Day 1; Apr29: We left St Helens headed to Ilwaco; it was very uneventful. There were hundreds of sea lions around the mouth of the Cowlitz river and Longview. They like our prized spring salmon as well as we do. There was a large cruise ship at Astoria. Tuesday is a bad day for anything being open in Ilwaco but we found a cider place to have a drink.

Day 2; Apr30: Tides and current to get over the bar were not the best for heading out early but having light as well. So, we chose to cross the bar at 11:00 AM, as it turns out along with a car carrier and a fuel barge tug combo. The bar pilot called us and asked us to give them the entire channel. That meant we were going to be going over on the Peacock Spit area (north side of channel). The waves/swell in the center channel was 2-4 feet, Peacock Spit was 4-6 feet. We did see our first whale, a humpback while we were going through the bar. All went well to Westport it wasn’t rough but it was wet. I was worried the wipers might burn up running so long.

Day 3; May 1: The tide was at 3:30 and we planned to leave at 5:30 thinking we would beat the charter fleet out. Well, that didn’t work out, people started showing up at the charters a 3:00 and most were gone by the time we left so it worked out. The water was fantastic all day long. The water being so nice it made the 13-hour trip boring. We didn’t have any new finger prints in the wood finish like last time. Anchored at Neah Bay with two other boats and a Coast Guard Cutter. One of the other boats are friends that advised us on the dos and don’ts of cruising to Alaska.

Day4; May 2: Our friends told us that they were staying at Neah Bay until Monday due to small craft advisories. We decided to push on to Port Angeles since the advisory didn’t start until 3 PM. A Couple hours in the water got very rough 3–5-foot wave/swell, that lasted for 2.5 hours. I am in the dog house again. We got in to PA just fine albeit a bit frazzled. Walked to town for dinner and a drink. We are likely staying through the weekend waiting out the wind.

At Astoria

Cutter in Neah Bay

Cape Flattery Light House