16 to 29 APRIL - (2017 POST # 10) - FLORENCE !!!!
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There are two halves to the Windy cove Campground, each has one stand-alone cabin, in a remote wooded area (very private) a single room 14 X 14 wooden structure with an add-on covered porch sitting 4 foot above ground level, they are a year or so old, and beyond sterile clean !!
A microwave, a propane heater, a 2 burner stove top, 2 well sink, a decent sized reefer and freezer, a dinette/desk, lots of windows, a huge hot water heater, and a 90 pound water pressure shower !!!!!!!!!!!, city toilet and sink, a queen bed and a queen futon (vinyl wrapped)-bring your own sheets blankets pillows, towels, and food.
For Veterans 35.00 bucks a day. we were the only occupants in both campgrounds.
We stayed five days while So...fea was in dry dock. (all of us !) 5 kitties, Bonnie, and us two), warm, clean, and with more hot water than you could run out of . . . in a 90 pound shower !
an'ya and I took So...fea the 1/2 mile over to the ship yard, and returned her back to G dock.
Over at the shipyard So...fea offered up zero surprises, in four looong days, I removed and blanked off three sea chests, re-zinced, and cleaned, inspected, and painted the bottom myself,
Even took a R & R extra day at the cabin... sat in the shower. best $175.00 I ever spent.
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CAST OFF !! 16 APRIL, 2017
On Easter Sunday morning (April 16, 2017) , at 12 noon sharp we finally threw off the lines and departed from G dock in Windy Cove - Salmon Harbor, Winchester Bay, Umpqua River, and got underway for the Florence/Siuslaw Harbor and our new permanent reserved dock space A-10 in the Port of Siuslaw (Florence).
This was our third attempt (in the past 10 days) to depart . . . and, perhaps our 50th watch-attempt to leave in the past six months. It was never our intent to stay at G-10 as long as we did, it was either weather, sea conditions, or some new found repair status-preparedness that always acted as a canceller.
This time, after our 5 day dry docking, we had fueled up, and somehow... the winter gales subsided, and, we simply had delayed long enough !
On our first attempt, the notorious Umpqua bar conditions were NOT calm as the Coast Guard said they were.. not even close ! so we learned not to trust in the USCG reports (even though they were located only 2 miles from the bar, and have view-cameras) . . . our second attempt was thwarted when our old-tired Starboard engine began rattling 1/2 way to the entry, so we returned to fix four bent push rods, but, today... it was Easter Sunday, and even though it has been a winter of repeated storm-after-storms, all looked great !
Overcast, mist, 50 degree-2 foot wind waves, 55 degrees, clear skies, 5 MPH winds, 4 foot swells, and a perfect-in-every-way day. We sat at the entry to the evil bar and watched, like waiting to join a jump rope... then decided to go for it . . . as this is a 3/4 mile long shoot out the gate, once you commit, there is no reversing, you "must" go for it... there is no going back.
About 1/2 way out, the wind shifted and the wave currents began to go white and move sideways in the channel, we took on a violent broaching side roll cycle that was ugly, as the bow was 45 degrees into the surges. So...fea has 660 Horsepower, so it was full throttle time in order to overcome the sea action (point and go). . . eventually after a 15 minute pucker factor 12, we broke free into flat open ocean, but, as we turned to head the 28 miles to Florence, that old Starboard engine was sooo noisy and blubbering, I simply had to shut it down.
Then (of course), the weather changed to angry grey overcast, light rain, and Easterly ashore blowing winds of 10-15 knots, the swells and wind waves followed accordingly, and it was a slow rolley-polly crawl on one engine weaving through the crab trap sets, and going further out all the way to the Siuslaw jetty, in an unfamiliar (first-time out) boat, in moderate siewash seas. Remember, we have five cats aboard and a dog... Bonnie simply slept, but the cats (locked down in the V berth) all got sea-sick-and terrified, and very noisy, simply stated, they made quite a huge horrendous/smelly vomit-shit mess.
The Siuslaw jetty has almost as bad (or worse !) a reputation than the Umpqua, and with one engine, the unfamiliarity, and a new unknown handling boat, the closer we got, the more fearsome the event loomed in my mind.
Then, I heard a 16 radio call to Coast Guard Siuslaw come in from Captain Thomas, the Sea/ocean tow boat, he was coming back from a Newport tow, and rendezvousing with his truck/trailer crew in Florence harbor... he was about as far North as we were South, and he was familiar with the Siuslaw bar entry, and the winding trip in, so, we followed on his tail, as he followed a Coast guard lead boat through to the coast guard station up river !!
From there, it was 5 more slow miles up river to a slow-single engine docking at A-10... and a free ride back to Winchester (to pick up our truck) from the Captain, on his way back to his Coos home port....
We tied up to A-10 Florence at 1700 hours high, I got the ride back to pick up the van, then drove back to Florence while any'ya shoveled out and detoxed the V bunk area, and reassembled from "sea conditions", we were storm-tied, had the dock power and water lines on, and were watching TV by 2100 eating a celebratory "take-out" dinner from ICM, before the super hard rain long night began.. (although not for long . . . as reality, and exhaustion took us all over). ...............................
Moments ago, (now on the 19th of April) we concluded the last of the formalities here at the Siuslaw Port/Harbor Office (our onboard inspection, and one-year moorage agreement -including 12 months pre-payment-, got the shower, and WiFi codes and the Parking Permit) . . . so, we are finally done ! Paid for ! and secure for a year, this 9 1/2 month endeavor began last July 4th (2016) iand s now completed, we have our first Port Commissioners meeting to visit this evening, and will meet the rest of the Port staff .
UPDATE:
Monday the 24th, the rest and recuperation is over, and it is back to the never-ending repair list, and modernization schedule . . . plus shopping, laundry, and now doing "everything" here in Florence (which was the original intent and plan), so, we now must realign and reschedule everything.
I will report back on "how" these last 30 +days of jam packed/ever changing events evolved later, and, once again reduce the postings that have come August to now into a more concise tale,....
UPDATE:
Saturday the 29th; Been here almost two weeks, and have finally settled in, learned the routine/rituals and gotten back to a "normal-daily" routine . . . and are now ready to re-continue on the restoration/renovation.
Less wildlife here, but a LOT more water animation and wind ! (than in Windy Cove-Winchester Bay), we are still facing due East, and on a river the same distance from the Ocean shoreline, and only 20 miles North of Winchester, but, things are quite different (we even have cell phone service, lots of electric and WiFi here !).
At A-10, we have been rammed three times by logs coming down river in the outflow tide, Thursdays was 24" in diameter 8 feet long, hit us bow-on at 0300 hours (we sleep forward), the outflow goes at 10 knots, so, it was quite a wallop, I am thinking barrier deflector of some type.