Freddi had so much fun today getting wet and Flo had so much fun staying dry. We have been eating Oreos since breakfast so sorry to all our host families but Dave and Mary are the best host family we found ! ( Just Kidding, or not ?). We had a lot of rain today, like a lot ! Which Freddi was pretty happy about at first. Because it was raining we already watched two movies, Overboard and Captain Ron, with which we have been promoted to Swabs. Dave promised us to become mate by the end of the trip if we behave well ! Dave initiate us to Jimmy Buffett especially to the song Margaritaville.
Aufwiedersehen or Au revoir !
Rotary Exchange Student Cruise
22 May 2013 | St. Helens to Astoria
Mari Latimer / Forecast rain
We are off on our first adventure of the season on a downriver cruise to Astoria. We are joined by two Rotary Exchange students, Freddi (from Germany) and Flo (from France). Also joining us, on his Grand Banks 42, is Andy Jordan (aka President Andy) and two friends, John Ralston and Leslie Hara Schick. Unfortunately the forecast is RAIN, but we're determined to make the best of it.