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Our
nylon staysail, the one we call the Red Baron, got
a lot of use as we beam reached southward. Larry
is repairing two small holes that developed when
the jib sheet caught the sail against the staysail
stay during a gybe |
Dear Friends:
Ten to fifteen knot northwesterly winds were forecast
as we began our last tack toward Cape Flattery in early
September. Though we'd had banks of fog drift over us
as we'd used the currents to work from Port Angeles
toward the open sea, they had cleared by mid-afternoon.
When the current turned foul and another fog bank rolled
in from seaward to obscure the islands at the entrance
to the straights of Juan De Fuca, I plotted a course
in to Neah Bay. Sure glad we did. By the time we reached
in past the rocks and channel marker into the still
waters of this isolated native town, though most of
the inner waters of this mile bay were still in sunlight,
the island protecting its northern side, the channel
markers and everything to the west was shrouded in heavy
fog.
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We
had a few hours of clear skies the day before we
came into San Francisco. I spent every minute of
those hours on deck enjoying Taleisin showing off
her long legged stride now she had plenty of sea
room. |
As with many of the unexpected stops we have made in
our sailing careers, Neah Bay was an unexpected treat.
We heard the sound of shouting and drumming coming from
a festive crowd on shore as soon as we cleared the inner
marker. Then we saw the reason. Six teams of native
rowers, escorted by the local coast guard crew, were
in a heated race around marks set through out the bay.
We'd arrived just in time to watch the grand finale
of Makah Days, a celebration of not only sports, but
cultural aspects of the five tribes of the Makah Nation.
This is the only group in the US who has rights to hunt
for whales, but these rights are limited to using native
methods and have not resulted in the capture of any
whales since the rights were found to be legal.
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San Francisco has always been a favorite destination.
But we had not sailed under the Golden Gate in
almost 27 years and it felt just grand to be doing
so again.
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Two days later, though skies were heavily overcast,
we got a break in the fog and once again headed out,
close hauled in 15 knots of wind, bundled in warm clothing
for our dash to open water. We were not the only sail
in sight; two other yachts had arrived in Neah Bay during
our short stay. Now all of us were headed for warmer
climates. As soon as we could lay clear of the rocks
off Discovery Island, we tacked to lay south down the
coast. But by evening the winds began to ease off and
both of us agreed we wanted more sea room and tacked
offshore. The other two yachts continued south along
the coast. For about an hour we jogged along at maybe
four knots on this offshore tack, then suddenly the
wind freshened by at least eight or nine knots and headed
us. We tacked over, eased sheets and shaped a course
that lead us to a waypoint about 120 miles off the Oregon
Coast and had lovely reaching for the next five days,
with never less than 12 knots of wind, never more than
18. Each weather forecast reported southerly winds or
light winds along the coast with heavy fog banks, but
fresh northwesterly winds and cloudy skies 60 to 200
miles offshore. Later, in Sausalito, we met one of the
boats we'd left with. They had chosen to stay within
ten or twenty miles of the coast and found fitful winds
and confused seas.
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Craig
and Kaye Compton sent us these wonderful photos
of Taleisin, taken as we were sailing north from
Port Ludlow toward Port Townsend. |
We also had a wonderful bit of good luck as we made
our landfall. Though every forecast we'd had for the
week before we actually got out into the Pacific and
all during our dash southward had mentioned heavy fog
banks near the Golden Gate. So we were a bit apprehensive
as we closed the coast. But Larry greeted me for my
0300 watch that last night at sea with some wonderful
words, "I picked up the Point Reyes light house
two hours ago, visibility must be 25 or 30 miles, not
a sign of fog."
Our luck held beautifully and we made a delightful
landfall with only a few minutes of apprehension when
we were actually sailing between the headlands that
support the beautiful Golden Gate bridge. The wind eased
right off, sucked away by the warmth of the land. A
large freighter, accompanied by two tugboats decided
to overtake and pass us right as we were slowly running
wing and wing on the very last of the incoming tide,
right at the bridge. But they were moving with just
enough speed to give us the whole span to ourselves
when we actually arrived to sail into the famous fresh
afternoon breeze that began to funnel through the narrows.
With in two hours we lay at anchor in 2 fathoms of calm
water just off Sausalito, a grand parade of Sunday sailors
passing close off our stern as they headed home for
the week. We both were feeling a bit weary and weathered,
but not too tired to row ashore for dinner at the buzzing
fish restaurant that lay only 300 yards from Taleisin.
 |
Craig
and Kaye Compton sent us these wonderful photos
of Taleisin, taken as we were sailing north from
Port Ludlow toward Port Townsend. |
It had been almost three years since we'd been out
in open waters, and over a celebratory dinner of superbly
cooked local fish, I commented on how much I had enjoyed
being offshore again. "Sure is nice to set the
windvane, lay back and read a book," Larry added.
"It's definitely easier than having to pay attention
to your navigation all of the time like we had to do
in among the islands and rocks of the Puget Sound. I
feel a lot safer with sea room."
"I really like the feeling of being cut off from
shopping lists, to do lists, being able to put away
my handbag and forget about money and just concentrate
on taking care of the boat and ourselves." I added.
As we rowed back to Taleisin we were both ready for
a good long sleep in, uninterrupted by the need to stand
watches. Even better, we were now safe in harbour as
the heavy fog once again rolled down across the hills
behind Sausalito and the sound of fog horns reminded
us of the lucky break we'd had that day.
May your fog banks always be brief
Lin and Larry
Just a few notes - If you would enjoy
listening to two the interviews we did over the telephone
with Furled Sails, you can follow the link directly
from our opening page and either listen on line or download
the two half hour programs onto an ipod.
Also, I have often mentioned Beth Leonard and Evans
Starzinger, two sailors we have enjoyed meeting in a
grand assortment of different locations. Theyhave just
set up a website that you might find useful and definitely
interesting - it is www.bethandevans.com.
Final Note - Paradise Cay Publications, who sponsor
and coordinate this website, are currently creating
a new, expanded website for us. It should be online
within the next few weeks. It will still have the same
web address. Please let us know if you have any trouble
accessing it when it goes live.
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