Charleston, Oregon - A Refuge

At 0645 we motored out of Hunter's Bay on Lopez Island in dense fog and slogged out the Strait of Juan de Fuca with the west wind on our nose for 18 hours.  Rounding Cape Flattery at midnight Friday we set a southwest course 40 miles offshore, following the Bluewater Route in Don Douglass and Reanne Hemingway-Douglass’ Pacific Coast Route Planning Map.  With the jib raised, Gitane sailed effortlessly down the Washington coast.  We kept an informal watch schedule, each of us taking a break when we needed one.  The kitties adjusted to life at sea, Ginger by snuggling up under the dodger where she could sleep safely in the sun experiencing minimal motion from the ocean, and Cheng preferring to squeeze in next to one of us in the cockpit where he hoped to control his sliding onto the cockpit sole.  Cheng’s second choice of refuge was to squish in behind the head effectively minimizing his rolling but eliminating his view.

By Monday night, with northerly winds increasing and seas building we furled the jib, set the trysail and altered our course to southeast, Gitane gracefully gliding up to the wave crests and rolling down through the troughs.  Responding to a warning of gale winds further south and deteriorating conditions, we again altered our course and steered easterly, seeking the nearest harbor for refuge.  We approached Newport at midnight and decided not to attempt to cross the unfamiliar bar.  We continued south on a route just three miles offshore and heard the Coast Guard close the next bar, Siuslaw.  By Tuesday morning, in deteriorating conditions of increasing winds, high waves and dense fog, we decided to bypass Winchester Bay, a reportedly difficult bar to cross, and continued south to Coos Bay.  We ducked into Charleston Boat Harbor around 1300.   The Coast Guard restricted entrance to the bar just as we passed into the safety of the channel. 

We arrived drenched from the dense fog and taking waves on the port aft quarter, cold, hungry (chicken noodle soup only goes so far) and very tired.  To us, Charleston was the Center of the Universe.  We tied up in the marina, took hot showers, enjoyed a local brew and early dinner at a pub and slept for 12 hours.  Waking refreshed, we have spent our days in paradise repairing the navigation lights that failed on the foggiest night and re-stowing gear now that we know the conditions that await us. 

Charleston is a busy fishing port and has been a wonderful refuge from the storm. The Port staff and fishermen on the docks are very friendly, there are marine chandleries and repair facilities, small grocery stores and numerous eateries with fresh fish and good local beer.  We have regrouped and will head south on Friday morning to Crescent City with forecasted light southwest winds.