Two days out of Seattle on our way to San Francisco and we are still heading northwest. The not too obvious is that Seattle, Puget Sound, is far east of the opening to the Pacific Ocean. We left Shilshoe Marina in Ballard in warmth and sunshine. The surface of the sound is flat, no wind. The first night we tie up at the dock in Port Angeles, PA as the locals call it. In many ways the town of PA reminds me of my childhood in east Texas during the 1950's. There is a Granny Goose Family Shoe Store. There is a general store like the old 5¢ and 10¢. The town sees a steady stream of logging trucks heading from the forest to the saw mill as lumber trucks make their way in the opposite direction. The traffic is very light, but gas prices hover around $4.00 per gallon. The men are lean and hard, obviously they work hard with their hands. Surrounding the old movie theater are several antique shops, a bakery and a doughnut shop. Metal art and music memorabilia are much in evidence as well. Throughout the town are metal art fountains and wind veins. There are many simple bars or taverns where hard working men can wet their whistles. However, there seems to be evidence of young contemporary music nightlife.
The second night we cruise to the last place to stop before jumping out into the Pacific Ocean, Neah Bay. It turns out to be right in the middle of the Makah Nation, an Indian Reservation. Access to the AT&T mobile signal is non-existent. Therefore, there is no internet and even worse no voice communications except satellite that also seems hard to access through the heavy cloud cover. Bella Donna is the only yacht in the harbor. The other ships are fishing vessels; the Deadliest Catch TV show comes to mind. The next few hours are spent preparing for the passage. Life vests are laid on everyone's bed along with the life harness and tether line to be used if the unthinkable happens. Medications, some food, water, water proof VHF radio, GPS and EPERB are placed into the abandon ship waterproof container paced in the middle of the salon floor. John performs the captain's briefing just before we cast off to start the 4 to 5 day passage to San Francisco. The around the clock watch schedule assigns a time for each crew member to sit at the helm. We start with not good but also not too bad weather conditions. We decide to venture out to face tame southerly winds. If the seas bounce us around too much we will head back to wait it out in Neah Bay. As we get closer to San Francisco the winds are forecasted to turn northerly.
God Bless Bella Donna
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