************ I*N*T*E*R*A*C*T*I*V*E  POSITION REPORTING ************

CLICK HERE TO SEE OUR CURRENT POSITION.  HINTS: ONCE THE NEW WINDOW OPENS:   (1)Click on any icon to read about our position.  The blue icon is our latest position,   (2)  The more we travel, the smaller the scale of the map, so to get a close-up view of our exact location, use the plus + tool to zoom in, and  (3)  If you want to see the map with a satellite photo overlay, hit the HYBRID button on the upper right of the screen.

>>>>>> LEG 3:  PORT ANGELES, WA TO JUNEAU AND GLACIER BAY <<<<<<<

As you can see from our position reporting, we entered Alaska on Monday, June 16, 2008.  This picture was taken at Khutz Inlet in northern British Columbia.  Now you can see why we braved the elements and inherent risks of the journey to arrive at this incredible destination!!!

>>>>>>>>>> LEG 2: SAN FRANCISCO TO PORT ANGELES, WA <<<<<<<<<<

On April 22, 2008 we left San Francisco down bound for Port Angeles, Washington, on the Strait of Juan de Fuca.  You can tell from this picture that I'm really happy to be underway again.  We had a really great time in San Francisco, but with almost 1800 miles to go to Alaska, I was ready to hit the open seas and continue our voyage.  There are far too many images to display in the limited space of this home page, so to see the entire PHOTO ALBUM OF OUR TRIP UP THE COAST, JUST CLICK ON THE CAMERA ICON BELOW. 

CLICK ON THE CAMERA ICON TO GO DIRECTLY TO THE PHOTO ALBUM OF OUR SAN FRANCISCO TO PORT ANGELES, WASHINGTON VOYAGE. (Use your BACK button to return to this website.)

Our first stop after leaving San Francisco was Bodega Bay.  This quiet little fishing town was the venue for Alfred Hitcock's film classic, The Birds.  We were disappointed to learn that none of the old buildings used in the movie were still standing and thought at the time that the town missed an opportunity by not restoring the old house and making it a tourist attraction, rather than just tearing it down.  The most exciting thing going on in town, which everyone was talking about, was the raising and hoisting of a powerboat that had hit the jetty and sunk some days before our arrival...rumor has it due to overindulgence by the inebriated captain.

En route to Bodega Bay we passed within 20 miles of the Farallone Islands.  The Farallone Islands, to quote one source, are "...a dreary neighborhood in San Francisco -- a barren place where only a handful of people live. It is 27 miles west of the Golden Gate, across a windy, stormy stretch of open ocean. This neighborhood lies within the boundaries of the City and County of San Francisco, yet it remains void of Starbucks and exorbitant rents. This little community simply consists of a series of rocks, a few large enough to be called islands, that stretch northwest for 8 miles."  However, if you look more closely, you'll find that the wildlife of the open ocean -- pelagic animals -- whales, sharks, fish, porpoises, dolphins, jellyfish, sea turtles and birds cavort in the cold, rough waters surrounding the islands.  We wanted to make the best time possible going up the coast, but we will definitely take the detour and circumnavigate the Farallone Islands when we again head south.

Our last waypoint on the way to Bodega Bay was to round Point Reyes.  Drake's Bay, in the lee of Point Reyes, was the farthest north that I had ever sailed, having anchored there once back in the early 1980s when I lived in Reno, NV and kept my  Catalina 38, Irish Mist, in San Francisco.  The historic Point Reyes Lighthouse was retired from service in 1975 when it was replaced by an automated light to warn mariners of the dangerous headland, reported to be the windiest place on the Pacific Coast and the second foggiest place on the North American continent.  As you can see, we rounded with calm seas and a Southwesterly wind that allowed us to make good 8.25 knots on our 55 mile passage between San Francisco and Bodega Bay.

Our favorite place on the  trip up the Pacific Coast was Fort Bragg, California.  After sailing under the bridge at the mouth of the Noyo River, an incredible vista that can only be described as a cross between a quaint Maine fishing village and Disneyland opened before us.  Here you see us motoring up the narrow Noyo River, wondering what might lie around the next bend.

It's sad, in retrospect, to think that we almost by-passed Fort Bragg and the Noyo River because of our  trepidation over the potential dangers in  negotiating the narrow and shallow entrance channel.  But as you can see, our fair weather was continuing, so it was not a problem to enter, although I was holding my breath as I took our large boat across the shallow river bar and into this tiny channel.

The scene could not have been more idyllic, as you can see from this image of Last Resort lying peacefully at her dock in the Noyo River Yacht Basin.  We only stayed for two days in Fort Bragg, but on the way back south, we will definitely spend a little longer in this wonderful setting.  I managed to take my scooter out and had a great time touring the town and riding along the Noyo River.

CLICK ON THE CAMERA ICON TO GO DIRECTLY TO THE PHOTO ALBUM OF OUR SAN FRANCISCO TO PORT ANGELES, WASHINGTON VOYAGE. (Use your BACK button to return to this website.)

One of the most enjoyable events was our ride on the Skunk Train.  This is a logging train that runs from Fort Bragg to Willits, through the heart of the redwood forest.  We had a very relaxing time.  We took the excursion train that only went about half-way and then turned around and came back. I got some great photos (they're in the Photo Album) and of course, the XO took advantage of the opportunity to ham it up with Chuck the Conductor.

As much as we hated to leave Fort Bragg, we had a long way to go, and it was time to move on.  Our next stop was the City of Eureka, on the beautiful Humboldt Bay.  En route, we had to round Cape Mendocino, one of the most dangerous points on the Pacific coast.  While we had hoped to round Cape Mendocino at daybreak, the tides were not favorable, so we had to make the rounding in the afternoon, when the acceleration of the winds and seas around this foreboding headland were clearly evident.   We were more than happy when we safely docked at the Woodley Island Marina, where we  were greeted by some truly friendly people.

You may recall that our final stop in San Francisco was to attend an intensive two-day weather seminar given by Lee Chesneau.  Therefore, we were really excited to visit the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Eureka, California and see first-hand the high tech tools they use to prepare the weather information that all mariners rely upon for their safety and survival.  Even though we have an arsenal of high tech weather forecasting tools aboard Last Resort, for this leg of the trip we opted to use the services of Rick Shema, a weather router who operates Weatherguy.com.  Rick's forecasts were spot on...if Rick said a low pressure front would pass at 0200, you could go to the bank on it.  Thanks Rick, for helping to make for a very pleasant trip up the coast.

Eureka is known for its Victorian architecture.  Pictured here is the Carson Mansion, best example of a high Victorian architectural design contructed out of wood. Mr. Carson owned a lumber business in Eureka, and his home was built as a showplace. In the 1950s the home was purchased by a group of Eureka businessmen who formed the Ingomar Club so that this amazing home would be preserved. A private club, the home is only occasionally open to the public.

This classic Coast Guard station, preserved right down to the old life-saving boat, is home to Coast Guard Group Humboldt Bay.

By now, we had fallen into a pattern of departing each port during the dark of night, so that we could time our arrivals to be both in daylight and to coincide with favorable tides.  It is critical when crossing the river bars found at the mouth of most of the harbors along the northern Pacific Coast to arrive at the end of the flood tide, for to arrive at the wrong time can result in confronting steep, breaking waves caused by the ebb tide opposing large incoming sea swells. On the approach to the Crescent City harbor, we were treated to this view of the  Battery Point Lighthouse.  

Most of the harbors we visited had unique sculptures, many of them honoring local fisherman lost at sea.  We found this mermaid statue to be particularly memorable.  Many of you might remember that the Crescent City waterfront was all but destroyed by the Tsunami of 1964.  What is less well known is that Crescent City sustained substantial damage again in 2005 when it was hit with another series of tsunami waves.  With this playing in the back of our minds, we were happy to leave Crescent City as soon as possible.

SHARON, WAKE UP,WAKE UP....WE'RE TAKING ON WATER!!!  With those frightening words began the most harrowing experience of the trip. It occurred not long after we left Crescent City.  At about 0100, when Sharon was sound asleep, the sky was pitch black, the seas were rough, and land was out of sight, I heard the shrill screech of the High Water Alarm.  After rudely awakening Sharon, we tore into the bilge, only to discover it was half-full with seawater and rising, the bilge pump unable to keep up with the flood.   Fortunately, I quickly discovered the source of the leak, the PSS Shaft Seal pictured here, which I was able to repair in short order, stopping the flow of water before any damage was done.  I thank the day I installed the High Water Alarm.  There is more detailed information on this subject below in TECH TALK, for those that are interested.

Even though things settled down once I fixed the leak and we accomplished a major milestone in the trip by crossing into Oregon, it was a long night nevertheless, and we were very happy to make landfall at Coos Bay.  By now, the landscape had changed substantially and we couldn't help but remark that the coastline now looked like every picture we had ever see of the wild and desolate Oregon coast. 

While the scenery was beautiful and the sailing challenging, the joy of the trip has been the opportunity to see old friends, and that was never more true than when we were able to spend two delightful days with my lifelong friend from grammar school, Ned Forman, and his wife Beverly Roy, who I've also known for many years, since high school.

The XO captured this dramatic image that shows the height of the 8 - 10 foot seas we grew used to while cruising up the rugged Oregon Coast.  The picture was taken as we crossed the Yaquina River bar while entering the harbor at Newport, Oregon.

Here is a picture of the Yaquina River bridge, built circa 1934, as we sail up the river towards the transient guest dock in Newport Marina.  It was leaving Newport the next night THAT OUR LUCK RAN OUT!!!

Our pattern of departing at night and arriving during the day was working quite well until we left Newport.  Everyone had warned us of the dangers to our safety posed by the floats that the fishermen attach to their crab pots.  In this part of the world they attach two floats, connected by 5' to 10' of floating polypropelene line, which makes it easy for them to retrieve, but also guarantees getting snagged should you cross one of these in the dark.  Well, sure enough, about 6 miles out we heard the shudder of the prop as we snagged the floats of a crab pot.  We lost all propulsion (more about this in TECH TALK below) and had to sail back to Newport in very light air.  As we approached the treacherous river bar, the wind died completely and we had to engage the services of Vessel Assist to be towed across the bar and back to the transient dock.  A diver cleared the prop in the morning and we were back underway, having lost 14 hours and, as it turns out, our weather window.

I'm looking pretty relaxed as we depart Newport after getting our prop cleared and the shaft and strut inspected by the diver.  We decided to push on, even though the delay had cost us most of our weather window and we knew that a cold front would cross our path during the night, resulting in 25 knot headwinds and 12 foot combined seas en route to Gray's Harbor.

After departing Newport, we passed a fleet of shrimpers fishing the offshore waters.  Here, in Gray's Harbor, we were greeted by the captain of Swell Rider, one of the boats we saw the day before. 

The XO captured this image, which looked like a halo surrounding our mast.  We both hoped it was an omen of good things to come, considering the problems we had faced during the preceeding few  nights.

Ever since snagging the crab pot off Newport, we decided to set sail during daylight hours and get well clear of the shore.  On the passage from Gray's Harbor to Neah Bay, we captured this sunset under way,  the last one for the passage up the Pacific Coast, and for some time to come, as we don't plan to make any more night passages, unless we have to do so to cross the Queen Charlotte Sound, en route to Alaska.

We had been told by local crab fisherman that we would rarely, if ever, see crab pots set in water deeper than 55 fathoms (330 feet), so after leaving Gray's Harbor, we headed straight out to the 55 fathom line.  Much to our chagrin, the sea was littered with crab pot floats at this depth, so we continued heading out into much deeper water.  That worked out well, because had we not done so, we would have rounded Cape Flattery, pictured here, well before daylight.

WE DID IT!!!  On May 5, 2008, having sailed over 1360 nautical miles, we reached the Makah Marina in Neah Bay, the first port inside the Strait of Juan de Fuca.  I was so completely exhausted from the final push up the Pacific Coast that I slept for 18 hours!!!  Well rested, we set off the next day for Port Angeles, 55 nautical miles East of Neah Bay and directly across the Strait from Victoria, British Columbia.

Our last night in the United States was spent in Port Angeles, Washington, where we were thrilled to have the delightful company of Sharon's cousin, Richard Spaulding, one of my favorite people.  Richard is a highly talented stained glass artist who maintains Spaulding Studio in the little town of Tahuya on the Hood Canal.

        >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> TECH TALK <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

On Last Resort we have the dripless shaft seal designed by Packless Sealing System.  This shaft seal is designed to replace the old packing gland that used a steady drip of water, which ultimately found it's way into the bilge, to cool the shaft where it enters the hull.  The problem we encountered occurred when the set screws that hold the restraining wheel in place against the bellows, shown at the far left in the picturein cut-away, became loose, allowing the restraining wheel to slide up the shaft.  When that happened, the seal with the bellows was broken and seawater flooded in.  After repositioning the restraining wheel, I removed the double hex nuts (one to hold the wheel agains the shaft, the second to secure the first) from each of the two positions where they are located and retightened them.  To avoid this problem in the future, I will now check the hex nuts during my monthly maintenance rounds, but I also installed a hose clamp just forward of the restraining wheel, so should the set screws come loose between inspections, the wheel will be prevented from sliding forward on the shaft by the hose clamp.

We have a Shaft Shark mounted on our shaft immediately forward of our Gori folding prop in the same position shown in this picture. The Shaft Shark did what it was supposed to do, in that it cut the line to the crab pot before it wrapped around the shaft, so that no damage resulted when the floats and connecting line were caught by the prop.  However, it was not able to prevent the line from wrapping around the prop itself, seizing it in the closed position and rendering it virtually useless.  There's really not much that can be done to avoid this type of accident, except to the extent possible, don't run in water less than 60 fathoms when traveling at night.

   >>>>>>>>>>>  STAYING IN TOUCH WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY!!! <<<<<<<<<<< 

You can see where we're headed by clicking on this link to the CRUISING SCHEDULE  tab on the upper left hand side of this web page.   We've included a detailed schedule of each place we'll be stopping en route to Alaska.  We will be getting all our email, so please write or better yet.....  PLEASE CLICK HERE TO LEAVE A MESSAGE IN OUR GUEST BOOK!  WE WOULD REALLY, REALLY LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU !!!!  THANKS FOR TAKING A MINUTE TO TELL US WHAT YOU HAVE BEEN UP TO. 

                                                                                         Sharon and Dick Drechsler