Gray’s Harbor (Westport)

Cape Flattery

I should have never said that things were benign yesterday……wow!!! what a night we had. Confused seas of maybe 8′ with a very close interval kept us on our toes…. The boat handled everything exceptionally well. Tom Gilbert had made a long passage on an expedition yacht of a manufacturer who will remain nameless and he said that Nor’wester handled the seas better than the expedition yacht and we are only 1/2 the size.

Tatoosh Island

We spent the night heading into strong swell, whipped by winds that we recorded at a high of 41 knots (true wind speed) and with our 8 knots of speed, made the wind show 49 knots apparent wind. We hardly knew it except for the spray being thrown up and then back over the pilothouse.

We approached Gray’s Harbor entrance at 5AM, right at slack water and high tide. This was planned as Gray’s Harbor is notorious for it’s bar, with breaking seas that can reach 15′ or more when there is a strong ebb with onshore winds. We were fortunate and we felt only a gentle swell. Picking our way in was interesting, but with the Simrad radar and Nobeltec chart plotter, it was a peace of cake.

Gray’s Harbor

We will be here for several days to wait out the current weather that is hammering the Pacific Northwest. You see some of the clouds in the picture above. Waves are expected to be at 19 feet with high winds. Our weather guru (Bob Jones) advises that we stay put. So…..what to do? We have plenty of food a few good books, crossword puzzles, and satellite TV. I guess we won’t get too bored.
Here is Nor’wester at the fuel dock. Accross the dock is a Canadian fishing vessel. It is hard to see, but she is very “bow down” with a full hold of Hake.
Just another picture because we think she is soooooo pretty.

Can we get some respect here? Can you believe that this guy sat up there and would not move in spite of my efforts to shoo him away. He even left a poop spot behind……

We will be here a couple of days. If anything of note happens, I will post.