July 7-8.notes
We've passed Astoria and are now following the Oregon coastline 10 nautical miles offshore.
We left Neah bay yesterday at 4 pm after Jessie the mechanic had fixed the motor.
On our way out of the bay, the coastguard ship that towed us came alongside and asked if everything was fixed. When we gave a thumbs up, the captain (who looked 17 years old) wished us safe journey and peeled off. We kept expecting to receive a phone call saying "oh and by the way, we are sending you a bill for the tow for several hundred dollars". Considering we're not Americans and we are in the land of extreme capitalism, that seemed a possibility. but perhaps the USCG is part of government services like SARs, firefighters, and police--it's a free service for anyone in need.
(Now if they could do the same for their medical system..)
Crossing cape Flattery under sunny skies, minimal swells and slack currents was a piece of cake.
The winds were too mild so we motorsailed thru the night.
Chris, Stephen and I rotated four hour shifts which worked really well and we decided to push on for another night to get to Newport.
We turned off the motor and sailed most of the day only starting it up in the evening when the winds calmed.

So far we've seen humpback whales feeding among flocks of pigeon guillemots, and murres,
We don't see any eagles out this far but we've seen pelicans, petrels, sea lions, harbour seals and a shark swimming close to the surface!

We spend a lot of time when helming looking at the ocean. It feels alive because it changes so quickly and so often! Yesterday it reflected the cloudy sky and was black and steely grey. Today with sunny skies, It's all shades of blue-green. When there is no wind the water looks almost oily it's so flat.
And then the wind picks up and so do the waves with whitecaps and swell and my stomach lurches up to my throat. I start every trip wearing a scopolamine patch which cuts the seasickness without making you sleepy like Gravol. The patch is good for 3 days and usually by then my brain and stomach are best friends again. A sailor we met in Tahsis last year with years of experience racing and cruising told us seasickness has never stopped her from doing what she loves. Wearing a patch is nothing shameful, it just means your inner ear, eyes, stomach, and brain haven't adapted to the swells yet. Based on my experience, i should be 100% in a day or so.

Newport ( 350 NM to San Francisco).
People at the Newport gas dock and marina not very friendly. They are understaffed and swamped with guests. It looks like a fishing derby was happening judging by the number of small motor boats.
We ate at the marina pub--expensive $13 so-so hotdogs,,--but the beer sure went down well!


July 9 Saturday
Left Newport at 5:30am. As we followed the narrow channel marked by lateral buoys we were accompanied by a long parade of sport fishermen in their power boats heading out for a day fishing, crabbing or prawning.
.
Winds are still light but now they're coming from the west (rather than from the south east and straight at us). Both sails up. Swells 1-2ft . It is sunny and warm. No fog. The tidal current changes from flood to ebb at 9AM which will give us a little push down the coast until the afternoon.
The motor is running well so we'll continue going slowly and sailing when we can.

We're trying out 2 hour shifts today as we aim for Coos Bay. We'll arrive around 6pm. There are strong winds predicted on Sunday night so we might just hang out in town and enjoy a land day.