Ship's Log:

9/26/2013:

Left Newport, Oregon at :1200 heading south again. Trying to stay ahead of a low coming in and down on us. It is expected to cover the Queen Charlottes all the way down through Washington, Oregon and into California. It's pretty clear at this point that we can out run it. It is expected to hit Saturday night. We will get as far south as we can and then find a hidey hole until it is safe to venture out again.

Still motor-sailing. Little wind. The seas are down to 10 feet. Running at about 6 knt or 120 nm a day. Shooting for Eureka, CA but will probably duck in at Brookings or Crescent City. Everyone is settling in to the routine of 24/7. We run 4 hour shifts at night 8-12; 12-4 and then share the day every couple of hours. The Autopilot does most of the work. Solar panels are working great. Hydrogenerator (prop in the water) will handle everything, but don't run it with engine on--the Balmar alternator produces enough. It's a treat not to have to worry about power at all.

Always some glitches, the SSB for offshore communications isn't operating properly. The computer crashed and dumped the program. I had reloaded it again and worked with it with Bob (fellow cruiser in Neah Bay) but still not up to snuff. Can really deal with it with the engine and systems running due to interference. Right now I'll put aside the frustration and just relax and count whales.
Updates when wi-fi is available right now (when we come into a port and are able to hook up. Sometimes the phones work for email, but those buttons are a challenge with a rolling boat.




9/27/2013

Passed Coos Bay during the night. Fishing boats out all over. Huge lights. Most don't have AIS or apparently good radar reflectors. Easy to see them but hard to place their location. 1mile, 3 miles, 10 miles. Navigating by instruments at night is a challenge. We are grateful and surprised that we haven't had any fog.
Just rounded Cape Blanco this am. Pillars of stone sticking out of the water off shore. We have moved in from 90 miles out to 7-10 miles off the coast. Doesn't seem to make a difference in the ride anymore.

9/28/2013
Heading south through the day and night. Very flat and clear. A little disconcerting because we know the west coast gale is going to catch tomorrow. We had a big discussion as to whether to drive south around Cape Mendicino and then to Budago Bay or to whole up in Eureka and wait 8 hours for the storm to hit. We were conservative and elected Eureka in Humboldt County. We arrived outside the bar at about 2 am and waited for daylight to enter at 7am.
All went well at the crossing. Got fuel. Still motorsailing due to lack of wind. Staying at Woodley Island in the bay. Had showers and nice dinner. Early to bed to catch up on sleep.

9/29/2013
Bought breakfast this am. Ciro and I headed into town to watch the Seahawks. Great result; ugly game at least for the second half that we saw. We will wait until tomorrow to leave again and drive south to SF. The weather is just a little north of us, but the big swell (up to 20 feet) will run out for 24 - 36 hours after the storm and the wind will be coming at us from the south. Where are the normal northerlies when you need them.