Sept 1-3^rd

            We had calm seas and winds from 10 to 11 knots.  It was a great sail across the Strait of Juan de Fuca.  We arrived in Port Angeles and called to clear customs.  The custom officer came to the boat as we were tied to the dock.  He was a polite man who asked if he could check our refrigerator.  Now since I had read what was not allowed to be brought back into the states, I knew there was nothing in the refrigerator or freezer that was not allowed.  Of course he spend much time looking at every piece of meat that I had put into seal a meal packages.  He checked the ribs to make sure they were not beef and he even looked at the bacon.  Finally he explained that his regular position was on the Texas border and he was just on vacation loan to the area.  Next the real custom officer came on board and gave us our sticker for $25.and cleared us into the US. 

            Port Angeles is a working port and after checking in, we asked if there were any boats that had fish to sell.  The port captain hollered over to a shrimp boat and they said to come with a bucket.  We bought about 2 pounds or greater for $11.  They were so fresh that we fixed some of them that very night. 

 You must walk to everything in Port Angeles because the marina is very basic.  We met a fellow boater and he took us to the town and to Safeway.  We shopped and brought it back to the boat via our foldable cart.  We went to the end of the marina and had dinner at the Castaway restaurant. 

 I continued my sewing projects and made a mounting for the hot pot and the sewing machine.  All this preparation was for the dreaded trip down the coast.  We also contacted Commander’s Weather trying to find the best time to go down the California coast. From our talking with Yacht Masters, it was agreed that Trevor from the Off Shore Store would be accompanying us.  This was a great thing because the manager of the store that we had purchased all our electronic from and we were still having trouble with the Raymarine E120. He would meet us in Neah Bay the following afternoon.

 Sept 4^th

 We had filled up with diesel the night before so we were able to get going about 7.  We had fog all the way except the last few miles.  It was a good time to try our fog horn and really use our radar.  We identified every bleep on the screen.  Hank was ever vigilant and he kept us from going through a small fishing boat that barely showed up on the screen.    We broke out of the fog and saw a beautiful chiseled coastline with areas where the forests had been cut.  We radioed to Neah Bay and got the best directions ever.  We knew the slip, which side tie and the location of the dock.  We were now on Indian land and in an Indian fishing harbor.  Water was very limited so they had closed everything down at the marina.  If you caught a fish, you cleaned it with salt water.  We walked the town, visited the store, bought a fishing gaff and a few lures, went to the post office and finally ate dinner at the Warm House Restaurant.  Just as we were returning to the boat, Trevor arrived from the bus.  His wife had taken him part of the way and he had taken the bus the rest of the way.  Hank and Trevor went over all the systems on the boat and we all turned in at 9:30 pm.

 Sept 6 – 10^th

            We were up at 6 had breakfast and headed for the gas dock.  It took a while but soon we were motoring till we came to Cape Flattery.  We then turned south and put up the sails.  The wind fluctuated a lot, but generally it was good and we sailed at a broad reach or we motored. We did our three hour watch schedule and it worked well throughout the trip.  It was especially great because once you had done your 3 hour night watch you knew you had 6 hours on sleep to follow.  One day I got considerable ribbing for I had come off watch at 6 AM and gone to sleep until 9.  When I got up there was a clamoring for some food.  I made fried egg sandwiches at 11 and told the crew that it was both breakfast, an egg and lunch, a grilled cheese sandwich. 

            Hank made a comment on Saturday afternoon that we must have just squeaked by for the wind and water off the Mendocino coast was not bad at all.  By 9 it was a different matter and we were having a difficult time staying in our bunks even with the lee cloths up.  The boat was really rocking and rolling and we had reefed the sails.  Through the night the winds gusted to 32 knots and the seas appeared large.  My watch was from 12 to 3AM and I was a bit scared as I went up to the cockpit.  It was my first time experiencing this type of sailing.  Hank stayed up with me the first 40 minutes of my watch.  Finally I relaxed and stood up to ride the rocking and rolling.  At 2:30 AM dolphins came up to the boat and played in the bow wake for at least half an hour.  They made me laugh!

            Sunday was cloudy and foggy with not much wind.  We slowed down so that we would not reach the San Francisco Bay before the flood tide.  Unfortunately for us this was some special salmon fishing day and the area around the bay was clogged with fishing boats.  Again we were using our radar and going around the traffic.  We called traffic control telling them our intentions.  They said that there was a freighter coming out just about the same time as we would be approaching.  We talked to the captain of the freighter and told him that we would stay left of the channel.  Just as we approached the mouth of the bay the radar cut out and we were in dense fog.  We quickly restarted the E120 and hoped for the best, but upon breathing a sigh of relief as we went under the Gate we saw lights that we thought were the shore, but they were not on our port side but showing up in front of us.  The charts had not been incorrect yet, but they sure appeared to be now.  Just as we recognized our mistake and were quickly turning to port, the freighter blasted its whistle.  It was heading right at us!

            We made the correction and all of a sudden the bay was perfectly clear and we recognized everything.  We headed toward Richmond and tied up at the Richmond Yacht club next to our friend Ollie’s boat.  She was waiting to help direct us and to lend a hand with the lines.  She invited us over for a much appreciated glass of wine.  We had just sailed 5 days down the coast and we were exhausted!