We knew the week leading up to departure would be hectic but it feels even more so when everything is stacked up.
Tomorrow morning we check out of our marina in Port Orchard. We have to be cast off by 4:45 am to (barely) beat the tide and sail (motor) up to Port Townsend. There, we pick up our last guests before the adventure. My elementary school friend Tanner, married Taylor’s college track mentor and they’re visiting this week. Small world. Then our last task is to sail to Bellingham to meet Nate, our college buddy and apparel guru to pick up the highly anticipated, limited release shirts.
Then we need to be back in Port Townsend Friday morning to hitch a ride back to our truck, drive to Portland, collect our crew (Joe and Nelson) & support staff (Hannah & Max) drive back to Port Townsend in time for the send-off meeting on Saturday.
Then it actually starts
There is trepidation in sharing plans. Plans can fail. I can fail. I know everyone reading this has heard us talking about nothing else for the last two years, and I’m sure it got annoying. It’s easy to talk about ideas. Ideas are fun.
Sunday morning we’ll leave for Neah Bay. It’s an 80-mile sail upwind. We’ll likely leave at 2 am to have a following tide most of the way, but when the tide and wind are opposite, waves stack and sailing is uncomfortable.
Neah Bay is largely shut down. It’s an indian reservation and has been hit hard by Covid. The resupply will be short, and mostly for fuel, water, and rest.
After Neah bay we pass Cape Flattery.
This summer I read about a guy who had sailed all of the oceans, in the worst conditions and he lamented how treacherous North Carolina’s Cape Hatteras was. He said it was every bit as bad as the three notorious North American capes which he avoided: Cape Flattery, Cape Blanco, and Cape Mendicino.
Anyway, once we pass Cape Flattery, we charge south and take our last refuge at Newport Oregon, before setting off to pass Cape Mendicino and Cape Blanco.
Oof
The first thousand miles of this adventure will really show us if we like ocean sailing, if we can survive, and if Scooter is up to the task.
Anyway, for those of you who are more concerned with how the past week went, here goes:
The spray dodger is complete! This is huge for Scooter. Our comfort level at sea just went through the roof! Taylor is amazing for learning to sew and taking on such a daunting first project.
The Autopilot works. We wired, re-wired, and re-read the manual, and then re-wired again and got it functioning. Sunday was the test run and in light wind and under motor it worked great.
The AIS connector I found in the woods last weekend worked and we can officially see other boats without the aid of cell service. (and the installation looks pretty professional if I do say so myself)
Saturday night we drove to Seattle to buy a fourth Survival suit, so now all crew members have a safety device. We also negotiated hard for another one! FIVE survival suits! Craigslist deals are the only reason we’re not broke…yet.
Eunice got fixed and got a new necklace. She looks like a martini glass.
Taylor went up the mast again! We installed the wind vane we got as a gift and its totally functional!
Stay tuned for a second update this week. We have a lot in the air and I have more to share.
But right now I have a 3:45 alarm set, and a purring lampshade on my chest.