July 22 through 27th Sequim Bay State Park family sojourn

July 22 through 27^th Sequim Bay State Park family sojourn

The Coreys!  July 2020 Sequim Bay State Park

We depart Port Angeles around 2 in the afternoon to catch the flood current.  With our headsail out we make our way to Dungeness Spit.  The light house is closed this year so we have chosen to go directly to Sequim Bay State Park where our family will gather for 3 nights of camping.  We tie up to a park buoy and remember just how much of a pain it is if the buoys don’t work as designed.  Aiden is able to dangle over the side far enough to slip the dock line through and back to the cleat.

Pam rewinds the furler to get at the knot on the bottom of the rope wraps.  The knot has exited the housing and caused the headsail to not completely furl when we took it down.  Not a major issue but it is best to fix such things as you find them.

Launching ET the dinghy

Aiden in his kayak

The next morning it is time to launch ET, our new to us rigid dinghy, a Walker Bay 8 with pontoons.  We also inflate the Intex “Challenger” one-person kayak that we have purchased for the boat.  Aiden quickly takes to the water and deftly explores the shore line and dock pilings.

Thursday evening our son Jacob, his wife Brittney, and grandkids Emily and Sam join us.  We reserved two camp spots months ago and they have just recently opened the campground for overnight use, limit of 5 people per space.

Jacob and Brittney, Emily and Sam

We do simple camp meals and of course, s’mores over the fire.  The next day they set up their two kayaks, also Intex inflatables, the two person “Explorer” version.  We all launch to the mother ship and ExTerra spends the next few days as a platform for crabbing, kayaking, fishing and relaxing with ‘kids’ and grand kids, vacation as it should be!  At one point we have ten people and 2 dogs aboard for a variety of escapades.

Approaching the Mother Ship

Our son Zach, granddaughter Sophie, and Carl’s brother Jim arrive the next afternoon.  Aiden jumps on his kayak and rows ashore to greet his Dad and Sister, explaining to us that he is actually just excited to see his two dogs Lily and Murphy.  I’m not convinced of that.  Sophie commandeers Aiden’s kayak to paddle out and say hi.  Carl ferries folks back to the dock so we can head up for dinner and our boat overnights with 3 kayaks tied up to it.  

Zach, Sophie and Aiden with Murph

Sophie a kayakin

With their camps set up we gather around the cook table and Jacob uses our gigantic skillet from Dawson’s Landing, (courtesy of our friend Walt a few years ago) to churn out a bunch of nice tasing, sautéed chicken, marinated in Brittney’s “secret” marinade, the secret being she is not sure what all is in it this time but it sure is good!  More s’mores and then the three of us venture back to the boat in the lingering twilight.

Lily and Murphy enjoying the cockpit

Jim also has an inflatable kayak so we are now 4 kayaks, a trusty dinghy, a mothership, 4 grands, six adults, two dogs and a partridge in a pear tree!  We ALL end up on ExTerra for more of the same throughout the day.  

Sam the fishin fool

Emily pulls to pot while Sam looks on with Papa

Sam somewhere in all of this catches a crab and a dogfish on his small pole and is over the moon excited about that.  Emily and Sam help Papa retrieve and reset the crab pot.  Sophie and Aiden kayak some and then relax onboard.  Zach ferries first Murphy in the dinghy and then comes back for Lily and me.  Murphy does just fine on his first boating adventure.  Lily is old hat at this and decides to lay down and relax in the dinghy and on the boat.  Jacob and Brittney comment that this is how they see themselves enjoying retirement but, in an RV, instead of a boat.  

Van full headed to the Game Farm

Most everyone paddles ashore around 2 to get ready to head out to the Olympic Peninsula Game farm, leaving Carl and Jim to enjoy some peace and quiet and an afternoon nap.  Zach and the dogs stay in camp to most likely do the same while 7 of us pile into the van for our trip through the Game Farm.   

With squeals of delight or disgust depending on what the animals are doing we mosey through, one of about 600 cars to go through that day.  In reality, a decent “covid” era activity to get the family out of the house for a few hours, safe in the confines of your own vehicle.  The yaks and bison slurp the windows as we pass, sometimes taking an offered piece of bread.  One bison tries to bite the rear-view mirror.  There is a good variety of animals to see and a good time is had by all.  

Breakfast for happy campers

Back at camp the handy skillet again turns out a variety of nicely cooked meat, Jacob’s pork chops and Zach’s steaks.  We all share and some also enjoy hotdogs over the fire.  We of course round out the evening with s’mores.  This evening as we dinghy back to the boat, we see clear skies and stars, find the big dipper but alas the Neowise comet still eludes us.

Breakfast is bacon and 18 eggs, scrambled in the big skillet and enjoyed by all.  We then break camp so all can head home.  What an awesome time this has been.  Five-year-old Sam summed it up nicely.  “With all of us here together it feels like we don’t have the virus anymore.”  Out of the mouths of babes…Godspeed and safe travels to you all.

Yak attack

Papa Carl in his trusty ET

Sam's "Nana Pam"

The Boy cousins, Aiden and Sam

Sam's "Uncle Jim and Uncle Zach"

Sam's photo of his cousins and his Papa

More S'mores

Aiden cleaning his first crab

Jacob and Sam and Brittney and Emily headed back to camp

Gal's outing

Zach with a load....Sophie, Aiden, Murphy and Lily somewhere

Well Hello!

Sam makes a fire

The Girl cousins Emily and Sophie

Recording the recorder

July 19-22 Neah Bay to Port Angeles

July 19-22 Neah Bay to Port Angeles

At 0900 we launch so we can fish before catching the flood current.  Aiden makes the only catch of the day, a China rockfish that he releases since it is one of the species that we cannot retain.  We head out into the West Entrance of the Strait of Juan de Fuca on the flood current and ride the very large, rolling swell eastward. 

Crescent Bay Anchorage "I can picture my Dad building a house here."

Across from Seiku we hail Earl and Holly on Max Jazz.  They are headed back to Portland after a nice voyage up into the San Juans.  We chat for quite awhile and then continue onto our Crescent Bay anchorage.  The wind is from the east but predicted from the west.  Given this we set anchor in a typical west wind hole and anchor watch until the wind turns from the west.  Anchoring at Crescent has pros and cons.  It breaks the twelve-hour trip from Neah Bay to Port Angeles so that you don’t have to fight the strong current on the Strait.  However, it is a little roly poly and our particular spot is quite laden with kelp!  Note to self, find a different spot!  

Seaweed Oh My!!

We do however enjoy watching the Eagle, Great Blue Herons and deer along the shore and spot a large “Fried Egg” jellyfish.  Weighing anchor was a frustrating endeavor given the amount of seaweed but by 1230 we are headed out into the Central Strait on the flood.  

We tie up in Port Angeles for two days given the (fairly normal) gale force warnings.  We like Port Angeles Boat Basin and the friendly Harbor Master Erik Widsteen.  A few years ago I wrote a letter to the editor of the local paper and discussed the pros and cons of the Boat Basin.  The primary con was the lack of a laundry facility.  The Boat Basin now has a wonderful, typically small laundry just outside the ramp gates; two sets of machines, a laundry sink, change machine and the quintessential book trading library.  It is always nice to get the salt water influence washed out of our clothes after the trip up the coast.

Clothes washed, bodies washed, we commence to reading books and relaxing.  Aiden learns what a “mosey” is.  We tell him it is like a walk-about or an out and about.  As we “mosey” up town the streets of Port Angeles are similar to those of home, many small businesses closed, restaurants open for take-out, masks required.  We do manage to have an excellent grilled cheese sandwich at Lola’s café.  My Mom Lola would have been pleased.  Grilled cheese sandwiches were often turned out on her stove as well.  We then of course made our way to the ice-cream shop and enjoyed a waffle cone.  Aiden snapped a bunch of photos of the candy selection to send to his friends, explaining to me that it was an “incredibly weird” selection of candies associated with computer games.

The masked candy shopper :)

Back at the boat we pass the time reading and talking with dock walkers, learning a variety of information about local fishing, crabbing, sailing adventures and the differences between our boats.  A center cockpit boat tied behind us turns out to be the same Pearson 385 that we had made an offer on about 9 years ago.  This is the second owner since then.  He likes the boat for all the same reasons that we did.

Today we will head out into the Central Strait for the short hop up to Sequim Bay to meet family who will be camping for a few days.  Erik says we can stay tied up until around 1400 when the currents are more favorable.

Enjoying ice cream in the Port Angeles street parkway

July 14-19 Tongue Point anchorage to Neah Bay anchorage

July 14-19 Tongue Point anchorage to Neah Bay anchorage

We enjoyed two nice quiet evenings on the hook behind Lois Island.  The “Tongue Point” anchorage is in Cathlamet Bay on your way to the very short John Day river, not to be confused with the very long multi-forked John Day river in eastern Oregon, and nowhere near Cathlamet.

An interesting boat “Ginger” passed by on their way to their chosen spot.  I enjoy looking for different boats and hope my photo came out.

We double check things before our ocean adventure, sizing an offshore life vest for Aiden and explaining the tether, lifesling and throw bag.  He helps set up the jack lines and learns how to rinse off and raise the anchor dogging it down for the offshore trip.  

Hosing off the anchor.

We enjoy a leisurely 10:45 departure, not having to get up early to catch the best tide for crossing the bar.  We top off the tank at West Basin, we are ready.  The friendly fuel dock guy says it has been very quiet business wise.  I believe this is the first time we have gone to the fuel dock and not had to jockey into position.  We were the only ones there.

Skippering across the Columbia River Bar

We have, as usual, chosen the slack before the flood to cross the Columbia River bar.  Even so the bar is a bit choppy with large swell hitting the last of the ebb current.  We hoist the main and angle north which helps to east the chop.  

Sleeping it off.......still!

Unfortunately, overall the chop stays with us and it makes for a very long 33 hours.  Aiden becomes a little green around the gills, taking one sip of my noon day soup and claiming if he eats anything he will most likely puke.  We have him stay in the cockpit close to the rail.  Thankfully a small pod of dolphins joins us and that helps to take his mind off his ills long enough to get some color back in his cheeks.  He chooses to go below and sleep which is a decent enough remedy for such things.  He does say later, “Nana, it was not the taste of your soup that made me sick!”  

Ocean Sunfish

We pass the time looking for sea life.  We are treated to a large ocean sunfish and baby sunfish, floating around on the surface “sunning” themselves.  Carl explains that they are the largest of the actual fish species and can grow to 13 feet in length.  We also see what we believe to be a short-finned pilot whale.  We had to look up whales on the internet to figure that one out.  It looks like an overgrown dolphin and is not often seen this far north.  Most likely, according to literature, they are now seen further north as the oceans warm up more.  

Aiden and Carl take the midnight to three shift and Aiden learns a bit about the chart plotter and documenting our location in our paper log.  Papa says he has the magic touch, making our touch screen chart plotter add new waypoints when Carl and I cannot seem to make it work.

On my 0300 to 0600 shift I get the real treat of the night, a glimpse of the comet Neowise as it slowly falls over the northeastern horizon.  A crescent moon and the planet Venus are also in view and beautiful.  The name of the planet was not in my knowledge bank and the photo is not mine; I looked them both up and have the photo here for later enjoyment.  

Carl and Aiden come back on shift at 0600 and a mere 14 hours later we set the hook in Neah Bay and enjoy Carl’s steaks from the barby, all very glad to be off the ocean.  We are early to bed and late to rise. 

The haunting call of the Loon

Saturday is a very lazy day that starts with coffee and books in the cockpit for me.  In my effort to keep a little ginger in my system my favorite coffee dunking cookie of choice has become gingersnaps.  They taste a little salty this morning but I dunk them anyway.  Soon Carl says “give me your COFFEE!”  Not knowing the issue I hand it to him and he dumps it down the sink.  I guess the tea kettle full of salt water that we were going to use to flush the head if need be was set on the stove, boiled and used for coffee!!  Had to start the day over from scratch.  

Ninja Turtle overseeing the head

Next came an activity that falls into a category we call “livin the dream.”  Carl shows Aiden our book of manuals so he can find the manual for the Groco head.  He then shows him the book we call “Our ongoing brain” so he can see the inventory and figure out where all the spare parts for said head are.  With wrench in hand they set to fixing the head.  Our head, like most, is small, but if one person can perch on the counter like a ninja turtle that helps.  

Spare Parts

The culprit for the head (it won’t intake water) proves to the ‘flapper’ valve.  Not only has it been installed upside down all this time it is completely broken.  Carl installs one of the spares, tries the head and it still does not work.  Removing the ‘spare’ flapper it just crumbles in his hand.  Thankfully there is a spare spare and once installed right side up this time, it seems to work.  A new spare has been ordered to be delivered to John Wayne Marina and to be held for sailing vessel ExTerra.      

The flapper valve....I think it is broken!

The rest of the lazy day is spent reading and setting up fishing gear, hanging rod holders and relaxing.  This year I reached out to friends on facebook and said, “which book would you take with you?”  I ended up with a wonderful reading list.  I finished a short, easy read first, “The Bluest Eye,” by Toni Morrison, a window into the daily life of blacks in 1940’s America.   

Dinner this evening will be mac and cheese courtesy of Aiden, followed by a downloaded Netflix movie and Oreos.  We venture up the Strait of Juan de Fuca tomorrow, fishing for bottom fish along the way, destination, Crescent Bay anchorage.  

Galley Chef - whole wheat pasta and cheese soup

2020

ExTerra voyages again!

Ah 2020!  The covid pandemic, the political extremes, racism unrest……It is time to cast off the lines and have a relatively normal rest of the summer.

Having said that we will have a relatively unnormal sailing season.  Our grandson Aiden will be on board with us for the entire season.  We carved out some stowage space for him and the sea berth will be his bunk.  I unearthed my 2013 ereader and after many machinations and gnashing of teeth I managed to install a Multnomah County library ebook for him.  The dusty ereader choked until I followed the very last advice from the manufacturer.  “If your ereader is as old as dirt you probably need to roll the epub software back a few years as well (paraphrasing here).”  That worked!  

He is happily reading in the cockpit as I type.

I also packed items that have never before been onboard ExTerra.  Pretzels, cheerios and face masks (as well as hotdogs)!  We are packed heavy on food and supplies, the plan being to travel light on the local communities, only venturing into small towns as we need to or where we are welcome.  

We cast off the lines around noon, topped off the tanks at Donaldson’s next door and rode the ebb tide out.  Aiden did the dutiful lie down on deck and snap photos as we went under the I-5 bridge.  He waved cheerfully to the RR bridge tender.  He has of course done these types of things with us before, just not on his own, at the (coming of) age of 18.  We are all excited to be making this trip!   

  

Today we see some basic river traffic, and 'roadside' attractions.  One of the hard working tugs is slowly pulling a tiny home upriver.  On the land we see a crane precariously moving two outhouses across the construction site.  How could this accident have been prevented?  We settle into watching the river roll by.

The tide gave us good travel time even though the 20 knot wind was on the nose all the way.  No one was on the inside of the Rainier dock so we chose to tie up there for the night, not wanting to impose on the wonderful Long View Yacht Club folks this year.  Our goal our first night out is always to just get off the home dock and make good time down river.  We met that goal.   

Aiden is inquisitive and learns quickly.  We plan on walking him through all steps for safe and fun travel by boat.  Having obtained his Oregon Boater Card he can skipper our boat and he has already had his time at the helm; he was happy to learn that we do have an auto pilot. 

He also quickly learned there is never a dull moment.  Already on day two he has seen how we have to open a through hull and run the sump pump when someone forgets and leaves the raw water valve to the head open and it floods the shower sump.  Sorry, I got sidetracked.  I actually had a live human at the end of a phone line who wanted to tell me why my CARES Act Small Business Loan was declined BUT he also was able to Fix it!!  It has only taken about two months to get to this point, they are so overwhelmed, but I should not digress too far into this topic.

He also got to see what a 20,000 pound vessel can do when the wind is pushing her off the dock and you have to quickly re-tie lines and slowly heave ho together to get the boat back close enough to the dock to climb aboard.  These experiences then lead to good discussion on safety, what to do (I was almost to the point of having to let go the line and have Carl circle back and get me), etc etc.

I guess in summary, this will be a learning, bonding and overall awesome time for the three of us.

We are on our way today to Tongue Point to anchor for a couple of nights and let the sea state simmer down.