West Coast Travels

After a beautiful week-long drive down the coast of Oregon and California I waved to Mike and the rest of the crew aboard s/v Xyra as they sailed off into the sunrise Saturday morning to sail to Hawai'i from Marina Del Rey.

I am currently in Ensenada, Mexico aboard my parents boat Prana. We just had a great Mother's day exploring the area. Below are photos from our trip south.

Umpqua Lighthouse State Park

View of Lake Marie

We're finally on our way south, where we have hopes of seeing some sunshine and warmer temperatures. Last night we stayed at a "rustic" cabin at the Umpqua Lighthouse State Park with a view of Lake Marie. While it was a bit chilly in the evening, the cabin comes with a small heater so it was all very civilized.

100,000 hours!

This old boat - on display on the boardwalk in Coos Bay, Oregon - had put more than 100,000 hours on its (Cummins) diesel before retirement!

Multnomah Channel to St Helens

Thinking of the soon to come winter we decided to spend a relaxing weekend on the boat. We started it off right on Friday night by grilling up some steaks on our trusty Magma grill. Of course we had potatoes on the side as well as some fresh leek that we had purchased at the farmers market. We really enjoyed the recipe for leek we found on GalleySwap.

After a leisurely morning dockside we set sail. The clouds made way for a warm October sun and a light breeze pulled us downriver along Sauvie Island. Our destination for the evening was the town of Saint Helens, OR.

We made it to St. Helens in time to do some quick chores before an evening out. The St. Helens Marina has a fuel dock where we topped off the tanks before strolling into town for a few things at the store which is about a 15 minute walk. We tied up at the free town dock for easy town access but there is also a free dock just across the channel on Sand Island.

 Town dock with San Island in the background

This time of year the quaint town of St Helens turns into Halloween Town and you will find decorations and costumed employees at every shop. 

After a great dinner at the Dockside Restaurant we were still a little restless and it was a clear, calm night. So rather than staying near town we decided to be a little adventurous and go for a cruise up Multnomah Channel. We ended up at the free dock at J.J. Collins Memorial Park on Coon Island.  

After a great night's sleep in the total quiet of a windless night we had an early breakfast and then went for a nice walk around the island on the 1.5 mile trail. There are free docks on both the North and South side of the island with limited facilities.

Much of Multnomah Channel is tree lined and reminiscent of the ICW but there are long sections that  almost feel like driving down a neighborhood street in Portland. Marinas and floating homes in all states of repair grace the river's edge and on a Sunday afternoon one can see a number of industrious people working on their homes and boats...

In the afternoon we stopped along the channel to grab a quick beer and take in the Halloween decorations at Krueger’s Farm on Sauvie Island. Anchoring Webfoot along the channel was a breeze, but getting up the embankment was a little dicey.

The sun broke out a briefly on our way home and we were snug in our slip well before sundown.

View Multnomah Channel to St Helens in a larger map

Government Island Circumnavigation

Summer returned to Portland for the weekend and we had a great time on the boat. After going to the farmer's market Saturday morning we packed up a few things and headed to the marina. We sailed up to the old dock on Government Island and cooked our farmer's market oysters and tuna on the BBQ.

On the old dock looking east at sunset

On  the old dock looking west at sunset

Sunday we awoke to sunshine streaming into the cabin. During our leisurely breakfast we were hit by a particularly big wake and the hatch board we had laid out to dry slipped over the side. Luckily it was in only 6 feet of water and the captain was able to retrieve it. 

Morning dew

On the way back to the marina we took the long way around the island and had a beautiful sail!

Wind-on-wing with Mount Hood in the distance

View Government Island Circumnavigation in a larger map

Weekend!

Friday night

Just had a wonderful dinner of fresh salmon from the farmers market cooked on the BBQ. Looking forward to a great night's sleep aboard and lots of sailing and swimming the rest of the weekend!

Saturday

The sun came out fairly early on Sunday. Here's a panorama view of the Columbia River Gorge from our anchorage.

Sunday

Had some traffic on the river on way back to the marina in the form of a house!

July 4th Downtown Blues Fest

The past few years we spent the 4th in the San Juan Islands. This year we went to the islands earlier in the year and spent the 4th right here in Portland. From our marina on the Columbia we headed down river and then up the Willamette to downtown Portland. To get there we had to go under a total of TEN bridges! No wonder Portland is sometimes called the Bridgetown! We were able to clear 8 of the 10 bridges no problem, but the two railroad bridges had to be raised or swung to let us through. 

Steel Bridge opening

Here is a good article  (you can change the state to be more appropriate for you) on how to travel through bridges. The article states that "Bridge tenders can sometimes be a little cranky" and we found this to be true. Apparently we weren't fast enough for our bridge tender when we were waiting for the swing bridge to open ALL the way. 

When we arrived downtown the festivities were already in full swing and boats were everywhere! We found ourselves a little spot on the outskirts and BBQ-ed our all American meal: ribs, potatoes and corn! During dinner there was a lot of excitement as a boat nearly sank. Lucky for them, the Cost Guard Auxiliary and the fire department had brought their big pumps and were already on site. After spectacular fire works we anchored behind Ross Island for a very restful night.

Hope everyone had a happy Fourth!

Boat is sinking (note the audio portion)

Life on the River

I spent my formative years living within a few miles of the ocean in San Diego. In the summer we went to the beach to cool off. Now I live in Portland, Oregon which is a few hours from the ocean. It has been a tough adjustment period and after nearly five years here, there are a few things I still haven't gotten used to. 

There is an inordinate number of fountains in  downtown Portland. I've always thought of fountains as mostly decorative with the occasional nut jumping into the fountain. Not so here. Fountains are a major attraction and it is where one goes in the summer time to cool off (and it's not just for the kids). This one seemed particularly fun as it even has it's own tide cycle and empties and refills every 15-20 minutes.

If you want to go to the beach don't expect to do any surfing. While we have "beaches" we don't have any waves. And unless you want to sit with huge crowds of people on a tiny stretch of beach you'll need a boat to get to the many islands that dot the Columbia near Portland. Our favorite beach is on Sand Island in the Columbia River Gorge.

The Columbia River Gorge

The Beach on Sand Island
(this beach will be much much wider in the summer after the river levels have dropped)

Sand Island Aerial Image

Our Summer Home

We finally did it! Rather than having to spend 3-4 hours setting up before going sailing we got a slip in a local marina! This summer we will be able to head down to the boat after work and go for a sail - just like all the other people we always envy on those perfect summer evenings. Of course this means we will not be traveling as far as usual but since we will be busy working in the field there will be less time for long outings anyway. We had originally planned a long trip to Desolation Sound for this summer but work schedules and non-sailing vacation plans threw a wrench into those plans. 

After launching the boat on Friday and spending the night at our swanky new marina we went for a bit if a weekend sail up the river to Government Island. Since there was no wind we tried our luck at fishing but it turns out we are rather unlucky in that respect. I swear, there are NO fish in this river! It seems summer still has not reached us and on Sunday we got rained out. 

We had gotten so used to having the boat safely in the driveway we checked the lines ten times before leaving the marina. Monday after work we went right back to check on her and even went for a quick sail.

Panorama of our marina

Marina on a sunny day

Our dock

Webfoot in her new slip

Motoring up the mighty Columbia

View of our house from the river

View from Bartlett Landing (free public dock) on Government Island

Rainy Sunday on the river

Swift current after the wettest June on record!

Sandy Beach Dock (free public dock) on Government Island

I tested out our new party decorations

All tucked in

San Juan Islands - Day 4 - Clark Island

This is the last part of a four part series of our sailing trip to the San Juan Islands over Memorial Day weekend.

Day 1 - Launch, Bellingham to Matia Island

Day 2 - Matia Island to Friday Harbor

Day 3 - Friday Harbor to Rosario, Orcas Island

Day 4 - Rosario, Orcas Island to Clark Island

Our last full day vacation was upon us and we just couldn't bring ourselves to leave Rosario without enjoying the warmth of the pool and hot tub one last time. We walked up to the Mansion fairly early and were greeted by a "closed" sign. I tried the door and found it to be open. I looked right and left, and saw a cleaning lady vacuuming the floors with her back turned to me. I gave Captain Mike the let's-go-quietly-wave, and ducking behind her we ran down the stairs to the spa. All the towels had been put away, but I remembered from our snooping around the day before that there was a (real!) ships door near the pool, behind which was the supply closet. We had a long soak and played with the beach ball in the pool. By the time we headed back to the boat our skin was wrinkly and beet-red. I was just hoping that the warmth would last me all day.

We left for Clark Island around 10:30 am and motored on a windless, cloudy day. Along the way we took a little detour to scout out Doe Bay for possible future visits since we had read about the hot springs there. Regrettably, it seemed more like summer camp with some cabins and lots of tents perched on a hill side and there were no mooring buoys or docks near there.

Around 2pm we arrived at Clark Island, dropped anchor on the east side and pulled the stern up on the beach so we could explore the island. Clark Island is quite flat with long beaches on the east and west sides.  Beautiful wild roses were blooming everywhere when we arrived. 

After our walk we noticed that we were going to have neighbors for the night. A small group had arrived in three kayaks and they were busy setting up their shelters. It was starting to rain again after a mostly dry day. We pulled up our anchor, secured a mooring ball for the night, and hung towels from the sides of the bimini to make the cockpit more enclosed and keep out the rain. For dinner we made some Halibut Fajitas we found on GalleySwap 

Around 3am we were awoken to a very rolly anchorage. The wind had picked up and the tides had come up so far that the protective reef was completely covered. We slept well for a few more hours knowing that we were securely tied to a mooring ball. By 7am I started to think about the last time we tried to get back to Bellingham from the San Juans and told the Captain that we had to leave "right now"! Last fourth of July weekend the winds picked up right when were trying to leave (we were already pushing it with a late departure) and we were unable to cross Rosario Strait because our engine kept stalling when we slammed into a trough. We had to wait at Matia Island for several hours until the wind abated and the tide switched around making the waves less steep. This time we headed across right away and even had a very pleasant crossing. We slogged down Hale Passage in a head wind on a favorable tide. By noon we were back in Bellingham ready to haul the boat and drive back to Portland.

Right after we pulled the boat out of the water the clouds parted and the sun shone brightly the rest of the day!


On the way back we checked in at another closed scale. We had gained 200 pounds!
Truck: 4,920
Boat 3,700

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PASSAGE NOTES AND PHOTOS

6 mooring balls on east side - not very protected at high tide when reef is under water

3 mooring balls on west side - could get pretty rough in north or south winds

Obstruction Pass at the south end of Orcas Island, the rough water is caused solely by current

Webfoot on the beach at Clark Island

Beach on east side of Clark Island

Video of view of Orcas Island from south end of Clark Island

West side of Clark Island

Our mooring ball

Dinner aboard Webfoot

Rain.... rain.... rain... If you look closely you can see the raindrops

Back in Bellingham at the ramp

San Juan Islands - Day 3 - Rosario, Orcas Island

This is part three of a four part series of our sailing trip to the San Juan Islands over Memorial Day weekend.

Day 1 - Launch, Bellingham to Matia Island

Day 2 - Matia Island to Friday Harbor

Day 3 - Friday Harbor to Rosario, Orcas Island

Day 4 - Rosario, Orcas Island to Clark Island

Since it seemed like the cold and rain was going to stick around we were looking for a place to go where we could warm up a little. So off to Rosario Resort it was! We left Friday Harbor in a light rain and as soon we were out of the harbor we realized that the wind would be perfect for sailing. So we raised our only sail and were off to a nice downwind run (read this if you are wondering why we only had one sail).

We were happily sailing along when I went below to get get us a snack and heard an odd noise. At first I couldn't place it, but then I remembered that we had recently installed our new bilge pump and it appeared that it was busily pumping water. I moved a few things to get to it and noticed a fair amount of water in our bilge! I immediately alerted Captain Mike and was asked if it was salt or fresh water. I have tasted a lot bilge water in my time and this time I was grateful that we do not have an inboard engine. Our bilge water was pristine so I did not hesitate. It was very salty! Not good! I immediately started to search everywhere for a point of intrusion and after a few nervous minutes we determined that it was likely an attachment point for the rudder and a very slow leak. Since we had been running with the wind and had the boat more loaded than usual, the stern was more exposed to the water than usual. It was a fix we would have to make when the boat was back on the trailer and we would just have to keep an eye on it.

We were getting close to Rosario Resort and readied the boat for arrival. We arrived just in time for the Organ concert and headed up the hill after securing the boat. After the concert and a tour of the mansion we got our bathing suits and went to the hot tub and warm indoor pool. All this was followed by lamb cooked on our rail BBQ and dessert of Nutty Cookies I found on GalleySwap. We don't have an oven on board so had I made them ahead of time. It was a great evening! If you've never been to Rosario it is defiantly worth a visit!

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PASSAGE NOTES AND PHOTOS

When staying in their marina the spa facilities in the mansion are included! Pool, hot tub, unlimited hot showers, gym, sauna, fireplaces, and beautiful locker rooms. Rosario Marina can be reached on 78A. Visit their website for more info.

Rosario Resort

The organ pipes

The 85° pool

The marina at Rosario Resort