Rendevous with MayDay Marine St. Helens Or and On To Coon Island

19 Sept 2008 Friday

My alarm on my new cell phone wakes me at 0600. Up and Adam, as they say. Johnnie on the Spot. My mechanic Mike starts work at 0700. I have coffee, green drink and almonds. He has a part of a slip for me to pull into, so at 0705 I am headed across the river and Mike and Tony are standing on the dock to help me in. I have had a tiny leak in my primary fuel filter ever since it was installed by a local mechanic. This time they pull the whole thing off to really look at it and discover an improper fitting was used on the fuel outflow side of the filter. Plus they used teflon tape instead of the proper pipe sealing agent. This does not surprise me at all, as I have had trouble before with things not being installed properly. I get my oil changed, fuel and oil filters replaced and a new impeller and gasket for my engine water pump. Mike is a really good mechanic and electrician. I like and really respect his work. The tide is ebbing now, and even though there is no wind, St. Helens is always rocky and rolly.

Then off to the fuel dock to top off my tank and I head upriver to slip onto the Multnomah channel which connects the Columbia River to the Willamette River. It is 18 nm long, but tonight I will stay over at Coon Island. I always end my trips at Coon Island. I get an extra night on the river and have time to clean up the boat. Coon is 8 nm upriver and 3 nm to Scappoose Moorage.

I arrive at 1130, the sun is shining and shortly hear the infamous cackling of the migratory sandhill cranes who live on Sauvie island for the winter. Flocks are flying in and circling overhead. It is always a great sight to behold. Shortly a nice looking sailboat is starting to pull in and 2 ladies are onboard. I rarely see female boaters on the Columbia. The owner has recently bought Nirvana, a 24 ft Eastward Ho. This is another East coast boat that I have always seen in photos but never in person. She has lovely lines. She has a full keel with a 4 ft draft and a diesel westerbeke engine. We sit on the dock, have lunch and chat a while. Soon they are off heading upriver to St John's Bridge for an evening party. I enjoy a lazy afternoon, packing up dirty clothes, cleaning the galley, reading, playing Sudoku puzzles and looking at the charts for the mouth and lower aspect of the Columbia River for next summer. Later in the day a small yacht club party tie up at the end of east dock but it seems like they are very far away. In the evening I can hear some beating of country music off in the distance but it doesn't last too long and after I put my window flaps down I shut the noise out. I'm down to eating odds and ends so finish off my eggs and make french toast for dinner.

Speaking of food, I have mentioned some of our meals, but would like to share some of our delicious meals along the way. While I am not known as a cook at home, I do love fixing meals on board. The truth of the matter is, I love doing anything on board. I tend to eat the freshest things first and eat other things later in the cruise like spagetti and marinara sauce. I try to end the trip with no food left over which I am good at. Before I shop I figure out how many lunches and dinners I will need and go from there. Starting out sometimes with a baked chicken from Fred Meyers which will give me several meals and sandwiches. Often I get sushi and carrot juice there for the first night. I love this combination. Some times I bring frozen meats of a variety to start me out and eat them as they defrost. Lately, I have been eating some prepared foods like potatoe salad, lasagna, garlic mashed potatoes, teriyaki chicken meatballs, and polish sausages. I fix lots of corn, asparagus, salads, zuchini and onion stir fry. I have apples, blueberries, blackberries, lemons and limes on board. Throwing in some fruit in a dalup of yogurt is nice for dessert. Turkey, tuna fish, hummus always make for nice lunches. Sometimes, I eat hard boiled eggs for lunch while underway. I have boxed soups and different kinds of rice mixes. My breakfast is always a green drink with almonds, except for Sundays when I fix french toast. If it is cold I always have oatmeal or grits on board as extras. I have an old spreadsheet which has all my items on board, the quanities I have on hand and what I need. I have a dc refrigerator and an ice cooler that I need for long trips. I cut off part of a plastic waste basket in which a block of ice fits. I put this in the dc refrigerator to supplement the coolness, especially if the weather is hot.The plastic basket contains the water and makes it easy to dump overboard. I usually pack all the meat products around this block of ice to maintain freshness. Because of the heat this trip

I carried 2 blocks in the cooler and one in the refrig. All in all, the food situation worked out great this time with all the supplementation from the home gardens. Thank you Ann, Linda and Pudge.

Another great day.

Day's run 8nm.

Grand Total 222nm.