Akeeva - Friday Harbor to San Francisco

Friday Harbor to San Francisco © Sam Landsman

My last blog entry had us in Hoonah, AK, after returning to Southeast Alaska from Prince William Sound at the beginning of August. The next month was filled with guests, whales, bears, and rain in Alaska.

By the middle of August, the rain was getting to us and we were making concrete plans to head south to Mexico for the winter. We figured we'd be back in Washington around the middle of September. We could address any boat issues and continue south as soon as the weather cooperated.

The Washington and Oregon coasts are notoriously hostile. Safe harbors are few and far between. Getting in-and-out of a safe harbor can be impossible, too, since nearly all are guarded by river bars. These river bars are best transited at or near slack, before the ebb has begun, and when the swell is low. Unfortunately, by the time offshore conditions have deteriorated enough that cruisers want to be in port, the bars are often too rough to cross safely. The only option is to remain at sea. Before departing, I made a list of each safe harbor, including links to information and conditions about each bar crossing, so if conditions looked like they were deteriorating, we could easily seek shelter.

To read more please go to the original article.