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.