One stop in Oregon

About 8 hours after the last post (remember "Blue Skies"?), we watched the barometer plummet. We were about 60 miles offshore and the weather information we were getting over the radio was changing as fast as the air pressure around us. The three or so days of anticipated clear weather was no more. We plotted a course for the closest port in the anticipated storm: Yaquina Bay, Oregon, 75 miles away. At 5 or 6 knots, we would arrive the next morning. As would the weather. Sure enough, we found ourselves reefed down (one very small sail) motoring into winds of 50 knots, gusting to 65, barely making 2 knots over the bottom! The entrance to the harbour involved crossing a river bar through a very narrow and shallow channel in big steep seas, flanked by pounding surf 100 yards on either side. This was among the the more exhilirating moments of offshore sailing. But "Candine" is a big old heavy seaboat - and she was in her element. The crew performed admirably and, needless to say, we made a safe landfall just upriver at Newport, Oregon. During the following week, we watched the bouy reports top out at 23 foot swells, while we basked in the hot tub at the Embarcadero Resort and Marina. (http://www.embarcaderoresort.com)

Newport, OR - another beautiful American town, another step up from our last stop in terms of population and attractions, and again, a friendly populace. Weatherbound for another week, we did the Ripley's Believe It or Not museum and the Marine Science Center, while Chris filled his days in between with crabbing off the dock and enjoying the internet access. Some of us even braved a hike over the big bridge, a hundred and thirty feet up in high winds and speeding traffic! But like every other stop, a week is enough, and we are all glad to be underway again tomorrow. There is, knock on wood, a good week of decent weather anticipated, and we're hoping to make more than a couple hundred miles on this next passage (did someone say "the slow-boat to Mexico"?). But alas, the truth be told, we have no real schedule, and our pace is driven by the weather and our own comfort level. If we were in a hurry, we would have flown.

As usual, watch the position reporter for updates on our progress while at sea:

http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/winlink.cgi?call=VE0TIM