ASD and the Inside Passage

We came across that mess this afternoon, pretty lumpy.

I saw the wind at the point of Victoria just as you are leaving Juan De Fuca Striat clocked wind at 42mph! We are getting gust here at Oak Harbor at 35mph. Glad i stayed at the dock....

Wow! A speed run from Nea Bay to your dock at home! Just over 15 hours, yee haw!

Now to get ready for the trip back up north for Moose hunt! Good luck.

Cheers!

12 hours from Neah Bay to the bar. 2100rpms at about 14mph or so. Will update the blog in a few days. Lots of work to get ASD ready for next year.

Funny thing when we got to our dock on the Columbia, i passed it! Admiral asks "Do you know where you are?" I said yes as I turned around.......sometimes she is just too smart. I guess that's why she is the Admiral.

Tom. I like that you did not experience to the forum knowledge, any major mechanical issues on your round trip. Outstanding.


Al-Ketchikan 27' Marben pocket CRUISER

Welcome home you two. Nice trip and a very nice writeup and photos.

Alaskan Sea-Duction said:

We also took the boat around Turn Light Point in hopes of seeing Orcas. These animals must be mystical or just plain do not exists! This entire trip we have see the big goose egg!!!! Not a one! They must be like Big Foot!!!

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We had the same experience last year: Never saw any KW's the entire summer. This year we had 3 sightings, of several groups of whales, including a calf-of-the-year.

Lots of Humpbacks though, including the one we hit!

We did finally see some Orcas just outside of Juan De Fuca. I will be updating the blog in the few days when I get all my numbers.


We took 15 hours to go from Neah Bay to the Home dock. I think it is around 230 miles.

Chapter 32 Oak Harbor to Neah Bay

Today we finally got the weather window we needed. Spent almost a week at Oak Harbor. Yesterday there were gale winds in Puget Sound with sustain winds of 35-40 mph! Last night was very rocky. Thank goodness we were tied up at a dock.


We ended up with a tail along. Last night a young couple pull with a brand new 33 foot go-fast boat into Oak Harbor with the wind howling. The first thing that we noticed when we were at the dock to help him dock was no fenders or dock lines. Here are 4 big guys trying to hold the boat as he is getting fenders and shoe string lines! He didn't even know how to hook up the electric.


The next day the slack at the deception pass was at 12:45. It was suggested that he follow me out as he has never been through the narrows. Great I get to babysit. He then approached me as we get ready to leave pulling out his "chart!" It was a boating guide for Puget Sound! Good Grief. He wanted to go to Rosario Island. I asked if he had any charts. I do he says on my electronics! I showed him where the island was. He then asked me if it was safe to cross. I responded that you as captain has the responsibility to check weather and make that determination. We were heading to Port Angeles and our weather was good. Then he asks if 1/2 tank of gas would be enough to go to the Island, then back to Seattle. I couldn't believe. This guy should not be on the water. I told him probably not and should fuel up at Oak Harbor. I told him I could wait as we had a window to get through the narrows. He told me he could "catch up." Lordy..... He did catch up just before we reached the pass and I showed him the proper way to alert folks you were coming through. He thanked me, pushed his throttles forward and away he went. Kay and I looked at each other and we wished him luck.


Made it to PA with no incidents. The water was calm and flat. We reached Port Angeles at around 4:30 PM and we tied up to the guest dock. Our friends Jeff and his wife of the boat "Irene" took us out to dinner. It was good to see them again. We would awake early for the run to Neah Bay as the weather window around the horn would be good for a crossing.

We were up with the sun heading outbound in Juan de Fuca. It was calm, no fog and a beautiful morning. AIS showed a lot of ships inbound, so I would have to avoid the shipping channel. We were also hoping to see some Orcas. These whales have alluded us the entire trip! We began to think they were a mystery like Big Foot!


An hour out of PA we had 2 USCG fast boat pass us. I looked on my screen and no AIS. Mmm They are running silent. I wonder who they are after. Then in the middle of the strait a submarine surfaced. Kay got excited. may not be a whale but it was a "black fish!" We think they were resupplying based on the vessels out there. A sail boat heading for Victoria wondered too close and two USCG fast boats surrounded them and gave them an armed escort out of the area.


Made it to Neah Bay. As we pulled into the fuel dock the attendant proceeded to hide behind a wall. We asked for assistance in docking, asking her to grab a line. She said she did not know how to tie up boats. Really??? I handed a line to her and asked her to wrap it around the cleat. She then started to complain about having to stay late when we took on fuel. Sad thing is this exact same thing happened to us when we were here before. Neah Bay is a First Nation community. The attitudes of these folks do not sit well with folks spending thousands of dollars in fuel and moorage, not to mention it reflects badly on the community as a whole.

Kay and I decided to anchor out instead of paying moorage. Kay stated she now preferred anchoring. Based on the Columbia River Bar slack tied at 6:54 PM the next day, we will have to leave in the dark around 4:30 AM. Our friends gave me a new route down the coast that he claims is crab pot free zone. We will see.

Chapter 33 Neah Bay to Winter Dock End of Trip

4:30 AM sure came fast. Slack tide at the Columbia River Bar is 6:56 PM, after that it was an negative ebb tide.

Our friends Carl and Vickie of the Vickie Lynn gave me a "crab free" route from Neah Bay to the Columbia. This route would take us about 15 miles off shore and save us some time. My route back in May was 33 miles offshore. Mmmmm crab trap free huh, we will see. The weather was calling for NW 4ft swells at 7 seconds with wind waves less than 2 feet. I throttled up ASD to 2100rpms at a speed of 14.4mph once we cleared Neah Bay. We were scooting pretty good.

We left Neah Bay under darkness, something we have not done very much. With everything tied down we headed for the Pacific Ocean. It was daylight by the time we hit the Cape Flattery buoy. The current was on a flood to Juan De Fuca so as we rounded the marker it was a bit of confused seas. Our route took us in a southwest direction for about 10 miles this put the swells at our starboard stern. Little bit of rocking but not much and lowering the trim tabs a bit also helped with the rolling.

As we turned to more of a SSE direction Kay screamed in delight! Orcas! Finally! This entire trip we have seen zero killer whales. We began to think this animals were a myth. Well the sightings were brief, but my wife was now a happy camper. Unfortunately no pics as it was that quick.

Our course took us down a straight line all the way to the Columbia River. The swells were now following seas, so smoother, but we don't have auto pilot, so you are working the wheel a lot to keep a course. We did see 6 crab traps but they were between Cape Flattery and Cape Elizabeth. This is not a crab area. Good thing Kay could take over at the helm from time to time to give me a break. On one of those breaks, I looked at our wake and wow it was huge! If you stood in the main aft cabin the wake was higher than the window I was looking out of. Good think there were no sports fisherman as they would be saying a few choice words.

Kay and I were enjoying the ride. As we got closer to the Columbia, at our speed we would be over an hour early. Good deal. The wind also started to pick up. About then Kay shouts Crab trap!!! I turned the wheel hard to the right, then hard back to the left! Sh#t we are going to hit it!! Kay was looking back and we it with the aft starboard corner of the boat and heard a thump... man that was close. These derelict traps have disabled boats wrapping around their props and shafts and rudders. The mouth of the Columbia River is not a place to break down due to a crab pot. We were very very lucky!

As we rounded the 3rd green buoy on the Columbia River entrance we went port beam to this wind and the waves they were pushing. It wasn't all that bad, but we pushed to get up the river. Kay and I were talking about the one thing we thought made this entire trip North. As we were discussing the different areas and the many beautiful things we had seem, it happened. Just inside the bar in front of the light house a humpback whale rolled and then brought up its tail, shaking it side to side. This happened within 30 yards right in front of our boat! It seemed the whale was waving good bye, thanks for the visit. This was by far the best incident of the entire trip. I looked over at Kay she had tears in her eyes as I did.

We continued up river to Astoria. On the way were hugh flocks of pelicans and other sea birds. The salmon were here! This would also explain the whale inside the river. We decided to push for the winter dock. I have never run the boat at this speed up river. We met a couple of ships. By the time we made it to Fisher Slough it was pitch black. As I slowed and pushed into the slough I started to look for our dock. I then realized, I had never docked the boat here in the dark. Just then Kay ask if I knew where we were. I thought why is she asking me this stupid question as we pass our dock! Oh that why. I stated yes I do, that's why I am turning around.....sometime she can be so........right!

We made it from Neah Bay to the Columbia River Bar in 12 hours and to the winter dock in just under 15 hours.

I will share some final thoughts on our trip with numbers on the next and last post. I need to refuel ASD first and that will hurt.

Kay & Tom
Thank you for allowing us to tag along, great posts, blog and spot screens! Hope to see you again in our waters and maybe we will be lucky enough to met you.

Welcome home!

Tom, welcome home. I bet ASD is glad to be back in fresh water.

GFC said:

Tom, welcome home. I bet ASD is glad to be back in fresh water.

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Thanks all.

That's true. Ran everything that sucks water to flush out the salt water. Funny thing any critters I picked up in salt water is now dead and gone....

To tell you all the truth, we are ready to leave again. I know by the time April/May gets here next year we will be itching to untie and head north.

Besides us, you must have met half dozen TF members on your journey. Is that about right?

I would like to echo Mike's thought. Thanks for sharing the trip with us. I have learned a lot by following you. Maybe we will pass each other again in the future.

drb1025 said:

Besides us, you must have met half dozen TF members on your journey. Is that about right?

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Just like you I had folks calling me on the radio just to say hi. We did meet up with a few, Irene, Sunchaser, Al from Ketch, Pairadice and Endless Tymes (Chris B). Great folks all. The Admiral would laugh when someone called me on the radio. She said I was becoming a celebrity!!

dhays said:

I would like to echo Mike's thought. Thanks for sharing the trip with us. I have learned a lot by following you. Maybe we will pass each other again in the future.

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Hi Dave! Yeah you were one of the ones that surprised me. Thanks for the shout out.

I have learned a lot on this trip. Anchoring was one of them. I was scared to death to anchor when we started and now we prefer it to a dock.

Friends For Life!

This is the crew we hooked up in the Broughtons and we stuck together for about 4 weeks or longer. Great friends! I can't wait to meet up with them again.

The crew of Endless Tymes

Chris and Brigitte

The crew of Pairadice:

John and Tracey

The Crew of ASD:

Tom and Kay

Those are some happy campers! Thanks Tom, and Tracey loves the pics you forwarded.
Enjoy the hunt up north and save us a nice Moose Steak!

Final Thoughts and Numbers

I added another chapter, 33 to the blog. This covers Neah Bay to the Winter dock in just 15 hours.

Below is what I posted for final thoughts and numbers.

We have been at the winter base for a weeks now. The rain has started and Kay and I are feeling ho-hum. It is hard to describe how we feel. I know we are ready to go again. We have our "fix it" list and starting to build our list for the 2017 Seattle Boat show. We went from moving every few days to stop.


We have learned a lot on the maiden trip to the inside passage. When we started we were scared to death to anchor. Now we prefer it. It still takes us 15 minutes to raise the anchor because of our chain locker causes the chain to pyramid and has to be knocked over every 40 feet. Along with anchoring we discovered how to side tie. Between ASD, Pairadice and Endless Tymes we could side tie very quickly.


We discovered that a 30 amp battery charger was way too little to charge 2 house banks. Chargers are very expensive in Canada. Well EVERYTHING is EXPENSIVE in Canada.


Taking waves/swells on the beam really sucks! I learned that lowering the trim tabs on ASD does dampen some of the roll. We also found that slowing to 6-7 kts and only traveling 40 miles makes the trip a little more enjoyable. We are not zoom zooming by everything. Its ok to shut off the engines and drift while watching whales.


Kay learned how to make sourdough bread from scratch! Thank Chris for teaching her.


Preparations was key to a successful day. We learned to stay put if the weather was questionable. Because of this we didn't enter into running during bad weather. Its ok to sit still for a week if needed. Fix your boat before you leave home base. There are those who mocked me as I was anal in fixing stuff.


Be willing to being flexible. Don't be afraid to talk to folks about your experiences as they will share theirs with you and you can learn. The rapids were not that scary so long as you prepared.


On our shopping list for next year is a new davit and dinghy with a water maker.


NUMBERS :

Total Days: 116
Total Distance: 3299 Miles
Total Engine Hrs: 376.2
Total Fuel (U.S. Gal): 1998.4
Total Fuel Cost (USD): 5826.5
Average price per gallon (USD) $2.49
Average speed (mph): 9.3
Average fuel burn: 5.3
Total Cost of Moorage: $2667.59

Until Next year.....

Ye Haw!
Thanks for the update Tom and Kay, and the lodging accommodations, it was great to see you guys again and tell all kinds of lies!
We are compiling our trip summary and hope to post both here and on the blog.
What a great trip and looking forward to next years trip.

Cheers!

Crusty Chief said:

Ye Haw!
Thanks for the update Tom and Kay, and the lodging accommodations, it was great to see you guys again and tell all kinds of lies!
We are compiling our trip summary and hope to post both here and on the blog.
What a great trip and looking forward to next years trip.

Cheers!

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Awesome end to an awesome trip!