Tuesday, July 7, 1992 - Brookings, OR

Another glorious day! 80 degrees, delightful breeze, blue sky, green forests in the background. Man, this is the life!
Wrote a bunch of postcards in the morning. After lunch, walked over the bridge to Brookings. Bought stamps at the post office and mailed the postcards. Got some money from an ATM. Treated ourselves to delicious ice cream. Roy bought a new pair of shoes on sale for half price. On the way back, we picked a bagful of luscious blackberries.
When we got back to the boat, we put on our bathing suits and went Royaking around the two marinas. Tomorrow, we're going to paddle up the Chetco River.
Speaking of Royaks, this morning Roy noticed another Royak tied to a boat in the marina. We walked over there and talked to the owner, Keith Smith. He had bought the Royak at a dive shop in Campbell in 1976 and has been using it avidly ever since. He's not a diver, but he uses it to fish and paddle around. Boy, was he enthusiastic! He raved on and on about how much he likes the Royak. His seven-year-old son, Jonathan, likes to paddle it, too. They were both thrilled to meet the guy who invented it.

Monday, July 6, 1992 - Brookings, OR

We had thought of going to Port Orford (about 65 miles) today, but there are small-craft advisories for this afternoon, so we decided to just make a short hop to Brookings, Oregon. Since it's only 18 miles, we were confident we could get there before the wind picked up. Were we wrong!
The morning was absolutely beautiful. Sunny and clear with a nice breeze from the west. We were able to cut the engine and sail at 3 to 4 knots with all four sails: main, mizzen, head, and stay (cutter rig.) It was so delightful, sailing along peacefully, with the waves lapping against the hull.
When we were still five miles from Brookings, the wind picked up and shifted to the northwest. I was steering as close to the wind as I could, but we were slipping rapidly towards the shore, so we had to take in the sails and turn on the engine. Within minutes, it was blowing 20 to 25 knots. Headed out about three miles to get away from the shore and then resumed our course to Brookings.
Got here about 3:30. Called the port office on the VHF and were assigned slip O6, but the fairway looked narrow and we had a tailwind. Didn't think we could turn around if we got in there and had a problem, so we tied up at the beat-up transient dock near the entrance and directly across from the Coast Guard station.
The rate here is $9.80 a day. Facilities are limited, but the scenery is beautiful, and the weather is glorious. Remarkably warm. We'll sit here until the wind dies down.
Walked around a little. Found a post office and a bunch of stores. Ate a lot of wild blackberries.
After supper, we checked out O6. There would have been plenty of room to turn around after all. The docks were in better shape but very narrow, so we decided to stay where we were.
Walked over to the showers, which are in the RV park about a mile from here. Not the greatest showers.

Sunday, July 5, 1992 - Crescent City, CA

Remarkably smooth sea. Zoomed along at six knots.
Interesting episode around midnight. I had just come on for my 11:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. watch. Saw a lot of bright lights to port. Saw on radar that they were on a towboat and barge. Watched them getting closer and closer, and I was busy figuring out the best way to avoid them. When they were about 1 1/2 miles away, I heard a voice on the radio. It was hard to make out over the engine noise what he was saying, but I picked up "sailboat 1 1/2 miles off my starboard bow," and the position he gave sounded very similar to ours. (I had just checked our position a few minutes before, so I knew where we were.) When he said something about being ten miles from Punta Gorda, that cinched it. I turned up the volume on the VHF, grabbed the mike, and responded. He was very nice. After talking a few minutes, I said I'd cut down my speed and let him go ahead, which is what I did. He thanked me and went on by.
Cape Mendocino is supposed to be a bear to go by, but we went past it as if we were in a swimming pool. It's hard to believe the ocean can be this calm.
We had planned on going to Eureka, but the weather was so nice when we were just outside the harbor and it was so early in the day that we decided to continue north to Trinidad Head. Reached Trinidad Head around 10:30 a.m. and decided to continue north to Crescent City.
Perfect day! Glorious scenery! Endless miles of tree-covered hills and mountains. Glassy sea, blue sky, warm sun, nice little sailing breeze. And we don't have to do anything but kick back and enjoy, while Charlie steers the boat. This is the life!
Reached Crescent City around 6 p.m. and tied to an end tie. Fuel dock was closed (and nearly inaccessible anyway.) Harbor Master's office also closed, but a security guard came around to collect later in the evening. $14 for one night and no showers or decent restroom!
Twice what we paid at Bodega Bay for a much nicer place.
Walked uptown. Ate supper at Kentucky Fried and bought a few groceries at Safeway.
Roy has a miserable cold. Other than that, everything's rosy.
We went 278 miles in 2 days! Wow! Nearly 6 miles an hour on average.

Saturday, July 4, 1992 - Shelter Cove, CA

Motored northwest all night and morning. Arrived at Shelter Cove around one p.m. Lovely spot! High cliffs topped with trees and bushes. Gentle surf rolling onto the curving beach. This is part of "California's Lost Coast," but a lot of people have found it. The place is jumping with campers and boaters.
Paddled ashore and walked around. There's even an airstrip here! Ate some ice cream bars, bought fish and milk, and returned to the Royaks.
We set my Royak down too close to the water. While Roy was walking over to his Royak, a big, fast swell rolled in and started to carry my Royak out with it. Fortunately, I had seen the swell coming, so I was able to run over and grab the tail of my Royak while it was still in shallow water. Of course, my shoes and socks got wet, but no big deal; they've been wet before. If I hadn't been able to grab the tail, Roy would have had to paddle after it and tow it back to the beach. Then I'd have felt like a dork.
After supper, we weighed anchor and headed north.

Friday, July 3, 1992

Still small-craft advisories this morning, but the wind is supposed to diminish tonight and tomorrow, so we decided to leave around one p.m.
Did the laundry while Roy polished the metal on the boat and stuff. The laundry here is close by, but the equipment isn't the greatest, and the change machine was out of change, so I had to run around scrounging up quarters.
Had no problem getting out of here, except for an old guy in a powerboat who cut right in front of us. Sea fairly flat and light breeze. Charlie worked flawlessly.

Thursday, July 2, 1992 - Bodega Bay, CA

Somewhat foggy this morning. Calm in the bay, but still small-
craft advisories outside, so we're staying another day.
Roy sealed the fo'c'sle portholes, and I went Royaking. Paddled around the entire bay. Stopped at a grocery store, but they didn't have anything I wanted. I can't understand how a town of this size, with hundreds of houses and a great many RVers and campers can not have a single supermarket or even a decent grocery store. Where do these people buy their food?
The sun came out in the afternoon. Rode our bikes through the campground and down to the beach. Walked up and down the beach, enjoying the salt air and the surf. Then we rode down to Campbell Cove. I showed Roy the cave I'd discovered that morning. I was able to paddle about 2/3 of the way into it in the morning, but now the tide was out and we could walk into the cave. It went in about 50 feet.
Watched a man pulling shrimp out of the wet sand with a pump-like gadget. He said he always got his quota of 50 shrimp. Used them for bait, and he always caught fish.

Wednesday, July 1, 1992 - Bodega Bay, CA

Another glorious day at Bodega Bay! Sunshine, blue sky, pleasant breeze, clean, fresh air.
There are mostly fishing boats at this marina, but they're remarkably clean and well-maintained. There isn't the slightest trace of a fishy odor. First time we've ever been in a fishing port that didn't smell of fish.
A rain cover for the generator was one of the items on our to-do list that didn't get done at Richmond, so we rode our bikes over to Carolyn's Canvas Shop and had a cover made. She did a really good job and only charged $20.
After bringing the cover back to the boat, we went bike-riding. Got separated, but coincidentally went to the same places. Ate some delicious wild blackberries. Found a big campground with 100 campsites. The campsites were far enough apart to provide plenty of privacy. Really nice. Close to the ocean, too.

Tuesday, June 30, 1992 - Bodega Bay, CA

Arrived at Bodega Bay around 9 a.m. Headed straight for the fuel dock. Diesel here is only 89 cents a gallon. Filled a bunch of jerry cans as well as the tank. I spilled some diesel on the dock trying to fill a can. Big mess.
Went to a vacant slip to eat breakfast. As usual--25-knot wind out of the northwest, so we decided to stay overnight. Only $6 for the slip plus $1 for electricity!
After a two-hour nap, we dug out our bicycles and went for a ride. What a beautiful day! Rode up to Bodega Head and watched the surf smashing against the rocks.

Monday, June 29, 1992 - On Way to Alaska

Finally! We're actually on our way to Alaska!
We had planned on spending two weeks in Richmond. We were there four weeks and still didn't get done half the stuff we wanted to do. We finally decided to just GO. We intended to leave around one o'clock this afternoon, so we'd have the tide with us. In the morning, Roy decided to take his bike to the bike shop for its "30-day" checkup, and I busied myself on the boat, getting charts ready, entering waypoints, etc. It was nearly noon when Roy returned, and there was a 30% chance of rain, but we wanted to take a bike ride while our bikes were off the boat and in A-1 condition, so we decided to ride around for half an hour. The 30% chance of rain turned to 100% long before we returned from our half-hour bike ride two hours later, but we had fun anyway.
We put the bikes back on the boat and dried them off. Then we went over to the Harbor Master's dock to return the gate keys. We tied up at the new dock and then realized the gate was locked and there was a chain-link fence along the dock. After a few tries, I managed to wriggle by and returned the keys. Then we were off.
Our new doghouse sure felt cozy in the pouring rain. We motored to Sausalito, dropped anchor, and ate some soup. We debated spending the night there (it was 7 p.m. by then) or continuing on our way. The wind was from the south (most unusual), so we decided we'd better take advantage of it.
Went out the Gate to the Separation Zone and turned right. Had to use the engine as well as the headsail. Zoomed along at six knots. Peaceful, uneventful night.