Here We Go! SF Bay to Newport, OR
Finally, we get our weather window! Well, at least enough to get us out of the harbor. Larry has been wearing-out the keyboard of his computer looking at the different weather models for the last month. Thankfully, through his diligence and patience, he found a little window to get 434NM (refresher…1NM = 1.15 of a statute mile) up the coast. We depart at first light out of the San Francisco Yacht Club harbor and are under the Golden Gate bridge and heading north before the sun is over the horizon. The first day is relatively calm with a mix of three to five foot waves but the intervals are generous so we are happy. As night falls we prepare the lower helm station for a moonlight transit and are happy to share shifts with our returning crew member Steve ‘Gumby’ Grant. The night is kind to us and we greet our second day with similar conditions and another moon lit overnight. Thankfully, we enter Newport Harbor, OR at daylight as the last few miles of transit are littered with crab-pots that have us constantly altering course. At least along the Sonoma/Mendocino coast you know that pots can only be placed 180 feet out and no deeper. But, in Oregon (and possibly beyond) it looks like they are placed wherever they can and want (even in the channel entering the harbor!). Wish us luck with the next 297NM transit!
Finally, good weather!
Looking back at the Golden Gate Bridge at sunrise
Point Bonita Lighthouse
The first sunset of two
Passing by St. George Reef Light off the coast of Crescent City, CA. (Klamath Mountains in the background). Construction began 1883 and several people lost their lives due to the extreme location. Completed in 1890 of concrete and granite the light rises 144 feet above the water and originally had a Fresnel lens. Light operators were understandably, hard to keep due to the remoteness of the location, causing many to seek transfer due to suffering mental breakdowns. The light was decommissioned in 1975 and replaced by a “floating lighthouse”. Thankfully, the St. George Reef Lighthouse Preservation Society raised funds by selling tours of the site by helicopter and were eventually able to ‘relight’ the St. George in 2012. The lighthouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993. (Information courtesy Wikipedia)
Mack Arch off the Oregon coast
The Sionyx Aurora low light camera for the overnight transit
Sunset number two
As night shift begins again
The lower helm station with charts, radar and low light camera screeens
Thankful to arrive at Newport, OR after 51 hours straight. Cruising under the graceful Yaquina Bay Bridge was a treat for weary crew.
After refueling and quick wash down of the Independence we had to wait three hours for electrical and then finally, a hot shower! The Captain and crew look a bit happier (and definitely, smell better).
Secure at the transient dock at South Beach Harbor…not sure for how many days as poor conditions are returning
Making the best of our time, we check out the Rogue Brewery
Thirsty sailors
Good beer does disappear
The Rouge Brewery is located across the street from the south span of the Yaquina Bay Bridge (U.S. Route 101). Built in 1934, the elegant, steel and concrete structure is of Art Deco and Gothic influences. Designed by Conde B. McCullough (one of eleven major bridges designed by him). The first automobile crossed on September 6th, 1936.
The Rogue Sunset Bar is aptly named and very appreciated
DARE, RISK, DREAM - I think we are doing a bit of all of that….and purchasing the Dead Guy Pilsner and IPA to go!!!
Throw your crab pot off the Public Fishing Pier and catch a few Dungeness in 30 minutes
Newport has a familiar history of displaced Native Americans (the Yacona) combined with entrepreneurial endeavors of the incoming settlers. The settler being Sam Case and his Ocean House Resort constructed in 1866 spurring the development of the Bayfront area of Newport, OR. Prior to the settlement, ships from San Francisco were coming up the coast to harvest the rare Rock Oyster. The Yacona wanted compensation but by 1869 the native oyster beds were depleted. The railroad arrived in 1886 along with a massive Spruce Tree Mill and the U.S. Life Saving Service (to be renamed the Coast Guard) established a station on the South Beach of Yaquina Bay in 1896. The 1912 discovery of ‘halibut banks’ brought commercial and sport fishing to the area followed by an Ice Plant Operation in 1926 and The New England Fish Co. 1945. Newport today has the largest commercial fishing fleet on the Oregon Coast.
We cross Yaquina Bay to have the famous clam chowder at Mo’s and spend a great afternoon with our friends Saani and Scott
The busy fishing docks of the Bayfront area of Newport, OR
The busy seal dock has a ‘waiting area’ (top of picture). What a loud crowd.
Final, final with our good friends at the Rouge Sunset Bar