More projects

Today I repaired the inboard end of our whisker pole, which had been broken since the last run down the coast. I also installed an AIS receiver, which is a great safety feature. You can see the location, name, direction and speed of travel, and other information continually being transmitted from all large ships in the area. I could see ships upriver to Portland, and up to 70 miles offshore.

Work day in Astoria

Vicki hitched a ride back to Portland yesterday with some other boaters that have been delayed here since last Thursday, and then drove our car back down here. This morning, we decided that she and Mike would drive home, and I would stay here to work on the boat. Even though its too rough to cross the bar, its sunny and beautiful here in Astoria. Before the winds piped up for the day, Vicki hauled me to the masthead to work on our wind instrument and to install the new SSB long wire antenna. That's an Ericson 27 next us, Windwalker from Portland.

Astoria for now

The forecast for ocean conditions is pretty grim (30kts wind, 12' seas) for the next several days, so we'll probably hop the bus back to Portland tomorrow morning and drive home.

Let the voyage begin!

The day has finally come to cast off the lines and head downriver. Our neighbor Mike Brown is along for the ride. It's a beautiful day, but the forecast for offshore will probably keep us in Astoria for a couple of days. There was a huge barge coming downriver just as we left the dock. The I-5 bridge had to be lifted, and traffic was backed up for miles. Don't mean a thing to us! Light breeze and plenty of time, so we're tacking downriver. Anchored for the night in Walker Island Slough.