It was a cool and clear morning as we left Victoria Vacht Club. The time was 12.25 - a little later than anticipated. Bruce had to go up the mast to fit a bulb in the steaming light and we had last minute items to stow ( this has been a job that has been on-going from the time we moved out of our house) I am sure that "murphy" seeing that we have so many chattels has seen fit to off-load some of his gear onto ours!! We had some friends who could not make the farewell party the night before come to say goodby and it was a sad farewell waving adieu to loved ones standing on the dock as we motored out of the breakwater.
The weather was calm with a cool breeze , winds light and variable as we motored all the way to Port Angles. We put the genoa up for a little while but the winds were so light we had to pull the sail in. It was great to be out on the water again and the conditions were very benign for the start of our journey.
We arrived in Port Angeles in time for a sundowner or two but first we checked in with the Customs. They were very friendly and unaggressive not bothering to check the boat and only asking if we had any beef on board. They never checked for any booze we had on board which was a good thing as bottles and bags were hidden all over the place! Then a very nice lady on one of the boats at the dock offered to take us to the nearest Supermarket which was Safeway to fetch some fresh groceries.
We left at 3.00 the next morning for Neah Bay . As the day progressed the weather was sunny and mild with very slight winds from the north west. Neah Bay was a quick stop for fuel, showers and water then it was off to Gray's Harbour, Washington. Bruce was looking froward to doing some fishing and it was no surprise when he caught a 10 lb salmon just before entering Gray's Harbour.s What a quaint little town even if it is a bit of a tourist trap. We went round the maritime museum of which the fresnell lens light from the old lighthouse on Cape Disappointment was the highlight. This light was rescued after they put in a modern globe light to replace the old light. We stayed one night and left the next day at 2.00 headed for Coos Bay, along the Oregon coast, This was a day and a half of sailing . We went 25 miles offshore to take advantage of the current. The winds started to pick up so we unfurled the main and the geneo - it was good to see the sails fill with wind and hear Jabula hum with pleasure as she rose and fell with the motion of the waves. Natalie was feeling a little seasick in fact both Bruce and Natalie felt my nataural remedy of giving them ginger pills contributed to the seasickness!! However they did condescend to eat the ginger snap biscuits after bemoaning the fact that I had so much ginger on board!!!
We were on course to reach Coos Bay at 12.00 on Wednesay 26. Bruce had the fishing rod out but no fish , no luck and no lure as later he discovered that he had lost the lure. However he was rewarded the next day when he nabbed a blue fin tuna of huge proportions. I never realised how fat tuna were and how much they struggle when you try to haul them on board !! It is never a simple thing when the Captian catches a fish. First, amid all the initial excitement, the sails must come down then the camera must be brought out, the bunderburg rum must be at the ready ( this is for the fish not the captain and certainly not the crew!) the gaffe near at hand and on top of all this one must not fall overboard as the boat pitchs and rolls with no sails to steady her! It is good that we have the fridge working as we now have tuna on the menu for a while!! We saw a pod of whales which thankfully skirted round us, then later a lone black and white dolphin came to play across the bow of Jabula - I went up forward and was rewarded in getting a clear view of it swimming under the boat. We also witnessed several sea lions swimming along on their backs with the flippers in the air above the water. It was a rather comical sight to say the least. In fact we surprised one who ended up suddenly diving headlong back into the sea then emerging behind us just to make sure we were not about to follow him!
Later that night the fog rolled in and we ended up motoring in a white damp world - it was rather unnerving not being able to see two feet in front of us and wondering how close other vessels were even with the radar on I half expected to see a ghostly galleon emerging out of the mist!! Plus it was very cold so our ski gear came in handy As we approached Coos Bay still in enveloping fog I was at the nav station looking at the radar , Natalie was at the helm and Bruce was looking at the chart and navigating and directing us in over the bar., Thank goodness the sea was calm and there was no wind. We were going well when suddenly a small vessel appeared on the radar just to the right of us. It turned out to be a small pleasure craft with 2 locals - they waved us on and then proceeded to follow us in much to our chagrin as we were hoping to follow them in!!! This is a fishing town with very little charm but we have to stay till Saturday as the weather forecast is predicting SW swells with northly winds , 9ft seas coupled with 30 knot winds. This is happening right in our path down the coast.
Well that is all for now so will end off and continue this at our next destination which is Crescent City in California.