Cathlamet, Washington to Warrenton, Oregon

I am up early again, about 0500hrs.
I ate a few nuts, had a mug of coffee, dumped the trash, unhooked the electrical cord, started the green machine, computer, radar, gps, depth sounder, vhf, and shoved off at 0640 hrs. Gray weather with a slight NW wind. I was so excited to use my new route that I created last night.  You can double click the photo and see we are at Pillar Rock on the chart plotter. It was so helpful and I enjoyed learning how to do that. Slowly, but surely, I am getting better at using and understanding the Sea Clear program. Thanks Dan, of Whiskyjack, for all your inspiration and help to get it up and running.I ran the entire river without seeing one person or boat. Did everyone disappear during the night? 4 ships are anchored upriver of the Astoria bridge. Hailing ports are Majuro, Limasol, Hong Kong. 

I run with the current which has now weakened some due to the widening of the estuary. The tide is ebbing and the most speed I make is 9.5 knots. It takes me 2 hours and 40 minutes to make the entrance of the Astoria west basin. The trip was really easy, 1-2 foot wind waves. I tie up at the fuel dock and take on 8 gallons. Diesel is $4.05.

I ask the dock attendant if I could spend a few hours on the transient dock to have coffee and breakfast. I gives me the OK, and off I move across the marina. I call and tell Jean that I have made another leg of the trip, Too Tall calls just as I tie up again. We talk about Lewis and Clark, as he is a great fan of the Corps of Discovery. I am really hungry, so scramble me 2 of those huge, yellow eggs and have a piece of toast.
I am ready for leg 2 of my trip today.

As I pull out of the breakwater walls there is a big smiling, snorting sea lion to greet me. What a blessing for me.











I pick up my next waypoint and in no time I am at the entrance to the Skipanon River. The tide has turned so shoaling just inside the entrance shows 8 feet of water, but jumps to 15-16 ft in a matter of minutes.  A mallard mother has only 2 goslings remaining and a large family of Canada Geese have 6 remaining.  Many fishing vessels harbor here and there is a huge boat emptying their holes at the fish factory.

I dock at the boat yard, and Charles has gone to lunch. The small vessel is being worked on by a mechanic on the ways that I will use. I go across the street and get ice, and check out the laundromat. Charles shows up and says everything is a head of schedule and they will launch the other boat about 1630 and then pull me out, rather than wait for high tide tomorrow. He was happy to see me early so we could haul out today. Charles says, "Shatoosh is cute as a button." I'm sitting in the laundromat, doing all my dirty clothes and by the time I am finished the tide will have risen enough to haul out.

The Salmi Brothers launch the little Carver and in no time, Shatoosh is out of the water and on the ways. The zincs and cutlass bearing are good. In the morning they will begin power washing the hull and painting. Also they will put on the swim platform I made many years ago. I'm staying on Shatoosh and we are on a slight slant, but nothing too great.







I empty out the aft cabin and take off the cockpit liner so the guys will have access to mount the platform.

Offshore there are small craft warnings and Gales at Cape Flattery, but the 10 day outlook looks promising. I'm taking it one day at a time and today was just perfect.

Days run: 26.7nm

Total: 98.7nm