Five days ago the NWS thought Sunday would be a reasonable day. We had originally considered the trip up the coast to begin today, but over the past 2 days we are again reminded that the best government computer models aren't much better than flipping a coin. Today there are gale warnings up the coast for a significant southerly storm. Here in the marina we are clocking steady winds at 23-25, with gusts over 30. The outside temp is about 48, with a wind chill of 41. Rain is just beginning, but it's going horizontally.
Earlier today, before the rain started, we walked into town, up the hill, and climbed the Astoria column. Not a bad outing for senior citizens. But I'm ready for a little warmer temperatures and a lot less rain!!
This evening Lynel is cooking lemon bars for desert, the boat is warm and secure, and I even have the Sunday paper to read. We will stay right here until later in the week.

After endless preparation, we are finally beginning the adventure. Over the past 6 weeks, many things have been accomplished:
My contract with Peace Health finished 3/26. We moved out of the Kelso apartment 3/30, filling the Honda Odyssey van to the limit. Those things needed for living aboard were off loaded to the boat, but the car was still packed. We are now officially "boat people".
On 4/7, our friends in Longview arranged a wonderful evening at "The Mansion" for wine tasting, where some of the featured wines were from Santa Barbara. Thank you to everyone for a delightful time and for all of the kind thoughts and wishes.
We left for Santa Cruz on 4/9 to visit our daughter Kathy, son-in-law Steve, and grandson Tyler. On to Santa Barbara on 4/11 where we attended to various tasks, unloaded and stored the car, then returned to Portland on 4/21. After more provisioning and errands, we turned in the rental car on 4/26.
This morning we left Salpare Bay Marina at 0900 for a quiet trip down the Columbia to Longview. We will stay at the Longview Yacht Club dock for several days before moving on to Astoria.
The weather has been mixed, with periods of rain, southerly and down river winds, and heavy overcast. I'm not sure how long we may need to wait in Astoria until a good weather window allows us to cross the Columbia Bar and head for the Straits of Juan de Fuca, but we will be patient.

Today was Lynel's birthday. Stormy and rainy again, but yesterday was nice. We spent the weekend at the boat continuing the preparations for Alaska. But we took time off for dinner with friends on Friday, and a quiet birthday dinner at Salty's on the river Saturday. Saturday we discovered Washington Park in Portland, a delightful area of trails and forest. We visited the International Rose Test Garden, and walked through the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
Since our slip is under the approach to PDX, the boat has become covered with a layer of fine black dirt that I believe is from jet exhaust. Spent a lot of time with canvas cleaners and soap, but most of the mess came out OK.
One more week of work, then we will focus more intently on the boating plans for the next 5 months.

This is my initial attempt at a Web Log so please forgive any errors.
After more than three decades in hectic and demanding careers, we are at the point of stepping back, breathing deeply, and moving on to the next phase. In 2004 we took a sabbatical for 6 months and sailed to Mexico with the BaHa HaHa rally. Our Freedom 40/40 Eos was our home for the 6 months, and we will forever remember our adventures. Returning to work was challenging.
As so many aging salboaters before us, we decided to change our boating mode from sailing to a trawler. Our new Eos, a Selene 47, was delivered to Seattle in late 2007. I retired in mid 2008, and we spent several months that summer cruising in the Pacific Northwest. We left the boat in Puget Sound and returned to Santa Barbara where we prepared our house for rental. But as so often happens, circumstances shifted the agenda, and our planned cruise to Alaska had to be delayed for a year.
I was fortunate enough to find temporary work at Peace Health in Longview, Washington, where we are now finishing our last assignment. Last fall we moved Eos from Olympia to Portland, and had our first opportunity to cross the Columbia River bar. We have made many friends in Longview and will always remember our year here.
We will return to Santa Barbara for a week in mid April, then will drive a rental back to Portland. At this time it looks like we will head down the Columbia the last week in April, stay in Astoria until there is a weather window, then make the trip to Vancouver, BC. From there we will head north at a leisurely pace.
Although posting to this blog will be only intermittent, we will try to keep our friends and relatives updated on our location and plans.
More later SKL