Lay Days at Carrolls Channel Cottonwood Island

6 and 7 September Saturday and Sunday

The mornings are foggy and overcast but clearing by noon. I spend both days, cleaning and organizing, taking Pashmina ashore and rowing around. I'm learning about my new cell phone, checking on my emails, finding my blog on the web and checking out my gps positions with the navigator. I'm amazed the islands are shown on the River while they are not named they have the correct shape. I scroll down river to see my future destinations and even cruise out over the bar and up the Washington Coast. What wonderful techology. I'm going to like this new phone: an LG EN V2.
I see 2 deer, osprey, Canada geese, eagles and the flocks of merganzers are back. I did not see my muskrat friends. They were so much fun.

The v-berth is comfy with shelving along both sides. I have a small tv tray for a table to save on space.

The galley has a 2 burner Swedish alcohol stove. The new price of 1 gallon of alcohol is $30.00 at West Marine. Outrageous.

I have just noticed an orb on the hand towel in the galley. Enlarge to see.

The aft cabin is waiting for my crew to arrive in Cathlamet.

Evening descends into Carrolls Channel and I begin taking pictures looking for orbs. I'm in luck the place is crawling with them. Naturally, it is a waxing Harvest Moon. The 2 dark photos show the top one without orbs and the bottom one with interesting orbs on the right side. Dbl Ck to see.

Carrolls Channel to Walker Island Dock via Goble, Kalama and Ranier

8 September 2008 Monday
A large landing craft appear coming up the channel early in the morning. It is the Sea Hawk and it contains a a tractor, 2 trucks, 2- 18 wheelers and a ATV. It is really loaded and listing. It heads around the corner and may beach it at an old ramp. I depart at 0915 and reach the Columbia River at 0930. The Pacific Destiny

is tied to the dock and is another ship from Majuro. amazing to see 2 in 2 days. I have called the RV and marina in Goble across the river to see if they have block ice. Yes, they do and I take on 3 blocks. Then over to Kalama to pump out my holding tank. I get everything all set to pump and then read a sign saying non-operable indefinitely. A man says they have ordered a new one.
I take this opportunity to check in with Carol on Knot Enuf. She and her husband Steve live aboard and I met them in Martin Slough a couple years ago and continue to meet them on the river. I wanted their permission to include them in my blog and gave her the site name.
I now have to head down river to the little town of Ranier to pump out. Usually the wind and waves are so bad here it is hard to pump out, but I have another motive. The finals for the US Open are today with Roger playing Murray and I can go to the Mexican Restaurant for lunch and maybe catch a few games. I have already missed the match, but the Mexican food was great. Pump out was easy as there was no wind nor waves. At 1345 I leave Rainer and pass ships:
Danann- Panama
Cetus Leader-Panama
Portland Bay(car vessel)- Hong Kong, as I pass under the Lewis and Clark Bridge connecting Oregon and Washington at Longview.

I poke my bow into some nice looking anchorages along the Walker Island side and find one place near Marker 12. It has 30 ft of water and a rock filled wing dam which would give protection from the upriver wind and seas. A nice beach. I mark it on my chart as a possibility.

At 1515 I dock at the Walker Island Dock. This dock is not attached to land and is managed by the Columbia River Yacht Club and open to all boaters. You can probably dock 4- 40 ft boats on each side. It is a nice overnight stay for down river cruising, but also fun to hang out for several days of dinghy exploring. I will stay today and tomorrow and leave on the 10th.
A beautiful sailboat is down at the end of the dock, a 37 ft. Hinkley and a Sparkman Stephens design. A hull much like Sabra, so naturally I have to go and take a look. The family is from Portland and the La Rondine was purchased in the Bay Area and trucked up here about 17 years ago. There are 2 young boys aboard , a teenage daughter and a wife. They really take good care of her and later the Captain comes over to see pictures of Sabra. Hinkleys are made in Maine and are very reputable vessels and the craftsmanship is impeccable. You don't see too many out west. This is a treat for me to see this boat.

Again, this year there is another screaming young osprey in the nest. Last year I was interested in the fact the young one had already fledged so wondered why these birds continue to live in the nest and the mothers fly back and forth throughout the day to drop off fish. This years youngster is flying in the cove area, but doesn't seem to hunt on his own. It is fascinating to watch as he can spot his mother flying in with a meal and his screams escalate and as she is circling his begins to flap and flap his wings. He is so excited as she swoops in touching down for a moment to drop the fish and off she goes again to the highest trees on the point down river of here. When he gets hungry he starts calling her non stop again. Nature at its best.

days run 20.2 nm

Total 48.9 nm

Stormy Lay Day at Walker Island Dock

9 September 2008 Tuesday

The wind had really blown during the night, but has abated this morning. I leave my Waikiki Yacht Club burgee on the bow flagstick and if the wind is blowing I can hear the flag. This alerts me to check on the dock lines or if I need to add fenders, I can. If I am at anchor then I definitely get up and check my position. I'm on the downriver side of the dock on the inside which can be a little rolley, but much less than being on the outside. I undock and move the boat bow to the Columbia River so if the wind returns I will ride easier and the cockpit will be in the sun. I give the boys on the La Rondine some fishing lures and each a pumice stone found in the Martin Slough wing dam area on the Columbia. They had never been to Martin slough and I insisted they make it a cruising destination. Up from the galley is a bag of homemade cookies for me. Wow, how wonderful. A few years back a gal on a Columbia 30 had given me home made cookies here at Walker Island. The Cookie Dock! The La Rondine departs at 1230. What a nice family and a beautiful boat. I missed getting a photo of them or their names. Perhaps I will see them in Martin Slough some day.

Soon afterwards the wind begins to blow bad and the seas stack up in here. I decide to move Shatoosh farther down to the other end of the dock to get out of the wave pattern. In untying her I loose my stern line and the waves pitch Shatoosh's stern into the dock taking off a big piece of gelcoat. Ugh. I get her tied up and put 2 extra fenders out. Later in the day I put a cover patch of caulking on the wound to keep the moisture out and rx it with Reiki. I am glad that I had turned Shatoosh around earlier.

At dusk a lovely wood cruiser named the Klick Tat passes. I honk my horn and he returns a wave. In all this wind he anchors in the middle of the channel and puts down his dinghy and rows out to check the anchor and is not happy and he re-anchors. Another glass power boat approaches the dock. They have no fenders out or docklines ready. I get out to help them dock. They look as though they are going to dock down wind which is not a good idea. I wave them to dock on the inside but the Captian pulls alongside and tries to step off his boat. I ask if he is spending the night and suggest that he berth on the inside. His eyes are glazed over like he is drunk or high on drugs. There is a lady and a teenager with him. He almost falls and says yes it might be better on the inside so moves to the inside and up ahead of me. I have a feeling that this could be trouble, but the night was quiet on the dock and the wind and waves abated during the night.

Walker Island to Wallace Island Anchorage Via Gull Island

10 September Wednesday

0910 I depart Walker island with calm seas and no wind, plus an ebbing tide. How nice is this after a day and a half of wind and rolling seas. 1000 I stop at the little town of Stella on the Washington side. There is a deep water inlet (Coal Creek Slough) that runs back up inside which has a good anchorage apparently. Locaal knowledge is a must to get inside. There is a huge sand bar and pilings at the entrance and I have tried to venture in once before and couldn't find the passage, so I thought I would try from a different angle today. No such luck, I run into 3 ft water again and this time I can see the bottom. I back out and head down river. I've asked around and no one has been in there. Maybe this is my clue; Stay Out of Stella.

1030 I anchor at Gull island in 13 ft of water and off load Pashmina. I want to find the channel going between Gull and Crims island. Last year it looked too ominous to go in, but larger boats than mine have gone in during early summer when there is higher water. This is such a beautiful beach. I often see kayakers here camping on shore. It is so inviting, so today is my day to explore. Just as I get to within shore, my phone rings, I'm in 6 inches of water and then I see an inbound ship, the Liberty Crusader from Panama approaching. I briefly take the call and state I'll return it in a few minutes. I watch the ship's wake on my anchored Shatoosh and it doesn't look bad. Then I decide not to get out of the dinghy and we rode the waves well. There are many deadheads and pilings up through the inlet. I would never try to come through this in Shatoosh. I dinghy up about half way and the water is pretty stagnant, so I turn around and head for shore. I get out and walk Pashmina out of the inlet and head back to Shatoosh. All this fun and sun is making me strong as I am able to manually pull the anchor up without having to use the engine to pop it free.

1200 I depart Gull Island towing Pashmina for the first time and head for my next exploration which is an anchorage I have noticed in previous years. It looks interesting, is off the River and behind a small island that my diesel mechanic Mike and his family calls Eureka island. There's several wing dams and a sandy spit to block the ship's wakes. At 1300 I am anchored in 17ft of water and the tide continues to ebb revealing more of the land spit and more beach. 2 ships pass coming upriver: The Washington Voyager- Chevron out of San Francisco and the Ansac Asia from Panama and there is no effect from their wakes. Large flocks of Canada Geese are in the area and off in the distance I can hear Sandhill Cranes.

Sometime later in the afternoon I row ashore and the water is so clear and warm that I take a little swim and just sit in the warm water and squish my feet deep into the sand. It is so peaceful and nice. I see there are Mount St Helens volcanic pumice stones on the beach so I collect 3 to replace some I gave the boys on the La Rondine. I decide to take a picture of the clear water and my shadow and am surprised to see my feet so clearly that I include them in the picture. It looks as though my feet are on backwards.

I row back to Shatoosh and take my solar heated shower on the aft cabin. How wonderful this is. I rig my boat hook up to dry my clothes and towel. Clean body, clean clothes. Great.

I stow Shatoosh on the cabin top. Not knowing what the seas will be like tomorrow I would prefer to stow her rather than tow her. My general rule is to stow, as I am usually single handling the boat and towing can complicate things a bit. It is one less potential problem that I have to be concerned with.

Keep it safe and simple for me

Getting Shatoosh on the cabin top at anchor is a bit tricky and this is the most dangerous task I perform. I always wear my life jacket, as I could fall over board doing this. (I move slowly and take my time and I always have the bowline in my hand. I figure if I tripped or lost my balance and went over, the dinghy would go with me. If I couldn't get in the dinghy I could swim to shore, get in her and row her back.) I pull her up to the aft gunnel and grab the bow handle pulling her up onto the deck. I then lift and rotate her so that one stern bullet is on the aft cabin. Then I do the same on the other side. Then I slowly and carefully walk out and around the resting dinghy on the aft cabin and cabin top and lift her by the transom and slide her up on the cabin top. Then I secure her to the flag staff and the grab bars on the cabin top. A piece of cake!

I have a nice dinner and have some tea at dark. Oh boy, coyotes and lots of them on the oregon mainland. They are yelling and circling for a kill and reach their peak crescendo, then silence. I have heard this ritual so many times while I am docked at Coon Island. I love to hear this wild song. I hear the sandhill cranes off in the distance. I stay up late to see how I am going to swing when the tide changes. I fall asleep in the cockpit and but about 2300 I am awakened by the lapping of the waves against the hull. Before I open my eyes I think the tide is changing and open my eyes to see that we have swung around. I check my depth sounder and beam a light to shore to see my position. I think we will be fine and head down below to get in my warm bunk. I get up a couple of times during the night just to check my position. A new anchorage is always worth checking on during the night especially during tidal changes.

days run 9.3 nm

Total 58.2 nm

Meeting Linda in Cathlamet Wa

11 September 2008 Thursday

I fly my flag today in remembrance of 911. I was on Shatoosh that tragic day and I was on the Georgiana Slough in the Delta at Oxbow Marina waiting for Jean to fly into Sacramento to join me cruising. She arrived several days later.

As I am weighing anchor I hear the chain slipping along the shank and when I get up to the roller the anchor is upside down and the chain wrapped around the flukes. I have to climb out on the deck and untangle it all. After stowing the rode and chain I depart Wallace slough anchorage at 0845. This has been a sweet anchorage and a nice beach area. At 0945 I pick up an unusual east wind with a following sea downriver for a change at Puget Island. I decide on a course change and cut between Puget Island and Coffee Pot Island at the Waikiakum Ferry dock. The water is shallow here so I'm careful and go slow. Lots of houses along the shore. I re-enter the Columbia river after Coffee Pot island and pass the inbound ship Ken Rei from Port Villa, Vanuatu. At 1100 I'm tied up at the marina in Cathlamet.

I grab a burger at the marina coffee shop, which was good. Linda arrives after lunch and we select a perfect RV site #8 overlooking the slough. There is a nice tree to shade her rig and her cat, Tux. We take Pashmina up the Elochoman Slough and see all the new houses with their private docks. Really uptown. We head into town for dinner and its my treat as I missed Linda's birthday last week. We have tea and talk after dinner and as usual head to bed early.

Days run 15.6 nm

Total 73.8

Touring the Islands out of Cathlamet Wa.with Linda

12 September Friday

Linda and I depart the marina at 0905 and it is cloudy and overcast. Our morning plan is to head upriver and enter Clifton channel and meander over to Devil's Elbow and exit through Woody island. You really have to pay close attention to the depths in Clifton as the deep water makes you criss cross the channel several times. At Woody island we see many floating homes tied up along side the island. This is interesting to me as this area is part of the Lewis and Clark National Wildlife Refuge and it makes me wonder how these homes can be here. Woody Isl. is not inhabited, so there is no electricity or sewer system. Which means they are pumping their sewage into the river. Hum?? We arrive at 1115.

The skies open and the sun shines down upon us. This is nice. We enter the Columbia River and meet the inbound Emerald from Panama. I go down and fix us tuna fish sandwiches and have some of Linda's tomatoes. We turn on its stern and head upriver. We pass the local dredging company working on the channel at the entrance to Steamboat Slough.

I have wanted to go into this slough and have read about and talked to many people who anchor here. We enter at 1215 taking the down river entrance and channel marker 33 to our port which gives us 17 ft of water on this flood tide. What a lovely slough, it is wide and deep and reminds me of the Georgiana Slough in the Delta. We cruise through and have lots of sun so we decide to continue on and head for Westport Slough and the Kerry West Marina on the Oregon side. We enter the Westport slough at 1330 and Linda loves this slough. Lots of Great Blue Heron and a few ospreys hanging around. We cruise on up the slough and get to Kerry West Marina. Linda is aghast at the condition of the boats. The last time I was in here I got a lot of orbs on my pictures, so I wanted her to take pictures here with her camera, but we didn't get any. I see my favorite boat the steel Florence A. I'd love to go to sea in her. We continue up river and go as far as we can which is just this side of the bridge. We flush a large flock of Canada Geese. We then return on our incoming course and arrive back at Cathlamet at 1600. I am 1 minute off my ETA. We spot a sea lion having a good time tearing off big chunks of salmon as he moves through a school. This is quite the sight to see. Anchored off the channel is that nice looking boat, the Klick Tat. I had seen him at Walker Island a few days earlier. What a nice looking classic wood cruiser.

We tie up to the docks and I'm busy fixing our salmon dinner and vegies that Linda has brought, when some folks show up at Shatoosh. Its Larry, his wife Susan and their friends who are RVing and staying here this weekend. Larry owns the Starship and I met him in Martin Slough a few years back. We keep in touch by email and I see him when I pull into Kalama from time to time. Larry is a great country and Western singer, so they invite us to the Karaoke evening at the River View Bar tonight. I tell Linda we must go, as I know that Larry is good. An opportunity that we shouldn't miss. I know, 9 pm is late for us, but we must make the effort. We show up and Larry and his friends were good, but the music was loud. We lasted one hour and came home and went to sleep. Larry sounds a lot like Willie Nelson, which is a good thing. See link to his website: wichitacountry.com

days run 36.2 nm

Total 110 nm

Ann and SmartyPants Show Up in Cathlamet

13 September Saturday

I get up early and shower, as the showers are great here at the marina. They cost a quarter. It is interesting how everything along the oregon side is free and on the washington side you pay for everything. Linda comes over to have breakfast and I fix my special french toast and she brings her own hearty coffee. Her camping spot has just been perfect for she and Tux, her cat. It has inspired her to maybe hook up with me more often. This is her second trip and we have had a nice time. Linda is quick to learn and handy to have onboard. We'll have to plan some other trips in the future. We think how funny it was for us to both be in a bar last night. It has been ions for us yoginis to be in a bar. We really had a nice time listening to the good singers, like Larry and some of his friends. Linda leaves to return to Tacoma. I hang around the marina and mid morning I go over to the rv section to see if I can find Larry and his wife Susan. She is there and they are camping in their truck, so I sit on a foot stool and talk with her. Larry shows up and we talk about the singing last night. I am killing time waiting for Ann to show up. She calls and lets me know she in the marina parking lot. I'm trying to find her, but can't. I don't see her car, so I call her back to find out where she is. Well, she has bought a new Smart Car and it is really sassy. Smart cars are made by Swatch and Mercedes. It is really fun to drive and you feel like you are in a big car inside and then when step out you wonder what happened to the rest of the car. We head into town to get groceries and block ice.

We pump out the holding tank on the head, for .50 cents and buy 10 gal of fuel and then we are on our way headed for Kerry West Marina on the Oregon side up Westport Slough at 1550.

Westport Slough is a deep water slough across the Columbia from Puget island. At 1700 we enter the slough and are docked at 1750. I find Keith ,the owner on the docks and give him my

$ 5.oo fee for tying up. He tells us some of the boats are going up for auction, as the owners have abandoned them, not paying their slip fees, of course. The place is full of derelict boats. It is a sad commentary that people just let these old boats just rot. There are many well kept boats in here and large ocean going vessels. This is a great place to leave a vessel as it is a safe, deep water moorage. Keith has rebuilt many of the docks laying in new timbers from his own land. He is a hard working marina owner and manager. There aren't usually any guest docks, but he has always let me tie up on the landing next to the NOAA Reseaarch vessels. The water at Kerry West Marina is fed by several springs that have the purest water. Keith lets us fill up our extra jugs of water. We take 4 gallons. By land the marina lies on Hwy 30 west of Clatskanie and east of Westport heading towards Astoria. It is out in the country.

Days run 12 nm

Total 122 nm