Pacific Crossing
6/19
Position - 40 13.2N 131 24.2W COG - 004M SOG - 5.0 kts
wind NW at 18 kts we have seen as much as 25 kts
Seas - NW at 8' with larger waves of occassionally 10' and lots of
wind chop
Susan tells us that by tomorrow night (Saturday) most of this will go
away. Until that time we are to stay west of longitude 130W. From now
until then, we can expect a lousy ride. At that 42N 130W, we can
resume normal econ. cruise and proceed direct to Astoria. Astoria is
a small town at the mouth of the Columbia River. We will refuel there
and cruise up the Columbia to Portland, Oregon. For thos of you who
have not been plotting our position on Google Earth, we are currently
a little more than 400 NM off the coast of Northern, California. We
are just completing 2000 NM so far in this passage. By the time we
arrive in Astoria, we will have travelled over 2500 NM. Given our
present fuel consumption. we should arrive in Astoria with about
300miles worth of fuel remaining or more than a 10% reserve. I had
never intended to make the passage this long, but bad weather off the
coast in "Sunny California" made it necessary.
Rick and Chris have been watching a strange little "alien" life form
that has been drifting by on the surfavce of the ocean. Earlier, they
were a pale yellow and now they appear to be tan or brown. They are
like little balls with several appendages sticking out like tentacles,
although no movement can be seen in the rough seas. We can't tell
whether they are plant or animal, but probably animal. The largest of
then is about the size of a tennis ball and the smallest that we can
see is only about the size of a marble. The tentacles are
proportionate in length to the size of the ball with the tentacles on
a tennis ball sized animal being about 2" to 3". There are anywhere
from four to eight of the protrusions. They look kind of like one of
those roots you see in the produce seection of the supermarket. Any
ideas?
The hamburgers worked so well last night, that we're having hot dogs
tonight.
6/20
Position - 41 57.9N 130 30.7W COG - 003M SOG - 4.0M
Wind - NW at 20 kts Seas - NW at 10' to 12' Fortunately the interval
is large enough and the waves are far enough apart that the ride is
not too bad (as long as you're not up and walking).
I am concerned about our current speed over the ground. What do you
know about currents in this area? I have seen the SOG drop off to
below 4.0 kts. We should be able to maintain 5.5 to 6.0 kts at this
power setting and sea conditions. If we keep getting that kind of
current, then we will not be able to make Astoria and we will have to
make for Coos Bay when we hit the WP at 43N 130W. Right now, the
navigation program is giving us an ETA at about 10 AM tomorrow
(Sunday) PDT for the WP.
Phil
For the update group,
As you can see by the about email to Susan, I am concernced about
current on the bow we seem to have encountered that is causing our
speed to drop off. I will have to make a critical decision when we
reach our next Way Point tomorrow morning at 43N 130W. At that time
I will make th decision whether to continue on ahead to Astoria or to
cut East and make for Coos Bay. This new current may be the deciding
factor if we don't get out of it. RIght now, the milage to Astoria is
380 NM and the milage to Coos Bay is 315 NM. We currently have 450
gallons of fuel which should be more than enough to make either
destination. The 'X' factor is this current on the nose.
We saw a lot of critters today. First thing, Chris managed to catch
one of those strange little alien critters we saw yesterday and it's
even more strange out of the water than in. It's kind of like one of
those soft rubbery balls that you can but in a toy store and has soft
rubbery spikes protruding in all directions. The one Chris pulled out
of the ocean was bigger than a baseball but not as big as a softball.
It has way more protrusions than we envisioned looking at them from
the boat. The protrusions are little arms with a small 1 inch long
muscle like shell around the end of each appendage.The little shells
are very soft and crumble in our fingers. There must be two dozen of
these things all protruding from some center point that couldn't
amount to much because of the number of the arms. WE put it in water
for Rick to see when he woke up and small delicate feathers or fans
would extrude from the little shells at the end of the arms. These
feathery limbs make me think that the animal is some kind of filter
feeder. There have been millions of these things floating in the
water in this area of the ocean.
Then we had another pod of dall porpoises get on the bow of the boat.
There seemed to be about 15 animals in this pod. They really seem
like they're having a good time as they cavort and play around the bow.
This morning, the sun broke out intermittantly. Chris and I looked at
what looked to be half dollar coins floating on the surface of the
water EVERYWHERE. They were floating on edge, with only the upper
half of the coin protruding out of the water as they reflected the
sun. As we looked closer, I realized that they were tiny inch long
Portugeuse Man-O-War jelly fish. The floating half dollar that I
saw was because of the way the sun was reflected off their sails.
Chris said that when he first saw them, he though they were nothing
but little bubbles on the water. With at least one of those things in
every square foot of ocean we have travelled today, I estimated that
there are trillions of those nasty little things out here. Chris
started out counting in the millions, but had come around to trillions
also.
So, tomorrow we will reach crossroads: either Astoria if I feel we
can make it or Coos Bay if the current against us persists. For
Sess: You might say that I have a "crittercal" decision coming up.
6/21
Position - 43 47.5N 129 09.5W COG - 039M SOG - 6.4 KTS
WINDS - nw AT 12 KTS SEAS - 6' to 7' from the NNW a little
confused and a little chop.
Overall, the ride is not bad. As soon as we turned away from the
004M course, the ride got better and the SOG increased. Right now we
are on a heading straight for Astoria and the mouth of the Columbia
River. I will be happy if the ride stays like this the rest of the
way and our speed stays up. At this rate, we will make the mouth of
the Colubia River on Tuesday afternoon.
Phil
For the update crew:
We reached our crittercal Way Point this morning. After looking at
all of the current weather charts from NOAA and with only 65 miles
difference between the two, I decided that Astoria was the best
destination for us. The gale is still hanging around off the coast of
California. This has turned out to be the longest passage that Flat
Earth has ever made. My only real concern about continuing to
Astoria was fuel. We currently have 380 gallons of diesel on board.
I estimate that we will use about 140 gallons to cruise the remaining
250NM to Astoria, leaving us with 240 gallons of reserve fuel. That
much fuel would get us another 500 NM, an adequate safety margin
indeed. We should arrive in Astorai on Tuesday afternoon. Hopefully,
we'll get there in time to make the 2PM to 3PM slack tide for
crossing the Columbia River Bar. Then, if we can get diesel that
afternoon, we can leave early the next morning for Portland. Chris
would like to find transportation from Astoria to Portland on Tuesday,
but I doubt if he'll get there any faster than we will.
The ride is currently OK. We are still bouncing a little, but
getting sleep shouln't be difficult in these conditions. We still
have to "keep one hand for the boat" when we walk, but sitting or
laying still in one spot is comfortable. Last night was a firly rough
one. My routine for sleeping include momentary periods of
wakefullness at I slide four inches in one direction and four inches
in the opposit direction. Sometimes, this kind of movement gets to
you and you can't sleep at all, as happened for Rick last night. Last
night, I had a pretty good night's rest.
We can tell that the air up here is much dryer than it was back in
Hawaii. In Hawaii when you're cruising, every hard surface has a
minute coating of moisture. This means that bare feet work best for
getting around the boat giving good traction. Now all of the surfaces
are dry as is our skin. Our feet are now sliding on the teak floors
so we have to be careful. Both the air temperature and the water
temperature outsie are in the low 50'sFm The water temperature is 53
degrees. If we had to go into the water for anything, we wouldn't
last long. Inside the boat, the temp. is 65, but cooler down below
decks, probably in the high 50's.. Rick and Chris have taken to
wearing clothes to bed in their sleeping bags to stay warm. The
engine room was unbarably hot down in the tropics. Now, it may be the
most comfortable room on board. Chris and I were musing about what it
must be like to take a sailboat on such a long passage. On a
sailboat, you have to be outside on the helm when your on watch, in
your foul weather gear, in the 50 degree temperatures, and with the
spray flying over the bow with every other wave. With that thought,
Chis and I toasted Flat Earth with our hot cups of coffee.
The boat is still purring like a well fed kitten. Rick and I have
managed to compensate for all of the problems and issues that we had
on previous passages. Not one thing has failed on this passage, we
haven't had to change one filter, or change one belt (thanks to Rick
spiffy new design for the hydaulic pump). We did tighten the belt a
couple of times, but even that may not have been necessary. All we
have done in the way of maintence is add oil to a few things and
grease to another. Beause of the cool weather, generator usage has
been almost nill. We crank in up to make water fore a few hours every
other day. Frank, you'll like this: We have not turned the wing
engine on, not once.
No new critters for today, but we did get another pod of dall porpoise
riding our bow. They came at us from the side and behind , catching
Flat Earth as if she was standing still. They were very fast, jusping
completely clear of the water and soaring through the air for fifteen
feet. They made it look so easy and graceful. Cris has been trying
to sight a whale and thinks it's a spout every time he sees a
particularly large whitecap. Just wishful thing, Chris. We did have a
cargo freighter more than 1000 feet long pass us by today. That's as
big as an aircraft carrier. He was so big that he could carry 2 1/2
Flat Earths lined up end to end across the beam of his ship.
Everyone fended for themselves for dinner this evening. Tonight on
this watch, we will go onto Pacific Daylight Time, so we're getting
real close.
6/22
Position - 45 15.4N 126 08.7W COG - 037M SOG- 6.6 KTS
wind - 340M at 15 kts Seas - They have been 6' to 7' from the
NNW most of the day. At sunset they calmed down slightly to 5' to 6'
and not as much chop. The ride has been OK all day, meaning not too
uncofartable unless you try walking around much.
We are estimating the mouth of the Columbia River just after 12 noon.
Susan, double check me on this if you can: My information shows that
there will be a slack tide at the Columbia River Bar between 2 PM and
3 PM PDT. If you can confirm this for me, I'll be grateful.
Just one more day. This has turned into the longest passage that Flat
Eart has ever done. By the time we get to Astoria, we will have
logged almost 2500 NM. And for 2500 miles your weather reports have
been right on the money. The only glitch we had was when I elected to
disregard your suggestion that I stay in Hawaii for aniother four or
five days. I hope that my decision to go didn't offend you.
Fortunately, that decision turned out OK. The rest of the passage, we
stuck to your recommendations like glue, even if we couldn't see it
developing on the NOAA weather faxes. In the end, no matter what NOAA
forecasted, yours was the one that always turned out correct.
Thankyou. I'll give you an arrival report tomorrow.
Phil
For the update group,
Just another day of "same ol' ... same ol'", EXCEPT for the fact that
we have only one day left. The seas have been OK if a little
treacherous while you're walking around. Right now we have exactly
100NM left until the Columbia River Bar.
Now for our next great trial - The Columbia River Bar. They refer to
the entrance of these rivers along the coast as "Bars" because in the
"olden days" like when I was in my twenties, the rivers often had
shifting sand bars at their entrances making crossing the bar a
dangerous guessing game. NOw, in modern times, they have dredges and
have installed jetties to prevent the sand bars from develoiping. The
Columbia River Bar is one of the most dangerous in the world. Before
the jetties were built, the Columbia had earne the nick name of the
"Graveyard of the Pacific." Over the years, more than 2000 vessels
have been lost and more than 700 lives. The river bar is so
treacherous that the Coast Guard's only rescue training school is
located here. The name of the Coast Guard Station? Cape
DISAPPOINTMENT Coast Guard station. Crossing the bar is
particularly dangerous when the ebb tide is flowing at it's
strongest: that means that when the tide and the river flow are
working together and run into the surf and swells from the Pacific
Ocean. That's why you saw me ask Susan Genett for confirmation of my
calculation of the time for slack tide.
There is a lot more ship traffic as we get closer to the coast. Right
now there is a 750' tanker crossing four miles astern of us. He is so
big that his radar image on both of my radars is a smear about three
inches long on the screen. We have a ship over 1000' in legth go by
us last night on the way to Japan. That's the size of an aircarft
carrier! The ocean is no longer empty; it's full of guys all bigger
than us so we have to be extra alert on watch.
My "PLAN", as Chris calls it, is to refuel tomorrow afternoon if we
can get there before they close the pumps. Well stay the night at the
marina in Astoria. Rick and I have stayed in this marina before.
Then at 04:30 in the morning, we will depart for Portland, Oregon. At
this point, we don't know if Chris will go up river with us or get
other transportation to Porland. It depends on whether his business
has fallen apart without him. If he comes with us, he will be able to
fly out on the 6 AM flight thursday morning which is a through flight
back to Orlando.
Gaye: Chris will call you at 3 PM Orlando time tomorrow and see
what's up.
Only one more report to go ... the arrival report.
06/23 ARRIVAL
We crossed the Columbia River Bar at 13:45 this
afternoon, about an hour before full slack tide. That's 1:45 PM for
all you land lubbers. The mouth of the Columbia is a very complex and
vast body of water. I can see how mariners from the "olden days"
could get themselves into trouble with all the currents and shoal
water. However, the most useful tool we have is the GPS and the chart
plotters that display our exact position on the chart. This allows us
to know exactly where we are in relation to the danger. Now, the last
time Rick and I crossed the Columbis River Bar, our computer dumped
just as we entered the channel. Fortunately, I got it running again,
but this time I came prepared. In addition to the two Furuno Chart
Plotters, I run our main navigation program called Nobeltec on our
main tower computer. Because of the trouble we had last time, I also
had my laptop computer open and running another copy of Nobeltec with
it's own set of charts. It's sort of like carrying an umbrella to
prevent rain. On another note of good decisions: As we were entering
the channel here, we heard a Coast Guard broadcast stating that the
Bar at Coos Bay was being closed for bad weather. (WHEW!)
They have completely changed the Marina around
here in Astoria for the better. We pulled right up to the fuel dock
and the lady was waiting for us. I took on 550 gallons of diesel at
$2.34 per gallon. Then we spun around and took a slip for the night
not 50 yards away. We hoofed it up to the convenience store to get
some beer and cokes. While there we stopped had some wonderful
tacos at a small road side stand ( authentic tacos. I actually had a
tongue taco!). We took the drinks back to the boat and then went to a
local pub just up on the corner from the marina. The pub honors the
Coast Guard and its personel, so guess who all the local patrons
were ... you'd be right. They were all retired Coast Guard. We made
it just in time for their Tuesday night "Burgers and Beer" night. A
draft of Bud was only $2. We are now sitting back on the boat. We
have a somewhat surrealistic view of snow covered peaks in the State
of Washington and we are right under a huge bridge connecting Oregon
and Washington. It is so high that huge cargo freighters and tankers
easily cross under it to anchor on the other side. I'll bet that it's
almost as tall as the Golden Gate Bridge.
The summary of our passage is pretty amazing. We
traveled right at 2500 nautical miles or 2877 statute miles, the
longest either we or Flat Earth has ever gone in one passage. It took
us 17 days and 1165 gallons of diesel. We had 275 gallons of fuel
left in the tanks, enough for us to have travelled another 500 miles
or all the way up to Seattle. The trip was much longer and more
complex than we had ever envisioned because of unusally bad weather
right off the coast of our original destination, San Francisco. Here,
I have to give our weather router credit: She really earned her money
this trip. Often, we would recieve weather faxes with no trace of the
weather she was talking about. However, time and time again what
Susan said would happen did happen. Had we not had Susan to advise
us, we could have gone through dangerous weather. The gale off San
Francisco is still there. Flat Earth itself was a marvel of
perfection. In past voyages of this length, we have had pumps fail or
overheat. We have had to change fuel filters as often as every day
and belts (fan belts for you who can relate to a car). Flat Earth was
the essence of perfection on this passage. We replaced no filters,
replaced no belts, had nothing fail. We did tighten the belts once,
but that was probably not really necessary. Later on, we let the
belts flop a little more and they worked just fine. The only fly in
the ointment was the day that we got the netting and the rope wound
around the prop and the shaft. NO one could have foreseen that
happening. I'll do some thinking about what I can do to facilitate
cutting through such a mess in the future. However, even that event
had a bright side to it. Chris and Rick and I were talking about it
tonight in the pub and guessed (as in WAG) that no more than 1 in 100
boaters could have freed up their prop in the same circumstances.
Tomorrow, we get up early and head up the
Columbia River to Portland. Chris will fly out of PDX on Thursday to
Orlando and I may try to get down to see Jean in SLC. Chris has been
a wonderful crew member at a time when Rick and I desperately needed
one. We stood watches of four hours on and eight hours off. This
allowed us to each stay rested and relaxed. Had Rick and I been the
only two, we would have been standing four on and four off, a brutal
"port and starboard" schedule.
Thanks to you all for following our latest
expedition. I like writing about all of the amazing little things
that I find in life. Sharing these experiences only serves to
enhance the adventures. You can't convince me that God doesn't have a
sense of humor.
Phil Eslinger
Flat Earth N50