Southbound from Neah Bay 8-30-15 to San Francisco 9-12-15

After our very windy day at Neah Bay we left at daybreak intending to run to Newport Oregon.  Cape Flattery was rough but passable.  Wind was 20 kts and 6' swells along with 3' wind waves made for a long morning.   We ducked into Gray's Harbor in Westport Washington.

It was a long 16 hours with a late arrival at Gray's Harbor.  The bar at Gray's Harbor requires a long run and a very sharp turn before you are safely behind the breakwater.  Waves were breaking on both sides of us and the swell moved to the beam as we turned into the safe water.

Arriving late and after dark we tied to the fuel dock in this busy fishing harbor and went to sleep.  About 6 AM the harbor came to life as the fishing fleet started getting underway.  A very grumpy fuel dock manager woke us up to bet WORKNOT "off his xxxxing dock" and make room for boats buying fuel.  I asked how much fuel was and his first remark was $10/gal for yachts.....After some further discussion we agreed to buy 500 gallons for an amazing $1.81/gal.  Lowest price paid for diesel fuel ever by WORKNOT.   His attitude changed quickly when he realized we would spend some money.

Weather was not improving so we moved to slip for 3 days at the opposite end of the harbor.  Lots of seals and a long walk to the coffee shop.

Check out this counter-top in the coffee shop-

Original lighthouse is now a museum

  We took a bus into Aberdeen  and found a very humble town which may have seen better days years ago.  Plenty of closed up shops and empty buildings.  Picked up a few groceries and headed back to the boat.

Weather improved enough to leave on September 2 and our trip out of Gray's Harbor was similar to the trip in.  8-10' swells, breaking on both sides,even at slack water.  Swells continued to be large but well spaced and the timing got better as we got further offshore.  By noon the next day we decided to head for Coo's Bay.  Timing worked well for the bar and we cleared into Coo's bay a slack water around 3 PM.  32 hours run time.

After another 2 days of weather watching in Coo's Bay we left on September 6 at 4 PM planning on going to Crescent City CA.

Stained glass window in a Coo's Bay church near the marina.  New meaning to a steady hand on the tiller.....

Crescent City was hit by a major tsunami in 1964.  The town was heavily damaged and the fishing fleet and harbor destroyed.  The recent 2011 tsunami did little damage to the battle hardened marina.
The pilings at Crescent City are the largest we saw in any small boat marina.

 Further protecting the shoreline and harbor are 3520 Tetrapods weighing 25 tons each.

 They are massive and interlock to form a formidable barrier to crashing waves.

The tsunami museum is a few blocks from the harbor and worth the visit.

2 days of watching the weather and we left for San Francisco.  41 hour run to the Golden Gate in seas that improved from 8-9 ' swells at 10 seconds to 4' @ 12 seconds.   Easy cruising with some fog and confused seas at the points.  The further south the better the sea conditions.  

The Golden Gate is always an impressive sight.