I woke up at 0600 and started my morning routine. By 0830 I cast off my lines and slip quietly away from the dock. The couple on the Chris Craft are still asleep. It is overcast, but calm and a few people are stirring on the floating homes along the Sauvie Island side of the channel. I stop at an old marina named Freds. A very nice looking lady greeted me as she took my dock lines. All I wanted was ice and maybe another cup of coffee. She hadn’t had time to make it and wanted one herself. So we chatted as the coffee brewed. I noticed some almonds that were coated in lime and chili pepper, so thought it would be a new taste. Later they proved to be quite flavorful as I nibbled on some about noon.
The cheerful lady stated that they owned several acres on Sauvie and liked living there. The coffee done, she asked if she could help me carry things to the boat and also helped untie my lines and gave my bow a good shove away from the dock. Now that’s service with a smile. I made my way out to the Willamette river bearing off to port and was greeted first by a docked cargo ship named
the Fortune Sunny hailing from Hong Kong. Why, that’s the name of my friend , Linda. It is also the name of the Fortune Spirit we had seen last fall, also from Hong Kong. Probably the same shipping company. As I was taking a photo of her, a tug and barge was passing me on my port side. A big yellow smiley face greeted me and then the name on the tug was th
e Betty Lou, another friend of mine. So in a matter of minutes, I had a kind greeting, a smiley face, and two ships reminding me of friends. What a pleasant way to start my day. As I am writing this at 2045 hrs, a tug pushing 4 barges downriver just passed me with the same Smiley face looking at me as I lifted my eyes to take a glance out the port window. I couldn’t be making all this up. Life is full of synchronistic events. A nice beginning and a nice ending to another perfect day.I’m on the Willamette for about 2 miles and then enter the Columbia River for a short time and decide to go between Hayden island and the mainland. After all these years of cruising I have never been up this slot
before. It is filled with elaborate floating homes, tons of boats, marinas and haul-out facilities. It is all a no wake zone so I make about 4 knots and see all the places I have heard about. This is such a densely populated area, not one that I would want to be in. I’m glad that I am docked out in the country.I’m tied up to the east dock on Government Island which is east of the Portland airport and west of the Washington towns of Camas and Washougal. I see that they have made a new west dock and 2 sailboats are docked. It is west of the original dock which is still there. So it gives people 3 docks to choose from. I choose to take the easterl
y dock as it is closer to my destination. I arrive at 130
5 and have some lunch. I’m here all alone, except for a boat that just pulled in at dark. They have been up at the Dalles and had come through the Bonneville locks when they got an emergency call, so they are moving fast back to Scappoose where they dock and then on to Seattle. They seem really nice and friendly. She had a best friend in California who used to own an Albin. You get to meet some nice people on the river.I watched the ospreys fish and feed their young, noticed many deer tracks on shore, listened to the rumble of the trains on the Washington side with their lonely wailing of their whistles and watched the swallows flit about the shoreline. From sunrise to sunset, my day was a blessed event. My new cockpit light is perfect for me typing this up. I’m a happy camper.
Day's Run: 18.2 nm
Total: 24.4 nm
