Adventures of Orcinius

11 September 2015 | HOME - Vancouver WA
24 August 2015 | 46 11.4'N:123 51.4'W, Port of Astoria Marina
22 August 2015 | 46 42.0'N:132 09,4'W, 330 West of CR Bouy, Astoria
21 August 2015 | 46 41.8'N:136 13.8'W, 500 West of Astoria
20 August 2015 | 46 22.82'N:140 28.00'W, East end of High
20 August 2015 | 46 22.80'N:140 28.32'W, Middle of High Same as Fish
20 August 2015 | 46 22.79'N:140 28.57'W, Middle of High
20 August 2015 | 46 22.7'N:140 30.2'W, 675 Miles West of CR
20 August 2015 | 45 57.6'N:144 54.0'W, East End of the High
18 August 2015 | 44 38.2'N:147 57.0'W, 1000 NM to Astoria
18 August 2015 | 43 31.0'N:150 28.0'W, 1126 NM to Astoria
17 August 2015 | 41 40.1'N:153 00.1'W, 1200 miles West of Astoria
16 August 2015 | 39 30.1'N:154 53.1'W, West end of the North Pacific High
15 August 2015 | 37 34.5'N:156 00.0'W, 1011 North of Oahu
15 August 2015 | 37 04.5'N:156 23.0'W, 983 North of Oahu
14 August 2015 | 34 12.3'N:157 26.1'W, 800 North of Oahu
13 August 2015 | 31 50.0'N:158 06.5'W, 650 North of Oahu
12 August 2015 | 29 02.0'N:158 51.0'W, 330 North of Oahu
11 August 2015 | 26 32.0'N:158 59.0'W, 330 North of Oahu
09 August 2015 | 23 44.1'N:158 49.4'W, 140 N of Oahu

Gone Trekking and Fishing

25 April 2014 | Great Barrier Island near Port Fitsroy
Another georgeous day
Gone Trekking and Fishing.

Well that is Lisa went trekking and I went fishing.

As I dropped her off at a finger dock at 11 she said she would be back in about 3 hours. Ok so she shows me her Garmin and the trek that showed up on it. As the CROW flies it is three miles. Wow was she wrong. I get a radio call on our little handhelds about 2 saying she was still at least a half hour from the top. About an hour later I get a text on my cell saying to anticipate her arrival at the beach by the boat of 1630 to 1700 and then immediately after that another text saying 1630.

When she finally shows up at the beach by the boat it is spot on 1630... she had to be humping and dumping to make it by 1630. I pick her up in the dinghy and return her to the boat where she immediately grabs a beer, sits for a moment and then proceeds to the shower. I cannot explain her trek so she will have to do that but I do know the crow flew over 12 miles, up and down the hills not the GPS 3.

Now for my fishing. After dropping her off at the finger dock I proceeded towards the fish pens on the other side of the bay about a mile away. Tied up to the line holding the buoys together and proceeded to cast away. The tide was still going out or just at slack so I didn't figure on much success. Over the next couple of hours I caught my fair share of small snapper. No keepers. Then wham, my spin casting rod doubled over. It has 8lb test and is beyond its useful life but here I am with a fish that doesn't want to give up and I can't make a real or reel adjustment that lets the fish take some line. I figure I will lose my first opportunity to catch dinner. Not to be, I landed a very nice 350mm snapper (about 15 inches, get used to the metric). Well the tide was coming in and yes the fish were getting bigger. After catching two more, enough for dinner, and a travelly (what I was using for bait) I called it a day. At least for fishing.

OK it is now about 1400 (2pm) when I head back to the boat. Arrive and shortly after is when I get the call from Lisa and then the text informing me she wouldn't make it back until 1630.

Back to the fish.. Filet them and get them ready for frying. Ended up with about .5 Kilo or 1,1lb. Yep metric.


Before...


After!! Almost missed this one - we were putting away fast and furious and almost forgot to take a picture!

So while waiting for Lisa, I found a good G&T and decided to check out the dive regulators. While in Whangarei and back in November I found a shop that could recert our tanks so I had one of them filled just to have a full one onboard. I proceeded to connect each of the four regulators to the tank and test their functionality. All checked good so then I headed for the dive compressor and made sure that worked.

By the time I finished all that, it was approaching 1400 (4pm) and I started looking towards shore for signs of the trekker. Poured another G&T and as I covered the dive compressor there she was walking towards the beach. A tired wave said come get me. I did and she just walked into the water with her hiking boots on and crawled into the dinghy.

So now it is her turn. However you will have to wait a day.

Lisa now - not waiting a day. Since I have to post pics, am also going to get the hike blog posted! Then I will die on the vine!


So this is what I looked like at the start of the day. Nice and fresh and ready for a little 3 hour tramp - sounds like fun!

So after John dumped me off at the dock and didn't look back, I found myself on private property staring at a sign that said "No Trespassing!" Hmmm. So the owner came down to the dock and had a little chat with me. After we both watched John drive off in the dingy, he finally gave in and said go ahead, just walk on up past the house and you will eventually find the road above that leads to the trail. So off I went, straight UP the hill...


Had a few interesting sites along the way - like this Kauri Dam for getting Kauri timber from up top down to the water.


The trail was well marked and a good walking path most of the way...


Until I came to the first of the KILLER STEPS!! Thousands of them!! No they didn't sit sideways (I can't get the picture to rotate), they headed straight up to the sky and went on forever. For all my Fitbit buddies, I had a 28,000 step day. Quite an accomplishment for someone who sets their daily goal at 5,000. So up I went...


And the reward at the top was magnificent! You could see forever!


I think that is Orcinius in the lower left of the bay. And this is where I had the best reception on the walkie talkies to talk to John, and let him know I needed at least another 2.5 hours to make it back to the beach. Man, did I under estimate this little trek!


And along the way, I ran into this little suspension bridge (actually there were 4 or 5 along the way). Max load of 1 person - but it doesn't tell you max weight!!


But I went for it!! And had a 'shit-eatin' grin the whole way across! Very fun!


A view to the other side of Great Barrier Island.


And finally, back at the boat, our sundowners ended with a little rain shower passing overhead at sunset - leaving us with a beautiful rainbow over the bay.
Ahhhh - a great day!
Goodnight!

Lisa
Comments
Vessel Name: ORCINIUS
Vessel Make/Model: Lagoon 440
Hailing Port: Vancouver, Washington
Crew: John LeDoux & Lisa Danger
About:
Sailing since the mid 90's. Prior to this trip, 4 sailing adventures from Vancouver WA to the San Juan and Gulf Islands in the Straits of Juan de Fuca. Bought ORCINIUS in West Palm Beach Fl in April 2010. Sailed her South through the Panama Canal and back up the West coast to home port. [...]
Extra: Lisa is the real captain. I have never been at the helm when docking or anchoring, she has a great touch to docking.
Home Page: www.orcinius.com

Who: John LeDoux & Lisa Danger
Port: Vancouver, Washington