We set out of Coos Bay, OR thinking that we’d either stop in Crescent City, CA or Eureka, CA if weather allowed.
It was a high pressure system, clear skies, and unseasonably warm temperature most of the day. The girls were mostly bored and didn’t know what to do. I haven’t been able to get Sophia to take another turn at the helm since leaving Jones Island, when she shrewdly observed that “the boring thing about steering is you either have to keep the wheel straight, or keep turning it back and forth.” Yep, that pretty much sums it up. The course south was somewhat choppy but the clear sunny skies made up for the ups and downs. Soon, as the late afternoon drew near, the winds were getting stronger and the swells were getting bigger. The 4 pm forecast update included a small craft advisory that wasn’t there earlier. Another dark night with wind and waves- not a fun prospect.
In the lee of the Port Orford cliffs, looking south the following morning. Despite the cliffs, we had 20-25 knot gusts during the night, a taught 250 ft anchor chain & snubber, and bow veering back and forth. Oh yes, and westerly swells rolling into the anchorage. Didn’t get much sleep.
After studying the guide books, the charts, and the weather reports Jeff suggested that we duck into Port Orford. It was not a marina but a sheltered cove from the northerlies. Exactly the kind of cove we needed. It took 2-3 hours to get into the cove, and in that time we spotted a whale, pod of porpoises, and three pelicans. Dropped anchor at dusk. The winds and the swells calmed once we were got behind Port Orford’s high cliffs. There are launching ramps but not docks, only dry dock. The fishing boats pull in and the lifts pull the boats out of the water for storage on dry dock. It’s different than most ports but I guess it works well in Port Orford. What really captured my awe here were the rocks that surrounded the cove. High cliffs with a few mansions were present to the north, to the east was the dry dock with all of its fishing fleet, and the south was the landscape of peppered rocks standing on water.
The girls desperately wanted to hit the beach, but we stayed put on the boat all day the and a second night.
Note to self- anchor closer to the cliffs next time.
The girls and Jeff decided to make colored pencil drawings. They are always drawing, coloring, painting, and sewing. We are going to run out of room for all their creations.
Sophia is always thinking of Cutip whenever we are enjoying the sun. Cutip is becoming more used to the engine noises, swells, and the boat in general. Meanwhile, Cutip seems to approve of Jeff’s increasingly cat-like behavior- like waking numerous times during the night to wander around the boat.
This fishing boat joined us in the cove sometime during the night. .
