Thursday 27 September 2007

September 17th to 18th, 2007 NEWPORT OREGON TO CRESENT CITY CALIFONIA


Left Newport at 8:30 PDT, when our wish for NW winds came true.
Be careful what you wish for! By the time we were approaching Crescent City the winds were 30 knts, with gusts to over 40 knts.
The good news is that Passat took the winds in stride, going downwind at 5 to 6 knots, with only the stay sail, sheeted in tight as a steadying sail. The RVG wind steering, working with the Autohelm ST 4000 steered a course as straight as an arrow.
We headed in to Crescent City for a rest, arriving just after midnight. The entrance to the small craft harbour is very tricky. We ended up nudging a mud bank, but were able to back off. The security guard called us on the VHF and guided us in.
SV Solskin was already at the dock, having come in for a new starter motor. SV Passages arrived after daylight, having hove to, awaiting daylight before coming in. This time we all waited for milder conditions.
Crescent City is OK, but not as cruiser friendly as Newport. We had some metal work done on the wind vane and were impressed with the service (pick up, delivery and same day repair) and the very reasonable cost. We finished installing the new depth sounder (a mud bank nudge will help set priorities), while waiting for more stable weather.
We went to a movie and did some grocery shopping, but did not find any tourist attractions within walking distance. We almost rented a car to see the Redwood Forest that is nearby.
The small boat harbour and historic lighthouse are pictured above.

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