4/27/15
We were only in Coos Bay a couple of nights and it was windy and cool. Lots of crabbing and fishing from the docks. Very active transient float with fishing boats coming and going at all hours. Its a true working harbor with very few pleasure boats anywhere. Found some fresh crab and had a good dinner.
The Coos Bay Post Office with hundreds of post office boxes. My guess is many fishermen use this as a home base.
This little boat was one of only a handful of non-commercial boats in the harbor. Less than 20' but lots of style.
While we were walking around Mary saw this collection of round cabins in the RV park next to the marina. No cars or other indications of anyone around so Mary took a look in the window, only to be met by an unhappy woman staring back at her. That one was occupied! The look on Mary's face was that of a young kid caught with her hand in the cookie jar.
Leaving Coos Bay at sunrise
The days are getting longer and we were able to leave Coos Bay at daybreak and arrive Newport well before sunset. The tides even cooperated to give us a flood tide when we left and another flood tide to enter Newport. The trip was uneventful, with 3-5 ft rolling seas and less than 20 kts of wind. Running at 1400 RPM reduced our fuel consumption to 3.75 gal/hr. We ran slower than normal to time the bar crossing with favorable flood tide.
The Box Score: 12 hours / 84 miles / 45 gallons
Arriving at Newport gave us a great view of this iconic bridge.
The green hulled trawler behind us is Antipodes, friends we met on the CUBAR and traveled with in Mexico. They are headed north as well.
Wikipedia -
Because of the long spans and heavily trafficked shipping channel, a cantilever construction was deemed most suitable; a draw span was rejected because it would have to be opened too often. Consequently the 793-foot (242 m) main span has 145 feet (44 m) of vertical clearance and is part of a 1,708-foot (521 m) long steel cantilever span. Overall length, including the concrete approach spans is 5,305 feet (1,617 m). The approach spans are concrete arches more typical of McCullough's designs.[5] The main roadway is 27 feet (8.2 m) wide with 3.5-foot (1.1 m) wide sidewalks on either side. The main towers rise 280 feet (85 m) above the water surface, with curved sway bracing in a Gothic arch style. The open-spandrel concrete approach arches vary in span from 265 feet (81 m) to 151 feet (46 m). The ends of the bridge are marked by pedestrian plazas meant to provide a viewing point for the bridge and to provide access to the shoreline. These plazas are detailed with Art Moderne motifs and are provided with built-in benches. The stairs are descend in sweeping curves to the park below.[1]
When the bridge was completed in 1936 it was the longest bridge in Oregon.[3] It was the costliest of the Oregon Coast bridges at $2.14 million (equivalent to approximately $35 million in 2012[4])
Impressive in detail the bridge was built using labor from the WPA
Wikipedia-
At its peak in 1938, it provided paid jobs for three million unemployed men and women, as well as youth in a separate division, the National Youth Administration. Headed by Harry Hopkins, the WPA provided jobs and income to the unemployed during the Great Depression in the United States. Between 1935 and 1943, the WPA provided almost eight million jobs.[3] Full employment, which was reached in 1942 and emerged as a long-term national goal around 1944, was not the WPA's goal. It tried to provide one paid job for all families in which the breadwinner suffered long-term unemployment.[4] Robert D. Leighninger asserts that "The stated goal of public building programs was to end the depression or, at least, alleviate its worst effects. Millions of people needed subsistence incomes. Work relief was preferred over public assistance (the dole) because it maintained self-respect, reinforced the work ethic, and kept skills sharp."[5
]
Wikipedia -
Because of the long spans and heavily trafficked shipping channel, a cantilever construction was deemed most suitable; a draw span was rejected because it would have to be opened too often. Consequently the 793-foot (242 m) main span has 145 feet (44 m) of vertical clearance and is part of a 1,708-foot (521 m) long steel cantilever span. Overall length, including the concrete approach spans is 5,305 feet (1,617 m). The approach spans are concrete arches more typical of McCullough's designs.[5] The main roadway is 27 feet (8.2 m) wide with 3.5-foot (1.1 m) wide sidewalks on either side. The main towers rise 280 feet (85 m) above the water surface, with curved sway bracing in a Gothic arch style. The open-spandrel concrete approach arches vary in span from 265 feet (81 m) to 151 feet (46 m). The ends of the bridge are marked by pedestrian plazas meant to provide a viewing point for the bridge and to provide access to the shoreline. These plazas are detailed with Art Moderne motifs and are provided with built-in benches. The stairs are descend in sweeping curves to the park below.[1]
When the bridge was completed in 1936 it was the longest bridge in Oregon.[3] It was the costliest of the Oregon Coast bridges at $2.14 million (equivalent to approximately $35 million in 2012[4])
Impressive in detail the bridge was built using labor from the WPA
Wikipedia-
The Works Progress Administration (renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration; WPA) was the largest and most ambitious American New Deal agency, employing millions of unemployed people (mostly unskilled men) to carry out public works projects,[1] including the construction of public buildings and roads. In a much smaller but more famous project, the Federal Project Number One, the WPA employed musicians, artists, writers, actors and directors in large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects.[1]
Almost every community in the United States had a new park, bridge or school constructed by the agency. The WPA's initial appropriation in 1935 was for $4.9 billion (about 6.7 percent of the 1935 GDP), and in total it spent $13.4 billion.[2]
At its peak in 1938, it provided paid jobs for three million unemployed men and women, as well as youth in a separate division, the National Youth Administration. Headed by Harry Hopkins, the WPA provided jobs and income to the unemployed during the Great Depression in the United States. Between 1935 and 1943, the WPA provided almost eight million jobs.[3] Full employment, which was reached in 1942 and emerged as a long-term national goal around 1944, was not the WPA's goal. It tried to provide one paid job for all families in which the breadwinner suffered long-term unemployment.[4] Robert D. Leighninger asserts that "The stated goal of public building programs was to end the depression or, at least, alleviate its worst effects. Millions of people needed subsistence incomes. Work relief was preferred over public assistance (the dole) because it maintained self-respect, reinforced the work ethic, and kept skills sharp."[5
]
A real tribute to the past generation and the spirit of the American worker!
Newport is a nice size town, Walmart and major grocery stores etc readily available by car but too long to walk across the bridge and get to the shopping areas. Across the river from our marina the fishing boat harbor has a boardwalk and a number of excellent restaurants, an undersea garden and other tourist attractions. The place is said to be overwhelming in the summer.
By now you have figured out there are lots of naps on WORKNOT. This one on the way to Newport.
Next move will be to Washington and Strait of Juan deFuca.
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