Sunday 7/30/2012 - Rainier, OR to Astoria, OR
It was sunny with light wind on Sunday so we motored from Rainier to Astoria. It was finally setting in that our trip we had been planning for so long was a reality. We kept an eye on the engine and alternator belts constantly that day and monitored the weather to make sure we were going to be able to cross the Columbia Bar on Monday.
We pulled up to the docks in the Astoria West Basin in the afternoon. The winds had kicked up considerably. While we were getting the boat secured with the dock lines, a huge motor boat crash landed into the slip next to us. I rushed over to help. One of the guys on the boat threw me a dock line that wasn't attached to the boat. He let go of all of the line and I ended up with a slack line to nothing! They finally got the boat secured after a few more bangs into the dock and angry shouts at each other. We left Bliss to pay the dock fee at the marina. A few minutes later the attendant for the marina came over and asked us if we had looked at our depth. He said that they were experiencing some pretty drastic tides at the marina and we may want to consider moving from the dock because it could get quite shallow. We looked at the depth sounder and the reading was six feet! We fired up the engine and quickly moved to an empty slip. A little while later, after we got settled, we witnessed another crash landing. A couple in a large sailboat, ended up sideways to their slip. We heard a big crack as their boat made contact with the dock and another boat. What a day!
As the sun set, we made our final preparations for our transit up the coast and checked the conditions for the Columbia Bar crossing. Here is our preparation list for the next leg:
Take down grill
Sail tie on sail cover
Secure below
Check steering cable and rudder post
Upload GPS waypoints to cockpit
Check anchor and insert Nerf balls into chain locker holes
Rig jacklines
Tethers and strobes out
Turn dorades around
Check engine oil
Check transmission oil
Check coolant
Check belts
Check engine intake strainer
Check Racor Vacuum gauge after startup
Check propeller shaft
Inspect batteries
Take cover off man overboard module
Lash down anchor
Gloves and hats out
Prepare meal plan
Weather check
Rig main halyard
Check lifelines and stanchions
Check water level and top off
Draw up watch schedule
Check navigation lights
Douse WiFi antenna
Take TV down
Watch Schedule
2100-2400 Sean
0000-0300 Geralyn
0300-0600 Sean
