Passage to Newport

The change in weather predicted for Friday turned out to be remarkably accurate, and many boats in Astoria's West Basin prepared to cross the bar. Friends Paul and Judy on Grace left around 9 am bound for Newport, and we followed them out an hour later. We took advantage of a 10-kt west wind to tack downriver toward Ilwaco and on across the bar. But between Cape Disappointment and the end of the North Jetty, the wind became light and fickle, so we fired up the engine to "get out of Dodge." The bar was still lumpy from a week of higher winds, and we were glad to get to deeper water and a more regular pattern. It was an uneventful passage to Newport, with winds never exceeding 10kts, and very little traffic. Viz was down to 3 miles as we approached Newport, where we had to fight an "ebb tide" of hundreds of small boats heading out to the Chicken Ranch to fish for halibut. South Beach marina will be home for the next month as we finalize preparations for heading further south.