Winter Dock to Friday Harbor

 

The run from our winter dock to Friday Harbor can be fun with glass seas or miserable with pounding seas.  We stayed in Ilwaco over night to catch the Columbia River Bar early in the morning.  The Bar was awesome, clear and smooth.  But then we turned North.  NOAA prediction was 5ft swells from the west at 13 seconds duration.  The wind out of the North was pushing “wind waves” about 5 feet!  So it made for confused seas and pounding on the bow with water sometimes coming up and over the bow.  ASD was getting a salt water wash!  Nothing dangerous, just uncomfortable for 180 miles.

As we cleared the influence of the Columbia, we had porpoises riding ASD’s bow.  They were having fun, but we were not.  At about 20 miles from shore, we interrupted a pod of Humpback whales.  We ended up right in the middle of them.  One was off the starboard about 30ft and was keeping up with ASD.  That was cool.

Crap pots have always been a concerned.  This time we saw some.  Never hitting one, but coming close as the seas would hide them.  Most were bright colors and you could see them, and the fishermen would lay them out in a straight line, so once you figured that out you could carefully go between two pots.

We were plowing on when all of a sudden, the sky got really loud!  3 Navy F/A-18 Super Hornets buzzed us.  I recognized what they were doing.  We were the target for this training day.  I disengaged the auto pilot and started taking evasive maneuvers.  There was one off the bow making his run.  I turned sharp right, then cut back the engines.  He over shot!  He would have to go back around. I then throttled back up and went hard to left, but one got us from the side.  They made several passes.  Then the fun was over as the lead waved his wings at us.  This made our day!  GO NAVY!!!!

As we made our turn into Cape Flattery and Juan De Fuca Strait the seas smoothed out and we had following seas.  Pulled into Neah Bay tired but all in all a great day.  We slept OK, but the first night on the anchor is always nerve racking.  As we proceed in these travels we tend to relax and enjoy being on the hook.

Departed Neah Bay in the morning.  The only casualty was the anchor pin.  I dropped it.  But I also have two safety lines on the chain and anchor, so no worries.  I can get a bolt when we are in Friday Harbor.

The run up Juan De Fuca started out nice.  It was 81 miles to Friday Harbor.  We had following seas, so the ride was smooth.  However, the further we made our way, the wind came up and we were pushing through wind waves again from the East, right on the bow.  About half way through the Canadian Coast Guard issues a “Gale Warning” with winds approaching 30mph!  This will be fun.  Then there was chatter on the VHF.  A recreational 42 ft boat was on fire about 40 miles from us.  Not much I could do other than monitor the radio.  The USCG was able to get the 2 guys off the boat and then they entered the engine room to extinguish the fire.  After it was out a tow line was attached to tow it back to Port Angeles.  Then the fire restarted and the Coast Guard had to cut the tow line while the boat burned right down to the water line, then sank.

As we turned toward the San Juan Islands, a Navy DDG-114 passed us heading to sea.  See the pics.  Going through Cattle Pass was no big deal, just some current.

We called the Port of Friday Harbor for a slip assignment.  We are on Breakwater C (BWC).  We are enjoying Friday Harbor and a nice break.  Monday, we get fuel, I am guessing around 400 gallon @ $3.47 a gallon.  The we will motor over two Reid Harbor to position ourselves to cross over into Canada the next day.  We will proceed to Van Isle marina where there is a Customs dock to clear.  Once we get cleared it will be a hard 10-day sail to SE Alaska, with one stop in Port McNeill for fuel.

Leaving the Winter Dock

Cathlament Tug Yard

Cathlament Bridge

Columbia River Bar

The sky is clearing 20 miles offshore

F-18 making its run!

Dang he missed....LOL

Olympic National Park

Navy DDG 114

San Juan Islands

Entrance via Cattle Pass