After putting the boat back together this morning, saying goodbyes to Rachelle's parents and siblings, we headed out of Newport Oregon, and made our L turn for Coos Bay. We are planning for an overnight sail with winds increasing to the mid 20's through the night. Fog just caught us, so of course, radar running. Our plan is to get to Coos Bay at first light and hopefully have a reasonable entrance at the river bar. The tide should be flooding all morning, which would be favorable for us. Our boat on the other hand is flying along well, with easy 6kt + boat speeds, and speed over ground into the mid 6's. This will get us in a little early, so again, we find ourselves killing time. This is very counter to my racer intuition background. I believe the crew has started feeding me various drugs to stop my jitters.

I think the drugs are also making me see whales because they have been hopping around us all day. We've had about a dozen very large, gray in color whales hopping and smacking their tails on the water in our vicinity, which has made for some great viewing.

All is well with the crew, the ride is comfortable, and the boat is much happier sailing than motoring. We've put one reef in the main in preparation for nightfall and the forecast of building wind. Didn't decrease boatspeed much, still doing steady 6+'s and the boat has its happy hum.

Well, I'm off to bed, midnight watch is coming soon.