Just 10 hours from the protection of Port Hadlock is Neah Bay. This is the last refuge prior to going into the ocean from the Straits of San Juan de Fuca. This was our destination. We were fully provisioned so even though we heard of the grocery store and lovely bars, we did not need to go there for any real reason.
We started at the crack of dawn and took the nearly 12 hour route on a very calm and smooth day.
Arriving at Neah Bay, the docks were closed, the fuel docks had a sign that said no fuel for non-natives so we took the hint and anchored out. Fortunately there is a very large protected cove that is a perfect protected anchorage.
Barb made a nice Spaghetti and fresh tomatoes and garlic. Life seemed as good as it could be.
We carefully considered our options for the first ocean voyage and settled on leaving at 1:00 PM the following day. The reasons for this were as follows:
We did not want to go into the ocean in darkness as it will be the first experience.
We did not want to go into Astoria and cross the bar in darkness. That would be even stupider since this area is known as the graveyard of the pacific. (much more on this)
We needed to be at the Astoria bar at Flood tide for the safest crossing.
We had to plan for an overnight passage (likely 20 - 22 hours of runtime).
We needed to take wind and waves into account. We did not want our first crossing to be horrible.
All of these factors lead us to the decision and we went to bed anxious for the next day.
Matt seemed to be settling into his new quarters. He is the only one in the crew with a bedside ocean view cabin.
Technical Data:
Port Hadlock to Neah Bay
Time: 11 h 18 m ( 06:33 to 17:52 ) Distance: 84.83 nm
Fuel: 22.91 Gallons Fuel Rate: 2.03 GPH Fuel Economy: 3.70 NM/G
Avg Speed: 7.71 kn Max Speed: 12.23 kn
Engine Runtime Start: 2961.95 Hours Runtime End: 2973.25 Hours Fuel: 22.91 Gallons Fuel Rate: 2.03 GPH Fuel Rate Max: 2.91 GPH Avg RPM: 1211.47 Max RPM: 1259.50 Avg Oil Pressure: 52.93 Low Oil Pressure: 31.91 Avg Temperature: 177.85 Max Temperature: 192.20
