Kevin, Were you able to (or choose to) sail while headed up WA coast? Wind is generally out of the north.
Also how far off the coast did you go and any issues with crab pots? Recommendation that we got was to follow the 50 fathom line. But still saw pot floats. Congrats on your voyage. Dave Castor Port Angeles, WA On Tue, Jun 11, 2019 at 11:21 AM Kevin Driscoll via CnC-List < cnc-list@cnc-list.com> wrote: > C&C Owners, > Below is an email I sent to friends and sailors about my recent single > handed trip from Hood River, Oregon to Olympia, Washington. As the crow > flies it is less than 200 miles, but on the water it is up around 550 > nautical miles. Read below and see the link to my custom lee clothes on the > starboard settee. > Cheers, > Kevin > > Sailors and Friends, > Last week I successfully delivered our boat from Hood River, Oregon to > Olympia, Washington. And as Lisa said, "The only thing that got hurt was > your lip." (It split from sunburn and salt spray.) > The 550 or so single handed miles by myself on 'Osprey' was quite a bit > work, but went very well. The leg from the Columbia Bar to Neah Bay was my > first solo offshore sail and was completed with no drama. Here were the > legs: > > 0. Hood River to Ilwaco, Washington - ~165miles, done Memorial Day Weekend > > > 1. Ilwaco, Wa(Columbia River Bar) to Neah Bay, Wa - 187 nautical miles > / ~36hrs, June 2nd,3rd > 2. Neah Bay to Sequim, Wa - 75 miles / ~11 hrs. June 4th (very quick > with tail wind and flood tide) > 3. Sequim, Wa to Bainbridge/Blake Island - 70 nautical miles / 12hrs > June 5th > 4. Blake Island to Olymipia, Wa - 45 nautical miles, 10hrs June 6th > > > - Bus / Uber to home at 11pm June 6th and at work Friday 6/7. > > > Here's what worked or otherwise: > > - *My wife*- Lisa took care of the boys without complaint during last > weekend and the better part of last week. Getting permission to sail alone, > 15-20 miles offshore into the Pacific, on a small sailboat, for round the > clock sailing for the better part of two days, is not something most people > do every day. She has faith in my skills as a sailor, the safety of our > boat, and a reasonable tolerance for risk. Nothing is possible without her. > - *My project team- *Filled in for me when I was gone for 4 days last > week. Given the stage in construction on our building and project dynamics, > it was important someone or multiple people be on site while I was gone. > Allen and Michael pitched in and it was appreciated. > - *Columbia River Bar -* I crossed at slack tide at the start of an > ebb. I actually began my crossing early so to be sure I was safely over the > bar before the ebb gained momentum. It was a little bumpy, but not > dramatic. > - *Tow Lanes - *A somewhat common strategy, when not racing and > heading up to Cape Flattery, is to take the commercial tow lanes. This in > order to reduce the risk of snagging a crab pot. I followed this strategy > and went out from the bar to the summer tow lanes, ~15 miles offshore. I > saw very few crab pots the whole trip, but did see ~4 and they made me > nervous each time. > - *'Osprey' C&C 30-2 *Though our boat is tender, she has great > qualities otherwise and is an extremely well designed boat. She carries > generous sail for her vintage, is relatively light, and has somewhat > efficient foils. Despite the constant 15-20 knots of wind close hauled, she > does not creak or flex audibly like other boats I have been on. The molded > head liner is silent. Our little Yanmar Diesel operated flawlessly at a > constant 2800 rpms (3400 continuous rated) for days on end. I change fuel > filters, belts, and impellers religiously and that seems to do the trick. > The Yanmar is dead simple and has never let us down. 'Osprey' is an > excellent boat, but a few more feet would add some speed and accommodate > the boys a bit more nicely :) > - *AIS Vesper XB 8000 *- I bought and installed this AIS transceiver > just before heading offshore. Having an AIS transceiver was a game changer > over our previous trip, when we double handed up the coast. In the ~200 > miles up the coast. I did not see anyone that I could not also see on AIS, > including pleasure craft. Also Lisa and Dan were able to track me all the > way up the coast. The AIS repeated seamlessly on the tablet and phone(s) I > use for navigation and redundancy and the unit is hardwired to an alarm > buzzer at the nav station with a mute button. It also sends alarms on my > phone and tablet. The Vesper app works very well, was intuitive, > information rich and overall greatly exceeded my expectations. I would > highly recommend this product and I am extremely happy with the purchase. > (We do have a small Garmin GIS on board, but we do not use it for > navigation specifically. We do not have a hardwired chartplotter or MFD.) > - *Scopolamine Patch - *I can get sea sick if I am not extremely > disciplined about going below decks or in rough seas. Our boat is on the > smaller side and is pretty tender. Furthermore, the wind a steady 15-20 > knts and seas (though not directly on the nose) permitted only close hauled > motor sailing. Predictably this meant a fair amount of slamming, water on > the decks, and spray in the cockpit. Not 'green water', but a very lively > motion for sure. I got sick 3 times, each time when coming back up on deck > from below. Much of the rest of the time I did feel somewhat crummy, but I > have been there before so I was not concerned. > - *Watch Schedule - *The first half day I was getting comfortable with > shipping traffic, my course, sail trim, and confidence in the AIS. I took a > few cat naps in the cockpit late in the day, but eventually gained > confidence to spend 20-30 minutes below at night. I had the AIS traffic and > chartplotter in my hand when below and set up redundant alarms so there was > no way I could sleep through one. This worked well and therefore I was not > completely 'wrecked' when I pulled into Neah Bay. I slept for about 6 hrs > before hitting the Strait of Juan de Fuca. > > All in all, the delivery was an ambitious itinerary and I was happy to > complete it. Going offshore by myself was a bit of a test to see if solo > offshore racing is in my future, and I would definitively say, maybe. I > wanted to see if carrying up the coast single handed was something I could > do and something I wanted to do more of. The first answer is definitely > yes, the second is maybe, trending to probably. > > Thanks to everybody for listening and those who followed along on my way > up the coast. Now our boat is poised for tide pools exploring and a great > summer of family cruising in South Sound on weekends. I am feeling very > fortunate. Here is a link to a few snap shots and my 20 minute / $2.00 lee > cloths which you may appreciate. > https://photos.app.goo.gl/MwD6ppBJZ6sgXz9ZA > > Best, > Kevin > > _______________________________________________ > > Thanks everyone for supporting this list with your contributions. Each > and every one is greatly appreciated. If you want to support the list - > use PayPal to send contribution -- https://www.paypal.me/stumurray > > -- Excuse the brevity. Sent from my phone.
_______________________________________________ Thanks everyone for supporting this list with your contributions. Each and every one is greatly appreciated. If you want to support the list - use PayPal to send contribution -- https://www.paypal.me/stumurray
