August 23 – 29^th Port Angeles to Home Port

Riding the ebb current down the Strait we pass by the little bergs where we anchored on the way in in July.  We try fishing from the boat just outside Neah Bay but we have no luck, too much current to hover over the rocks.  So off to anchor in the bay for a peaceful night.  This plan soon unravels as we discover a diesel leak shortly after anchoring.  We thought it was an exhaust leak due to smokey fumes in the cabin but further exploration shows a steady drip drip drip of diesel coming from the last fuel injector.   Carl “MacGyver’s” a cap which seems to stop the leak.  Many of you will remember the 1980’s TV show where MacGyver was able to get himself out of any situation using his ingenuity and spare parts and bits and pieces to create whatever gadget it was that he needed.  One of my favorite shows.  We siphon the bilge water into a couple of empty gallon jugs and put new sausages in the bilge to absorb any more diesel over night.

The next morning we test the system by warming up the engine and the cap seems to be working.  We motor out of Neah Bay and quickly discover that the leak is still there.  We set both sails and Pam sails back and forth across the Strait while Carl tries another cap.  It does not want to hold so back to Neah we go to anchor.  Carl refines his cap.  He is using one inch pieces of very tiny hose (off of our oil change hand pump) together with a threaded screw to create the cap end.  This time he adds in plumber’s pipe thread sealant to the screw before he screws it into the hose.  We let this set up over night and give it another try in the morning.  That seems to do the trick and off to the Straits we go again, destination Destruction Island, an island three miles offshore and south of LaPush.

We get some hopefully nice photos of Puffin outside Neah Bay.  We very seldom see these unique birds.  We are not able to get good photos of the hump back whales but we do enjoy watching them.  We pass LaPush, the sleepy little village with the beautiful pinnacle rocks lining its shore.  We round Destruction Island and Carl throws a line in the water hoping to catch some rock fish.  Pam, at the wheel, soon says “I smell diesel!”  Sure enough the leak has raised its head again.  We throw out the anchor so we can turn off the engine and let it cool again. 

We have on board a copy of The Coast Pilot, a great book that gives you lots of information about all the water bodies and incorporates all the Notices to Mariners to help us navigate those waters.  The Coast Pilot describes Destruction Island as “an indifferent anchorage with sandy bottoms at 60’.”  We had hoped to anchor here but find that the ocean swell and a rocky bottom are cause for concern.  Another “MacGyver” plug has been installed, we pull anchor and head out around 7:30 in the evening. 

Given that we will be overnighting on the open ocean we check the running lights which were working fine at home.  However, Mr. Murphy has paid us a visit and when Pam crawls up on the bow of the boat that is bucking in the waves she finds that the bulb is rattling around loose in the light housing.  Dark is falling fast so she grabs her headlamp and screw driver and heads back out to the bow.  Once there she is able to take the light fixture apart and re-seat the bulb and not drop the screw driver into the ocean.  Mr. Murphy however has decided that her headlamp needed a visit as well so the headlamp (which was working 5 minutes ago when she put it on) is now not working.  By feel Pam is able to get the light fixture back together and all of the screws back in place and only has two parts that she cannot figure out where they go (like the spare parts she had when she “re-built” Dad’s roto-tiller for a Small Engines class in college decades ago).  The light, like the roto-tiller seems to work just fine without those parts installed.  Meanwhile Carl has maneuvered us out into the ocean and we are ready to head south.

Around 8:00 PM we set both sails again and turn off  the motor.  We sail peacefully through the night.  The stars are amazing and the moon a delight.  The only drama we have is vicarious as we listen to the following radio traffic between the Prince Rupert Coast Guard and Trowley, a vessel in distress:

“Vessel in distress how may we help you?”

“This is the Trowley.  I am disabled and the boat towing me is on fire.  The crew is on the stern of their boat and they are getting ready to get into their life raft.”

“Trowley how many people on board and are you in life jackets?”

“Aye there is one on board my ship and in a life jacket.  It looks like there are two on board my tow boat that is on fire.  I am not close enough to them to see if they are in life jackets.”

“Vessel Trowley please stand by.  We will be deploying a Tofino inflatable to your location.  War Ship 347 will also be enroute your location.”

More radio chatter continues as the story unfolds.  War Ship 347 arrives and deploys their small craft that goes to retrieve the two crew from the boat that is on fire.  They are unable to repair the transmission on vessel Trowley and we lose radio contact not knowing the fate of the boat that is on fire, the vessel Trowley without a transmission, and her Captain.  Knowing how well the Coast Guard works however we are sure that the outcome is as favorable as possible.  I am often amazed at the calm, quiet way that some Captains and definitely the Coast Guard, deal with these types of situations.

We continue to sail, sometimes quite slowly but still on course and at day break we decide to continue on to the Columbia River rather than put in at Gray’s Harbor.  This puts us at the Columbia River Bar at the slack current before the flood and we make a very peaceful crossing, tying up on the Dock C end tie in the West Basin in Astoria.

Pam has called ahead and Napa Auto has the fuel injector end cap that they need.  It is in Portland and will be in Astoria at 0800 in the morning.  We decide that we will make a day of it in Astoria instead of jetting right back out to the river and heading home.

Napa is a couple of miles from the boat so we head out and have breakfast along our walk.  The Hood to Coast run has just finished up and the highway and restaurants are jam packed with all of the vans and cars of the running teams.  We arrive at Napa and pay for our part, a whopping $1.02.  Then we start our 2.5 mile walk back to the boat.  We spend hours at the Maritime Museum, an excellent portrayal of maritime history of the area from the earliest settlers to the recent years.  They have wonderful displays and oral histories.  It is humbling to once again see what the Coast Guard and Bar Pilots deal with on a regular basis.  

One exhibit answers Pam's question from last season....where the "heck" is the Columbia River Bar and how do we plan for it?"  We finish the Maritime Museum by touring the retired Coast Guard Light Ship that was anchored about five miles outside the Columbia River Bar and used for decades as a light to signal the entrance to the river.  

Lunch is a very tasty bowl of macaroni and cheese and a local Porter brew at the Fort George Brewery.  Then we mosey along stopping at thrift and antique stores and finding seven novels to add to the ship’s library.

This evening we take in the hilarious play “Shanghaied in Astoria.”  This play has been running since 1984 and portrays the early 1900’s life of the local Scandinavian fishermen and their “sturdy women.”  There is a lot of audience participation and laughter, a great way to spend an evening.

Back at the boat we have a restful night, our $1.02 cap in place and working.  We top off the diesel tank in the morning and head up river on the flood, destination Rainier public dock where we will tie up for the night and Carl’s brother Jim will meet us.  After a quiet night at the Rainier dock we travel the sleepy Multnomah Channel so Jim can get an idea of where to take his sailboat that is moored in Scappoose Bay. 

Enroute we hear from our neighbor Rick who lets us know that he and a nice handful of folks have moved our small boat off our home dock slip.  When we arrive, our house sitters Debbie and Kelly are standing by with Rosie to help us tie up ExTerra.  It is nice to have a welcoming committee.  The house is cleaner than when we left and they assure us that no cigars were smoked inside!

The first few days home we take two months worth of food, clothes and supplies off of ExTerra.  We slowly settle back into our land life, and are currently spending Labor Day weekend with Pam’s family in their decades old tradition of gathering in the fall to celebrate family.

Thanks for following along with us this year and thanks again to Brittney for setting up this blog site for us.  

And this one is for you Walt and Odile, caption reads "cutting out Dogfish shark livers aboard the Trask in Astoria".....thanks for sharing the Salish Sea with us this year.  On to Alaska!!