(Photo of crew members Katie and Bob after crossing the Columbia River Bar...)

Aquarius is home.... welllll, she is in her slip in Cascade Locks, 20 minutes down the highway from home.

Mark, Bob and Katie left Garibaldi Friday night after repairs were done... just in the nick of time to get out across the bar, I might add! Then they motored through the night and arrived at Astoria way before sunrise so they stood off the bar until the tide was right and crossed from the mighty Pacific to the mighty Columbia River and in to the Port of Astoria!

Whew....

Jess, Louy and I arrived a few hours later and we did the changing of the guard with Bob and Katie taking my car to head back upriver. I looked at Mark and saw he was REALLLLLY tired so was happy to hear that he wanted to wait until Sunday morning to head upriver through Portland and the locks home.

After a good night's sleep, we left Astoria early Sunday morning to begin motoring up the Columbia. It was cloudy and cool so no sailing, just motoring. There was TONS of vessel traffic from large Hanjin container vessels to even larger car-carrier vessels. We also passed or were passed by barges as we meandered upriver.

During the day, the wind filled in and we were able to set the mainsail and motorsail along at anywhere from 5.5 to 6.5+ knots (we had also left at a favourable tide)

We decided to stop for the night next to Sauvie Island just before Portland and relax before making the final push homeward.

Wellllllll, as we were cooking dinner, we prepared to anchor and at the last minute found that the anchor windlass was uncooperative. So we had to circle while Mark called Kent to find out what repair he had made and changed... so Jessica and Louy finished BBQ'ing dinner and got the table in the cockpit set whilst we re-anchored after the quick fix on the windlass. Never a dull moment even while motoring along the river!

After a so-so night's sleep (for Mark and me... the two teens slept just fine, it seems) we got going at 0545 to be sure to get to Bonneville in time for the 1500 upstream lock time.

Monday morning was sunny and beautiful as Mark and I motored along past Portland and through the I-5 train bridge (they have to swing the bridge for us) and past PDX. We managed to have a little wind to help us along especially as we approached Bonneville Dam. Our SOG was slowing dramatically though as we worked our way through lots of current but we managed to get to the locks in time to be told that there was commercial traffic ahead of us. We waited, circling, below the lock and barges headed upstream and a Coast Guard cutter came downstream. We got through the lock by 1600 and motored the last few miles to Cascade Locks to arrive by 1645.

I was glad to have the extra hands on deck through the locks and docking in CL. Jessica and Louy did great handling lines and fending off the boat in the lock and both of them helped get us secured in the VERY tight confines of the marina. Believe me when I say that a 47' boat in that marina is a tight fit! Cascade Locks marina is clean and well looked after so we are happy to be there, really close to home after all the time we have had Aquarius in other locations: Anacortes, Port Angeles, San Fran, San Diego, La Paz....

And now the work begins! Mark has already been back to CL cleaning and organizing and we are heading there again today to do more.

More adventures later... thanks for reading!