Day 3: Walker Island

25 September 2009: Friday

We depart about 0930 hrs and the sun is burning off the hazy sky. The Columbia is windy with 2 foot seas. We are headed for Kalama to pump out and to Goble to get ice and then to Walker island. The tide is ebbing and we make good time down river, slowing to count the 12 vultures on the wing dam upriver of Sandy island. I like to pump out at Kalama. It is easy in and out and there is good maneuvering room at the station. The water is always calm. We dump off 2 bags of trash, visit the port head and then go 2 docks over to visit with Carol on Knot Enuf. She is always a delight to visit with.

We are outbound and dock at Goble to make a short run to get ice. Con is on the bow line and I have the stern line. We are sandwiched between 2 tugs, the tide is ebbing and the wind is on our stern. Con is working her line aft and I give the command to hurray and get on board. She jumps in and in a flash she is falling back out of the boat right in front of me. I grab her and help her get back into the cockpit. The boat is now slipping away from the dock at the bow. I grab the bow line and pull her back into the dock. That was really close. I jump in and off we turn around heading out of Goble. Con states her foot slipped on the cushion. This is another close call. We will have to be very careful when docking in the future.

The Eternal Wind is docked filling her belly with grain and the Catherine Ostendorf is carrying wind turbine towers heading to Portland. She hails from Monrovia. Most all the wind generators are being brought into the docks at Longview and are registered from Bergen, Norway.

Con takes her stint at the helm, while I play around on the charts, and plotting an ETA for Walker Island 1330 hrs. I relieve her from the helm as we approach the Walker island dock. We are tied up at 1335 hrs. A huge boat is tied up also and they return in the dinghy and later the owner and his wife arrive in another dinghy One couple are guests from Seattle and the boat hails from Portland. It is 50 feet plus and a beam of 18 feet. The owner is familiar with Albins so we have to talk Albin story.

We get Pashmina ready and go up to the cove and across river with hopes of hiking some more. The tide is so low that we can't get over to the wing dams between Walker and Lord islands. We go ashore through some terrible mud and decide it is not worth the effort to continue. So back we go and spend considerable time cleaning our feet, Pashmina and our shoes. What a mess. Pashmina is stowed on top again. We have a lovely evening. It is the calmest day I have spent at Walker, but the wind comes up at night and by 0030 hrs we are rocking and rolling. I had set more fenders out at dark and readjusted the lines, so we were well set. Con sleeps through it with her ear bunnies in.
Days run: 19.8nm
Total : 43.4nm