PNW 2022, Columbia River and San Juan Islands

[colbysmith]

Somewhat finalizing my itinerary for my trip out west. Specifically I"ll be launching and retrieving in Warrenton near Astoria. Either on June 3rd or 5th. Then cruising along the Columbia River, mostly at hull or displacement speeds (5 kts) up to Portland and back, pulling out on the afternoon of June 13th. Anyone that wants to join me is welcome. I'll likely cruise upstream through the Multnoah Channel, (did I even spell that right?), and then stay on the Columbia going back down. Any advice/suggestions about going down the Williamette River to the Falls? I read the locks are closed, but is it worth a trip down to see the Falls? At hull speeds my plan is to go no more than about 30nm a day. I'll mostly anchor out, or tie up at any of the free docks. Perhaps stop at Cathemet Marina or any other recommended marina's a few of the nights.
I'll pick my wife up at SEA on June 14th, then spend two days with my brother in Graham. Then Rosanne and I will launch at Cap Sante Marina on June 17th, and likely spend that first night there in the marina. No specific itinerary, other than to cruise throughout the San Juan Islands. Back to Cap Sante on late afternoon on June 26th to sling out, and then start our drive back home. Again, anyone that would like to join us is welcome. We'll likely again just be cruising at hull speed, unless we need to move a little faster to see a little more. (I don't plan to take on marina fuel. ) I'm looking forward to my time in the west. Sorry it didn't work out with the planned Friday Harbor gathering. Colby

[hardee]

Colby, You might enjoy the ride UP the Willamette River toward the Falls. It goes right through main downtown Portland. Kind of a City Scenic route. (Watch for the WWII submarine at OMSI, Oregon Museum of Science and Industry on the east shore). You should be able to clear all the bridges unless you are on a very high tide -- might need to dip some antenna.

I will be working the SEVENTY48 people powered, 70 mile race, Tacoma to Port Townsend on your launch dates, but will consider a freshwater dip after that. Maybe launch at Kalama.

Gas on the river; you won't want much of that. Remember, from you launch site, half your trip is going UP stream. There will be some interesting stuff going on. Big ships doin lifeboat drills, tugs, barges and big commercial traffic in close proximity. Hard to say what the wildlife status will be but there will probably still be Sea lions and bald eagles.

Harvey
SleepyC

[hardee]

[mstrpo]

We recently motored up the Willamette to Oregon City which is just below the falls (no transit around them) and had no trouble with bridge height. There are some impressive properties (private homes/mansions!) along the way upstream from downtown Portland.

Another area for consideration is the Multnomah Channel which connects the Willamette to the Columbia (creating Sauvie Island) just above the town of St. Helens. The lower 2/3 or so of the channel is very peaceful with lots of wildlife. Coon Island has a free dock in a fairly protected area for over-nighting. The upper 1/3 has many floating homes and no-wake speed.

There is fuel at the St. Helens marina and about 1/4 mile down the channel from the Willamette at Fred's Marina.

[hardee]

[mstrpo]

I fueled at Fred's once and was a bit shocked by the price. I typically carry 2x5 gallon jugs every time I go boating. I fill them at a non-ethanol regular station for ~$2/gal less than the marinas. Hard to do when you're on the water, tho!

There is another fuel station on the Portland side of Tomahawk Island. Tomahawk Island is north of Portland - I-5 goes across the Island. The marina is upstream from the I-5 bridge over the slough between the island and the mainland. Lots of floating homes and boat slips in this slough.

[mstrpo]

I see the chart shows this island as both Hayden and Tomahawk. Perhaps they were 2 islands but at some point the gap was filled to provide vehicle access to Tomahawk. The marina w/ fuel access and most all the boat slips/marinas are on the upstream end.

[hardee]

I think you are right about Tomahawk and Hayden being joined at some point.

Harvey
SleepyC

[primative]

Colby,
I live 20 min. from Scappoose /St. Helens launches and 25 min. from downtown Portland.
What has been posted has been my experience as well. I think your river trip plan is a good one.

[colbysmith]

Only a few more weeks before I head out for the PNW. If anyone is interested in joining me, here's your invitation. Not making this an official gathering, as I'm keeping the cruise on a flexible schedule. Plans are to launch in Warrenton (near Astoria) on June 3rd, and then cruise up to Portland via the Multnomah Channel. And hopefully if time allows, down to the Willamette Falls, and perhaps a bit farther beyond Portland to Beacon Rock. Then back down the main Columbia River channel to load out at Warrenton on June 13th. Plan to do all this at hull speeds (5-6 kts). At night I'll be anchoring out, staying on free docks, or marinas. Flexibility is key, as this is mostly a sightseeing cruise with no set itinerary other than the launch and load dates. (And even those are slightly flexible of +/- day depending upon my drive out, and timing to get to SEA to pick up my wife on the 14th.)

Then on June 17th launching at Cap Sante Marina in Anacortes to spend another week on the water cruising around the San Juans, to pull out on June 25th.

I will be running my AIS transmitter, and using the Nebo App.

Colby

[hardee]

Colby, Hope your travel trip goes well. There is a fair chance I will be able to meet up and cross wakes while you are on the water there. Probably in the Kalama or Cathlamet area.

Harvey
SleepyC

[colbysmith]

Sounds good Harvey. Just about have C-Traveler all provisioned and everything loaded. I plan to head out first thing Memorial Day morning. Just a bit over 2000 miles, and hope to launch by mid day on June 3rd. I topped the fuel tank off in Springfield Missouri a little over a week ago for $3.55 a gallon. Guess the next top off will be around $5/gal. For those wondering, I've found it doesn't matter rather I tow the boat with a full or empty fuel tank. I still get about 9.5mpg on average with the F150's 5.0L V8... Colby

[TyBoo]

And away he goes.

[colbysmith]

Good photos Tyboo! Thanks. I'll see if I can upload a few later. Spent last night at marina in Cathlamet. (Not even going to try to spell it. lol) A bit choppy first part before the Astoria Bridge, and still some chop until I got abeam Altoona where the river narrows. I hear there are some free docks at Sand Island. Also about a nice museum at Kalama. Plan to check out the museum, then stop at Sand Island for the night... Did see some sun yesterday, but mostly clouds. Some rain. But that's in the forecast through the weekend. Love these enclosed cabins! Did have a little issue with my NMEA 2000 network earlier. I believe I have a lose connection somewhere. However, with a quick stop at a dock in Astoria, I disconnected and reconnected some of the cable, and that seemed to fix it, again, for now... I did take a pretty good wake from one of the Pilot boats before getting too far from Astoria. Think that was the hardest landing I've ever had, piloting either at American or in my boats! And I was only doing about 5mph. But two closely spaced wakes, and the second one pretty much launched me. I did take it straight on rather than at a 45 degree angle. Didn't expect it and especially the second one caught me off guard. (I was on autopilot, and had been fixing lunch at the table. Was back in the seat and after the first wake, jumped back to the table to grab stuff from falling, as the second wake hit. Boat slammed back down so hard it knocked me to the floor! Guess I need to paying closer attention to those guys!

[Yosef]

I think I found C-Traveler:

https://www.vesselfinder.com/?mmsi=338131849

-Joe