Orvil Newton's Blog – September 2010 Archive (3)

Neah Bay



We departed Port Angeles at 07:20 on Tuesday, September 22 under overcast skies with good visibility. The forecast was for wind 15 to 25 knots from the SW off Cape Flattery. We neglected to consult the long range forecast. Our mistake, and, later, we paid for it.



We reached the red J buoy at the entrance to the strait at sundown, shut down the engine, hoisted the genoa and mainsail, and sailed on a course of 240 degrees true, making as much southing as we could in the… Continue

After picking up our crew for the trip down the coast in Friday Harbor we returned to Port Townsend for final provisioning. Generally foggy conditions in the strait deteriorated into very low visibility and kept us in Port Townsend an extra day.



We left Port Townsend at 12:20 on Wednesday as the fog lifted but as we motored westward in the Strait of Juan de Fuca the fog closed in again and we found ourselves proceeding in one mile visibility for most of the thirty six miles to Port… Continue

If there is one thing certain about cruising, it is that one becomes very connected to the weather and less concerned with any arbitrary

schedule.



As Laura wrote, we love Port Townsend; especially, the Boat Haven. Having said that, we are once again spending more time than

we had planned because of adverse weather conditions: Gale warnings to

the north, small craft advisories to the south, rain and contrary winds

here in the port.



We had intended to… Continue