Beautiful Westport

Just a quick update, we are still in Westport (after a few days in Portland) trying to resolve the rattling problem. Its probably nothing serious, but we are hesitant to continue North until its identified and resolved. While trying to diagnose it while playing in the bar here, we noticed the raw water pump on the engine was leaking (interior carbon bearing is worn). Its totally fixable, but does add to the list, and will probably include a field trip to Seattle to get the part.

UPDATE: The waterpump turned out to be the cause of the very loud rattle we were hearing, not missing Risk game pieces as some had surmised. We were greatly relieved to find it, as motoring is now much more relaxing without the horrible noise, and the problem would have turned serious sooner rather than later had we not found it and fixed it.

Landmines of the Sea

Well, we finally made it out of Astoria last Thursday morning for our long delayed trip up the coast. The seas were initially a little rougher than we preferred, but mellowed a bit as we made our way North.

Everything was going fine until about 11PM at night, about halfway between Astoria and Neah Bay, when we heard a loud clunk. Against all odds, we had managed to drive the boat perfectly between a pair of crab pot floats and had them firmly wrapped around our rudder. We immediately put the engine in neutral and tried to untangle ourselves to no avail. Fortunately, the floats had somehow missed our propeller, so we had no engine damage, however, with the line wrapped so tightly around the rudder we could only turn about 1/2 the normal radius (and it was possible it might get worse). This was fine for where we were, and we were in no immediate distress, but we didn't want to risk the entrance to the Straights of Juan de Fuca, which can be a little bumpy, in our now impaired state.

We contacted the Coast Guard and informed them of our intent to proceed to Grays Harbor, which was about 40 miles behind us. We proceeded to Grays Harbor at substantially less than full speed to reduce the loads on the rudder, and hand steered instead of using the autopilot, which is pretty tiring. We made the entrance to the harbor at about sunrise, and the Coast Guard sent out a boat to escort us in through the bar, in case our situation suddenly deteriorated. Once inside the bar, the Coast Guard tied us up along side to tow us into the marina, as we didn't feel we were manueverable enough to get in by ourselves.

Our compliments to the Coast Guard, they were polite and courteous, and as far as we're concerned a good use of tax dollars.

Even tied up to the dock, and Nancy going around the boat with the kayak we were not able to unsnare the line and floats. We had a diver come out to the boat yesterday to free us of the now many times cursed floats, and to check for any damage to the boat. It took him about 10 minutes to cut us free, and he could find no damage.

So, we are going to take the time in Westport to try to find and fix a very loud rattle that we first noticed at the start of this trip. It only happens at close to full speed and in waves. It makes it impossible to sleep at night, and difficult to use the VHF radio below decks when underway... fortunately we had a good quality handheld that we could use to keep in touch with the Coast Guard throughout the night.

The Successful Failure

We woke up Friday morning, raring to head north to Neah Bay. We put the boat in reverse to head out at about 7:30 am. Nothing happened! Cory immediately decided that our whole trip was off because something was wrong with the engine. We were relieved when we finally realized that the tide was too low, and with a 6'3" draft, we were aground. We had known that this could be a problem, but as we were leaving well before low tide, had assumed that it wouldn’t impact us. So, after several attempts to power out, we finally gave up and headed to the famous Astoria Pig ‘n Pancake for a good breakfast. We were finally able to leave our slip at about 9:30 am, two hours after our planned departure time.

Our goal in leaving at 7:30 was to leave slightly before low tide. That way, the tide would sweep us out the 13 miles to the Columbia bar, and it would be slack tide when we were in the bar itself. This can be one of the most dangerous bars in the world if you cross it at the wrong time, so it is essential to pay attention and time your crossing.

We were happy to see that although we left after the water had risen in our marina, we still had the ebb tide with us. Several miles from the bar, we finally had current against us, slowing us down a bit. However, it was a beautiful day, and when we finally entered the bar, conditions were still fairly calm, allowing us to take a few pictures. The picture above is the Cape Disappointment lighthouse. We saw dolphins near us, which seemed like a good omen for the trip.

The forecast for Friday included NW winds of 10-20 knots, with a 5 foot swell from the west at 9 seconds, and 2-4 foot wind waves. Although this was a bit lumpy, we had decided that we could handle this. Once we got past the jetty, we realized how "lumpy" this really was. We were going north into the wind, and had the waves coming at us mostly from the front. This is called "bashing" and is a very uncomfortable way to make a trip. The good news was that the boat handled it fairly well. Our 450 pound tractor engine seemed to enjoy the challenge, never lugging down, just thumping along happily through the waves. We, on the other hand, were being tossed around. The waves were steep. A few times, the boat caught air, and we could hear the loud crash as the bow of the boat hit the water. Then there were the times that a wave came over the bow of the boat. If it hadn’t been for the dodger, the helmsman would have been really wet! The apparent wind was 25-30 knots (probably 20-25 knots true), higher than predicted, and average boat speed over ground was only 4 knots.

Shortly after turning the boat north, Cory the most seasoned member of our crew, decided that this wasn’t going to work. We had to turn around. We were going slower than expected, and he wasn’t sure if we had enough fuel, we were going to reach the entrance to the Straits at the wrong time, making the crossing potentially really nasty, and this was just too hard on us for such a long period of time. However, we both were so anxious to head north, that against his better judgement, we decided to continue our trip. It’s so hard to make a judgement like this. Turning around means failure, that we didn’t have the right stuff for the journey. Going, means a long nasty journey, but when it was over, it would feel so great!

So, we kept heading north. After a few hours, however, we both realized that this was two much for us. With only two people on board what felt like a washing machine on spin cycle, neither of us were going to get any sleep. The current and the waves were slowing us down so much that it was going to take us over 40 hours to make it to Neah Bay. Crossing into the Straits would include steep waves and a strong current against us. There was the possibility that we would run out of fuel prior to finishing our trip. It was time to pack it in, admit failure, and head back to Astoria.

Right before we turned around, I heard a quiet clanking noise. The pin holding the anchor to the boat had been shoved out of position by the waves and had been lost! The windlass was holding the chain in place at the moment, but someone had to go to the bow to tie down the anchor and make sure that it wasn’t released. We turned around and immediately everything calmed down. Wow, what a difference. With the wind and waves behind us, the apparent wind was less than 20 knots, and we were surfing the waves instead of bashing into them. We could do this! Cory attached himself to the jack lines tied to the boat, and headed up to the bow to tie down the anchor.

After that, we just had to wait out the next 6 hours until low tide, when we could cross the bar safely again. It was a pleasant day, and the wind and waves moderated for a time, and at several points I was really frustrated that we hadn’t kept going. However, the entry to the bar made me realize that turning around was the right thing to do. Although we tried to time our entry, it was the worst bar crossing Cory and I have ever made. The waves were steep and coming at us from two directions. Cory was at the wheel, and had to fight to keep the boat on the right course. The waves kept trying to turn us to the side. The current was against us, so it took us at least an hour to go through the worst of this. The good news is that the rudder is deep, so even through we were going over high, steep waves, we always had control of the boat. After we finally made it through, Cory was exhausted. I took over the wheel. Even then, I found steering to take a lot of energy. The currents were intent on grabbing the rudder, and I had to work to keep it in place. When we finally rounded buoy 14, we were able to relax a bit, and put up a sail to help us out. We finally got into our slip at around 10 pm, over 12 hours after leaving the marina.

We slept in on Saturday, and generally took it easy. Our bodies were depleted, utterly exhausted. For a time out on the ocean, we decided that we aren’t cut out for this life. It wasn’t fun. We just wanted to be on shore. It wasn’t worth it. After a day of rest, our spirits are much higher, and we feel good about our experience. Although it was a disappointment to be back in Astoria, we were so happy to be out of the ocean. The boat handled very well and was reliable. We made the right decision to head back, but we got lots of good experience in handling difficult conditions. We were glad that we stayed out for 12 hours because it made us confident that our decision to come in had been correct. We came back safe and sound. This was a very successful failure.

Give it another try...

We're going to catch the bus to Astoria this evening, and hope to get the boat into saltier water at first light tomorrow morning.

If anyones curious, you can get ocean forecasts at
http://www.wunderground.com/MAR/wam.html. They are the same as the official NOAA forecasts, but its a better interface I think. Friday and Saturday have a little more wind on our nose (10-20kts NW) than I'd prefer, but the swells (4-6 ft) are pretty manageable. This is the best we've seen in the last week and a half.

Assuming all goes well, we'll probably be incommunicado until Sunday evening or Monday when we reconnect with "civilization". Theres not much of anything between Astoria and Port Angeles (or Victoria). We'll probably put in to Neah Bay Saturday afternoon, but while they have great marina facilities and strawberry waffles, thats about it.

Astoria or bust

They say that sailing is an activity with long periods of boredom interspersed with moments of sheer terror. I wouldn't say that has been our experience this week, but "hurry up and wait" has been part of the adventure. We found that once we got into Astoria, we were exhausted. So, at first we were really happy to wait for a weather window. The weather has been fairly nice - just a little rain at night. We took the trolley across town (or as we call it, the "twolley"), walked for miles and miles each day, searched for wi-fi connections, visited the boat supply store at least twice a day, and tried to finish our preparations in a reasonably leasurely manner. It was just a pleasure to be a bit more relaxed than at home, not having 101 different things to focus on. As Cory mentioned, we took the boat out yesterday to see what we could break. We had about 20 knots of wind, and the waves were nice and steep, so we felt like we were able to gain further trust in the boat's ability to handle ocean conditions. (Nothing broke, not even us!)

And as to the famous noise, athough I like Alyssa's idea that the cats left a present for us, we decided that the noise is a sympathetic vibration coming from the wooden structure around the engine, and are confident that it is not from the engine itself. We've tighted up the screws, and the noise does seem to be a bit more restrained. So, we're comfortable with taking the boat in the ocean.

The photo above is a picture of the boat in the marina in Astoria. (The dingy isn't ours.) Both we and the boat are looking forward to moving on to our next adventure. In the meantime, we're taking a short break and heading back to Portland to do a bit of work and pass the time until the planets align and we can take our ocean journey.

A link to our photo album for this trip... http://picasaweb.google.com/nrjlee/SVBalancingAct2007TripNorth

To Be Continued...

Due to a convergence of minor events, we didn't make it out of Astoria yesterday. :(

We did make it out for a nice day sail in very windy and lumpy conditions though and the boat and us held together just fine... it was the most wind/waves we've seen in this boat, and was good practice for us.

The weather is forecasted to be a bit messy for the weekend, at least for the first ocean trip for us on this boat, but things look good mid next week, so we are going to catch the bus back to Portland tomorrow, finish up some work projects we both left unfinished, and hopefully get out next week. We are really sick of Astoria at this point, and are both a little disappointed that things didn't work out for us to escape this week.

Wild Blue Yonder

We're going to cross the bar tomorrow (Thursday). I think we've resolved most of the problems we encountered on the river on the way down, and by tomorrow the navy flotilla headed for the Rose festival and their security zones (how can you have a 1 mile security zone in a channel only 600 yards across???) will have passed.

Our free wifi that we had yesterday at the marina has mysteriously disappeared today, so we're at the library, mostly catching up on a little bit of work. Argh.

The mad dash...

It has been a crazy year, and the craziness didn't stop until we left town on Sunday. As most of you know, we purchased Balancing Act, an Ericson 35 Mark III, just over a year ago. After looking at numerous boats made by a number of manufacturers (honestly, we did!) we decided that the boat for us was an Ericson 35. Just enough boat, but not too much, with nice lines, and reports that it sailed well. We spent about five months looking for one on the west coast - all the brokers kept telling us that E35 owners just don't want to sell their boats. We finally found a 1984 Mark III for sale in Alameda, CA. Cory drove down to CA that day, called me and said "she sails like a dream!" That was it-we had to have her. We knew that it needed some work, but figured we'd have it all done in a few months. Well, as one friend told me, all boats are projects. We finally made it into the marina after three months in the boatyard, and have been working every spare moment on the boat since that time. Balancing Act is now a new old boat.

Cory was hoping to get out of town in Mid-May. We were pretty happy to make it out on Sunday, June 3rd. We finished up most of the boat and work chores by Thursday, and spent Friday and Saturday provisioning the boat and getting the house ready for the housesitter. Provisioning the boat was an truly surprising experience. We kept bringing more food, clothing, and boat parts to the boat, and kept finding places to put everything. How can such a small space hold so much stuff? Balancing Act is 35'7" long, and 11'3" wide (in the widest spot). She has a reasonable amount of storage space, but not as much as some boats of the same size. However, everything we brought to the boat seemed to magically disappear. We loved our E32, but this boat is just the perfect size.

We decided not to rush leaving on Sunday, and spent a few more hours trying to make the house presentable for Amber, our housesitter. (Can't let those cats get lonely!) I'm afraid that the house has been neglected recently, although we really tried (we worked on the house until 2 am Saturday night), we appreciate her willingness to deal with imperfection. Thank you Amber!

We finally made it out of the marina about 1:30 on Sunday, and decided to head to St. Helens. The boat handled beautifully, but we heard a worrying rattling noise. As a master mechanic (ok, just an inexperience grease monkey), I decided that it was the bolts on the propeller shaft hitting other bolts - we'd had this problem early on. So, we kept the engine speed below maximum until we reached St. Helens. As Cory (at 6'2" tall) can't fit into the space required to reach the propeller shaft, I had the pleasure (I mean the pain) of wedging my body into a small space, with my head, arms, and shoulders jammed between the waterlift muffler and the sides of the engine compartment. The propeller was below me, and I couldn't lean on it, so I leaned on my hands on the floor around it. After about 15 minutes of inspecting the bolts while moaning every now and then (Cory is great with the sympathy), we finally decided that it probably wasn't the bolts. I managed to wiggle my way out of the hoses and boards wrapped lovingly around me without too much blood loss. After some thought, we decided to head on to Astoria the next day and troubleshoot the problem prior to heading out to the ocean.

Cory and I are notorious for not being able to go to bed at night and having great difficulty at getting up in the morning. Well, on the boat we don't seem to have that problem. We left St. Helens at 5:30 am and made it to Astoria by 2 pm. The tide was with us, so we made good time. On a 35 foot sailboat, that means 7.5 to 9 nautical miles per hour. I believe that a nautical miles is 1.15 miles per hour (or the other way around), so, as they say, it is the journey that matters, not the destination. It was so wonderful to be on the river again. The wind was always on our nose, so we didn't get to sail. But, that was OK. The water was fairly calm, the weather was great, and Balancing Act is a joy to be on. We kept the engine at full throttle, and worked on troubleshooting the rattle. We finally decided that it isn't coming from the engine. We think that either a board is rattling or one of the tools that got lost in a secret space on the boat (she has many of those) is letting us know it is there. We will try to track it down, but as the engine seems to be working perfectly, we plan to head out of Astoria early Thursday morning.

We are so excited to be heading on this trip and appreciate everyone who put up with our busy schedule for the past year. We don't expect this trip to be completely relaxing - we are on a boat after all! But, we are already enjoying being able to use the boat, not just work on it. We will spend some time working in the next month, but will be able to focus on having an adventure.

The ocean journey will take about 30 hours. It's nice that we have made this trip before. We still are a bit nervous before heading out into the big green sea, but that is OK. It is important to respect this great body of water. Our first stop will be Neah Bay, where we will probably sleep for about 12 hours. Then, it's off to Victoria, and good-bye to the US for a few months. We'll be sure to give you updates on our adventures, and try to include a few photos every now and then.