7/13/2010 - Day 8 in the yard

Well, we did it. Got the last coat of bottom paint on, touched up a few places, Lulu waxed the hull, and we got all our stuff loaded back aboard. We even got our Westsail 28 decals on. Tonight we'll fill our water tank and then stow the hose and then all that's left tomorrow is to unplug and stow the extension cord that is supplying shore power. Well, that and go up to the office and pay the bill. But really, how much can it be? (gulp)

Our friend Charley, who's restoring his Alajuela 38 up river, stopped by. We told him that we would be anchoring out tomorrow night but, if the weather took awhile to change we may need to find somewhere to tie up for a week or two. He said that there might be space at the dock he's tied to. It's a funky little spot that we've always loved. the boats that are tied up there are all interesting. I think they can accommodate all of about a dozen boats. Well, he went back and checked with the owner, Ralph, and the upshot is that we're welcome there if we need it. Nice to have a fall back option.

So, anyway, tomorrow afternoon we go back in the water. We'll head upriver a little less than a mile to an anchoring area that another Westsailor told us about. Then we'll just drop the hook and wait for our weather to make the great escape.

And how will we get our weather forecasts while at anchor? Well, the primary source will be the VHF radio. The National Weather Service broadcasts continuous weather forecasts from here down to Pt. St. George (Crescent City, CA). They actually go further south than that, but that's what we can get here. I'm also going to try to get the weatherfax broadcast from Pt. Reyes Station, CA which is sent out twice a day. Even though I haven't had any luck transmiting with my SSB radio, it receives just fine. So, I should be able to receive the weatherfax if I'm tuned in at the right time. We'll see.

So, anyway, I'll probably send an e-mail out tomorrow early afternoon. After that, it could be a few days until you hear from us again. Just depends on whether the SSB transmit works and/or whether or not we want to take the computer for a dinghy ride from the anchorage back here to the boatyard to check in. But either way, we'll be anchored out in the Yaquina River this time tomorrow.