Newport, OR - The weather determines everything in sailing. We left Anacortes when the weather forecast called for northwest winds 10-15 knots for the next three days. We motored into the Strait of Juan de Fuca and sailed across in the afternoon when the wind picked up. We got in to Neah Bay at the tip of Cape Flattery at 9pm and had a calm night.
The next morning, the forecast called for light and variable winds in the morning, so we left at a leisurely 9 am and motored around the cape and until 3pm when the wind picked up and we could sail. We were visited by humpback whales breaching and spouting. One came right next to the boat. The seas were so calm we grilled chicken on the stern of the boat and ate in the cockpit. The swells picked up at night and we had rolly night filled the sound of the sails flapping and the boom banging around.
The next morning, Wednesday, the wind picked up to 15-20 and kept going. The swells were coming from northwest and southwest, creating a washing machine effect. We started looking at possible harbors for going ashore, especially when we heard the forecast was now calling for 20-30 knots with gusts higher.
No one felt much like eating that night. It was a rocky, rolly night and the guys put two reefs in the main and pulled in the jib and we were still going 8 knots. We headed toward Newport and saw the outter channel buoy just after dawn. Ah, the protection of the north jetty. Safe harbor. That was a bad night.
The forecast calls for 25-30 knots from the north for the next few days. We're staying put. We have some repairs to make and Richard and Bruce had to leave to get back to work. The adventure continues.
