Journey of a Lifetime

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For once, a blissful day!

What's your next immediate destination and ETA?
 
So being an european i had to google a Klondike bar since we dont have them here...

That led me to urbandictionary.com and a " Kentucky Klondike Bar" biiiiiiig mistake!
 
Torben DH; That led me to urbandictionary.com and a " Kentucky Klondike Bar" biiiiiiig mistake![/QUOTE said:
I don't get it either, and the Kentucky version didn't help. AAHHHK! That is beyond comprehension.
Click to expand...
 
Torben DH said:
So being an european i had to google a Klondike bar since we dont have them here...

That led me to urbandictionary.com and a " Kentucky Klondike Bar" biiiiiiig mistake!
Click to expand...

Now that is funny! I guess if you don't live here you wouldn't know these:




 
markpierce said:
For once, a blissful day!

What's your next immediate destination and ETA?
Click to expand...

As we see it right now it looks like either Ft. Braqg, or if conditions permit, Bodega Bay Saturday, then the Golden Gate and Bay Area Sunday. The is a best case scenario.
 
Good Morning. We're going to sit it out today in Eureka. It's as calm as can be right now but winds are forecasted to be in the 30-35 range with 8' seas on 8 seconds. That probably would mean an 8' sea + a 2'-3' wind wave which would result in 11' seas on 8 seconds.

I've learned on this trip that the longer the period between swells and the shorter the waves, the more manageable they are. When they hit the magic number where the swell height + the wind wave height are approaching the time period between swells, that is not a good time to be out there. An example of that would be a 5'-8' swell with a 2' wind wave on 10 seconds.

That's about what we were in on the way to Ilwaco and you've seen what that looks like. It's not so much the swell height that's the problem. We were in some 8' swells yesterday, but the time between swells was very long so they weren't any problem. The boat just rides up and over them.

As some of you may have noticed, I'm not posting during the day while we're moving. I have a vertigo problem that prevents me from doing that but if I maintain my eyes on the horizon I'm fine. It's when I start looking down at instruments or trying to read or type that it kicks in and it ain't fun. That's why you'll usually only see my pics and videos posted after we're at the dock.

Thus far, this trip has been a good education for me and it's getting me better prepared for when GW and I take our boat around the coast and spend a summer in Canadian waters. I'm grateful for the opportunity to get this first hand knowledge before we strike out on our own.

This boat is very well equipped and quite comfortable for cruising. It's about the same length as mine but 1.5' wider and has a different roll rate than mine. That took a bit of adjustment when we first started but after a day or so I've gotten used to the roll rate of Following Seas.

It's amazing to me how those diesels just keep on ticking. When I was buying my boat I talked with a Cat dealer about my 3406C's and he said they were designed to run at or near WOT 24/7. We've been running 12+ hours and day and the hum from the diesels is almost putting us to sleep, especially on a day like yesterday.

Walking around on the boat is a bit challenging even with calm seas. Every step you take when you're running on the ocean requires having a hand on something....cupboards, stair rails, etc. Even a simple thing like coming down from the helm to the galley to get something requires holding on. I know that before I take our boat around the coast I'm going to be putting some additional grab rails on the interior.
Well rested GFC
 
I was disappointed yesterday that the AIS stopped north of Eureka last info Received: 0d 17h 20min ago. Are you experiencing a problem with it or just poor service? Love following your journeys on the google satellite photos. To many of us this is the only way we be able to make this trip.

Have FUN and be SAFE.
Thanks for sharing all the info.
 
Your video's make me miss my fast cabin cruiser I had before my GB. It's great seeing the water move fast under your boat. Thanks, I guess. :ermm:

Love your tutorial as well. Especially the wave timing and how it dictates the roll of the boat.

Have a great day at sea and I can't wait for your next report.

I just have to ask, what is the fuel bill so far and what are you paying per gallon? Do they give a discount for over 200 gallons like my fuel depots?
 
rochepoint said:
I was disappointed yesterday that the AIS stopped north of Eureka last info Received: 0d 17h 20min ago. Are you experiencing a problem with it or just poor service? Love following your journeys on the google satellite photos. To many of us this is the only way we be able to make this trip.

Have FUN and be SAFE.
Thanks for sharing all the info.
Click to expand...

Mike -- see this:

"We need to remember that AIS is primarialy a vessle to vessle safety system. The shore based component does not generally have a real time safety implication.

Ship to ship you can look at other vessles within VHF range, and use that data to determine a best course to work your way through them. It is a addition to RADAR. The vessels will show up on your chart plotter (and or your radar) even if they are not dicernable on RADAR due to land contours, etc... You can see a target, and instantly know its speed, bearing, etc...

So, is AIS reliable? yes it is ship to ship. The land based component is only as reliable as the link to a shore station. No link, no land based AIS. "
__________________
Kevin Sanders
Bayliner 4788
Seward, Alaska

Most of the land based reports in that area appear to come from a radio amateur (ham) station located in Brookings, OR (KF7JCA). I'm guessing that there are not any land based receivers in the Eureka vicinity with internet access once you get out of range of the Brookings station.

(I'm also on the learning curve regarding AIS!)

-Vic
 
rochepoint said:
I was disappointed yesterday that the AIS stopped north of Eureka last info Received: 0d 17h 20min ago. Are you experiencing a problem with it or just poor service? Love following your journeys on the google satellite photos. To many of us this is the only way we be able to make this trip.

Have FUN and be SAFE.
Thanks for sharing all the info.
Click to expand...

Try This:

SPOT Shared Page
 
Kevin, one thing I've noticed is that when a nearby boat is relatively close (>20 miles) we pick up their AIS signal just fine. At times it blanks out and the boat disappears but it's there most of the time. As the distances get longer the boat disappears more and more, not only from the AIS but from the radar.

When we were headed into Ilwaco there was an AIS fishing vessel several miles ahead of us, also headed in. I set up the Nobletec to show his track into the bar, figuring we could count on his local knowledge as to where to turn in rather than going way out to the furthest approach buoy. We got to his track but then stayed on our original course so we'd have the rollers on our stern rather than on our beam as they would have been if we'd followed his course. It's nice to have that ability to pick from the other skipper's local knowledge.
 
We're going to spend another night here in Eureka, but that's OK because it's REALLY nasty out on the water. The plan at this time is to pull out of here around 0530 Sunday morning and make a run down the coast. That certainly is subject to change as weather conditions change. We need to cross back over the bar as we go out of here so we'll have to be aware of that in addition to the weather out there.

Doug and I walked about 3/4 mile to Costco this afternoon. I picked up a 1.75L jug of Cuervo and some coffee so we wouldn't run out on the rest of the trip. Cuervo is $20 here and ~$52 at home. I wish I could have carried back a dozen or so bottles. We got back to the boat and I took a little snooze while Doug walked downtown. He called me about 4:30 and told me about this neat brew pub he found (we'd heard about it earlier) so I hiked up there and joined him for dinner. Good fish & chips, great oysters and good beer. Life is good.

No pictures today and no videos. Probably none tomorrow but I'll sign back in and respond to any comments.

Smiling GFC (loved those oysters!)
 
It was a beautiful, mild day here in Mare Island and Carquinez Straits. Lots of boats for a Friday, more than even the typical weekend (is it because it's the longest day?). ... Regardless, Monday's forecast calls for cooler temperatures (cooler than the cool seventies experienced today along "the waters") and the possibility of rain (so out of character in our dry, Mediterranean climate). A cool summer so far. Not the typical climate here. Take heed.
 
GFC said:
Kevin, one thing I've noticed is that when a nearby boat is relatively close (>20 miles) we pick up their AIS signal just fine. At times it blanks out and the boat disappears but it's there most of the time. As the distances get longer the boat disappears more and more, not only from the AIS but from the radar.
Click to expand...

AIS works on a VHF radio frequency just like your VHF voice radio and radar. VHF signals normally travel in "line of sight" which means once a stations is over the horizon and no reflector (ship - mountain) is between the stations, the signal will be lost.

Except in a bunch of fascinating conditions which are of more interest to amateur radio operators.
 
I have relatives in WA. They are amazed at our liquor prices here compared to what they have to spend.

I wish you would tell what fuel prices you are finding down the coast.
 
Capthead said:
I have relatives in WA. They are amazed at our liquor prices here compared to what they have to spend.

I wish you would tell what fuel prices you are finding down the coast.
Click to expand...

Fuel Prices

Neah Bay: 3.46
Coos Bay: 3.80
Eureka: 3.79

Total gallons burned so far since Seattle: Approximately 987
Estimated additional gallons to reach Stockton: 565 gal
 
If you're using marinetraffic.com, try vesselfinder.com also. It works better in many areas. shipfinder.com also works, but not as well as the others.

At any rate, you won't find them much until they get south of Ft. Bragg. After that, you should be able to follow them all the way in.
 
RickB said:
AIS works on a VHF radio frequency just like your VHF voice radio and radar. VHF signals normally travel in "line of sight" which means once a stations is over the horizon and no reflector (ship - mountain) is between the stations, the signal will be lost.

Except in a bunch of fascinating conditions which are of more interest to amateur radio operators.
Click to expand...

If you figure the antenna on following Seas at 20 ft above the water, and the antenna on a big cargo vessel at 100 ft, that gives a theoretical line of sight range of approx. 17 miles. As I understand the system, the Class A units on the commercial vessels can relay "piggyback" signals from Class B units, but the basic range limitation still applies and you still need nearby shore stations. And, Class B units only transmit at 2W through the VHF. A little signal bending or knife edge refraction can increase the range sometimes, but it's usually minimal.

Spot Messenger doesn't have these limitations, but you don't get a lot of the "cool" stuff that you see with AIS.

Regarding the liquor prices in Washington, lots of voters bought into the "cheaper booze" ads from the big chains that are now making a killing after getting rid of the State liquor stores. The basic prices are sometimes lower, but the taxes are a killer when you get to the checkout stand. Big wake-up for the "something for nothing" set.

Hope the 3 Musketeers are having another nice (i.e., relaxing) day in port before the final big push!
 
Well the 3 Musketeers are having a relaxing day, but it's been frustrating because we want to get underway and can't because of the winds south of here. It looks at this time like we may try to sneak across the bar early tomorrow a.m. and head out and play it by ear to see how far we can make it before we decide to pull in somewhere.

In the meanwhile, much of what we've done today could be considered twiddling our thumbs. The three of us walked up to Englund Marine and poked around in there for awhile. It's interesting to see the difference between a marine store in a fishing town and a marine store in a downtown area. Much more "big boat" stuff here....chain big enough to tow a building with, ball fenders I couldn't fit on my boat, harpoons, gaff hooks with a 5'-6' handle on them, etc.

After that we came back and Stuart changed the fuel filters on the Mans and I gave him a hand.

img_164476_0_fb5fa07786830ce75be71df9f8929299.jpg


img_164476_1_c3734a801c1d6ea92268e9b6dabd9e35.jpg


Check out these bad boys and how clean the engine room is.....
img_164476_2_dd909a6196cc096ad548d1e436ef6f77.jpg


img_164476_3_293b49ccee11d3cd72b3ecaf751798a6.jpg


I did take one short video to show you what this area of the harbor looks like.

M2U00490 - YouTube

So that's about all we've done today. We're going to hike back up to the Lost Coast Brew Pub again for dinner.

Bored GFC
 
We just got back from dinner at Gallagher's Irish Pub where I had the best fish & chips I've had in quite awhile. Good place to go if you're ever in Eureka.

Yesterday I had an opportunity to use something I'd read about but never used....fender boards. We had gone to the fuel dock to top off tanks but when we got there they didn't have the typical dock recreational boaters are used to, it was just pilings. The pilings were about 2' diameter and some were broken off just above the water line. There's no way we were going to take this beautiful boat up against wooden pilings so we went back to our original side-tie at the marina to see if they had any fender boards.

They did so we borrowed them and they worked just fine. For those of you who haven't used them before, they can be as simple as a 2x4 about 8' long with some holes drilled through near each end and some lines to tie them to the fenders. We got them rigged as we were heading back to the fuel dock and they worked just fine. Obviously they spread the load of being up against the piling between two fenders.

We had to position the boat so the fender boards were next to one of the pilings but that proved to be easy enough to do. Then we just had to adjust the height of the fender boards on the fenders but that also was a no brainer.

Here's what they look like....
img_164481_0_ddb33c79b86375db18391c6a949af89e.jpg
 
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Thanks for the videos. After watching her slide along I can see why folks burn the fuel to cruise a little faster. The engines sound wonderful. They just purr and never miss a beat.
Here's wishing you a safe and smooth passage today :thumb:
 
Stuart, love your MAN's worked a lot with them and togheter with VOLVO the best on the market in this segment. My experiences with IVECO and MERCEDES are a lot less.

Nice ride........

Cees
 
If you use fenderboards....size appropriate to the vessel. 2x4s for up to about 25 feet....then go up in size based on displacement.

A friend gave me one as a spare for my Hurricane Sandy rideout and it was a 2x4...snapped in the middle of the night under pretty mild conditions...I may use 2x4s with the premade rubber ends but screw an on edge 2x4 to the vertical 2x4 to give extra strength AND a little more standoff.
 
Looks like the intrepid crew got an early start and are making good time, per Spot Messenger, in fairly mild seas. There is a ham station (KE6WC) in Gualala, a little south of Ft. Bragg, that has an AIS receiver feeding the Internet, so we should start seeing Following Seas on the AIS page, as well.
 
Just showed up on AIS, looks like the home stretch to SF.
Thanks for allowing us to come along.
 
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Our pleasure Mike.

Left Eureka at 4:40am and after picking our way down the Humboldt River in the dark, we crossed the bar in fog and darkness, with all eyes on watch, on a 3 knot ebb (after being briefed by locals) and moved out into open ocean without event. Notorious Cape Mendocino, 25 miles our south, allowed us to pass in relatively smooth water and rain.

Off Point Arena now, over 1/2 way, and we have actually had to slow down a knot so as to arrive San Francisco at or after 7:15pm, slack turning to flood on the Golden Gate. Good ride for the most part, little rough here and there, but mostly light chop on a WNW 4' swell. Could take this all day long, and probably will.

Once under the Golden Gate we will hook around to Sausalito and anchor for the night in Richardson Bay.
 
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Looks like you're about to pass Pt. Reyes presently. I suppose you know the fishing boat Running Late is heading in your direction.
 
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