Portland to Canada

T

thechadmiller

New member
Hi there. From mainly a safety point of view, and comfort to a lesser extent, is it a great/terrible idea to consider heading from Portland, OR down the Columbia to Astoria, then heading up to Juan de Fuca in a C-22?

I know it would be easier and cheaper to trailer it, but.... not the adventure I'd like.

I don't currently have radar, but would plan on getting that and learning how to use it before.
 
From a safety and comfort point of view, sitting at home in my arm chair and looking at the streatch from West Port to Neah Bay on Navionics, I would pass. Not enough safe anchorages from what I can see. If the weather changes or you can’t travel at the expected speed you were planning to go to get to a place to anchor you could be in big trouble? I’m sure some local WA guys will give you an educated recommendation. I like your spirit but when it’s rough and I’m still far from safe anchorage I’m often regretting my wild spirit!
 
Seems dicey to me.

Wouldn't be too tough, given calm conditions, to get about halfway up to Neah Bay--the two large bays on the WA coast (Willapa Bay and Grays Harbor) are short distances from each other and from the Columbia, and offer protected anchorages or marinas.

But the stretch from Grays Harbor to Neah Bay could be real challenging. The distance is 105 nautical miles, so if you were able to cruise at 20nmph, you could make it in 5 hours or so. Winds off the Olympic coast tend to pick up in the afternoons, generally about 1pm-3pm. But anything slower exposes you to shifting weather conditions and would make for a long haul in any case.

It might be possible to duck into La Push, a native reservation of the Quilleute tribe, about 2/3 of the way to Neah Bay. There's a marina at the river mouth, but I understand the entry is tricky, with a sand bar that shifts with the seasons.

As usual, motoring on the open Pacific in a small boat would be entirely dependent on the conditions. For my part, even the ordinary swells on the Strait of Juan de Fuca are challenging.
 
I once sailed (with a total crew of 4 in a 40 foot sloop) from SF to Anacortes. The Oregon coast was difficult. We put in at Coos Bay seeking shelter....even going across that bar was enough for me to practically s**t in my pants. No way I'd do it in my CD25.

OTOH, we had so-so weather....not real bad, but not calm either. If the weather were perfect, and you KNEW the weather would remain calm all day, and you knew you could make port every night, and you had time to wait a week or two at each port in case the weather turned foul, I might consider it.

Adventure all right! I've done several quite adventurous things in my life (some called me foolish), but my guess is the I would never decide to make that journal in a CD22 (or any CD....I'd be real nervous without a keel). OTOH, I might hang out in Neah Bay, wait for good weather, start at 1st light, head straight west as far as I could go, turn around so I could be sure to make it back to Neah Bay that evening. I'd get 80% of the adventure that way with only 10% of the risk.
 
I have come up and down from Los Angeles area the coast to Sequim (and on) several times in 46 to 60 foot motor sailing vessels. I would not do it in a C Dory 22. The Oregon/Washington coast is pretty desolate in stretches, and if you have a problem, help is not close at hand. Could you do it?--yes. Is it wise to do it?--No. I have a good friend who specializes in delivery of recreational vessels along this stretch of coast. He personally survey's the vessel before the trip, takes a lot of precautions, and extra gear along, and has been doing this so that he knows the coast. I believe the smallest vessel he has taken was about 36 foot--and that was a passage making trawler. (Willard)

The beauty of the boats is that they are easily trailerable.
 
True, perhaps not such a wise thing to do, but so are the adventures many have done. To correctly undertake a challenge such as this, the risk should be understood & then all reasonable preparation to address them taken. I see this as doable in a CD 22, but the rewards not worth the risk. Now if the Washington Coast was more like the outer coast of SE Alaska facing the Alaska Gulf it would be to me & I see the hazards somewhat similar. What makes one desirous to take on a particular adventures is a very individual thing, leaving you Chad to go for it or not.
 
As a trial run, drive out to Ilwaco, Longbeach, and Westport to take a look. Chances are that by the time you do that you will see one bar in ebb, maybe even see a 50 foot fishing boat pounding back in to get out of worsening weather. If that looks like something you wouldn't mind doing in a C Dory (probably by yourself), then go for it. I've always felt thankful that I was on the jetty.

North of Grays Harbor, every bar crossing is worse. And I've always been amazed at how far offshore you need to transit before entering the Straight. You aren't likely to have a view of the coast (Capt. Vancouver missed the 17 mile wide entrance to the Straight because of fog). The "Graveyard of the Pacific" is a name that was earned.

The lure of that cruise is that it is mathematically possible. Sort of like this: my car can go 122 mph. Las Vegas is only 1,115 miles away. I can be there in just over 9 hours. Actually, two stops for gas would make it closer to 10 hours. You can see that other factors would come into play.

Mark

Much easier to view that coastline by hiking.

http://www.c-brats.com/modules.php?...ame=gallery&file=index&include=view_photo.php
 
First off, I will say I would not do it. I agree, mathematically it is doable, AND IF you have a good, stable high pressure weather system, you could have 8-10 days of no wind, flat seas and probably fog.

Is it safe? It could be. Is it being responsible? It could be. Is it worth it? Not for me.

Then again, it might not be safe trailering from Portland to Vancouver BC either, but it is probably easier to mitigate the hazards of that trip than that of taking a CD22 around the outside.

If you are wanting to get up into the San Juan or Gulf Islands, you can do that in one day from Portland on a trailer to the right launch place? If you do that same trip on a CD22 on the water even in perfect weather I can't see it taking less than 3 or maybe 4 days.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

JC_Lately_SleepyC_Flat_Blue_070.thumb.jpg
 
I've seen the water like a mirror out there in late summer and fall. There's usually fog not far behind when its that calm. It's definitely doable in a 22, but you would have to have a have an extended window of time most people don't have. it can be a long wait in between those glassy days. Point Grenville south of Taholah would pass for an emergency anchorage, and La Push is a legit moorage with services. Aside from that its wide open.

If the north coast (strait) was not accessible by truck and trailer I could see a reason. To do it for fun when you could trailer there seems like unnecessary stress. I'd love to hear about the adventure and live vicariously through you!
 
Trailering; faster, safer, cheaper. 8)

On the other hand, you must go thru Seattle. My advice; don't stop. They will steal anything/everything possible on your boat/truck.
 
South of Heaven":yja64faa said:
Why is the west coast so much more treacherous than the east? On the east coast one could take a C Dory from Maine to Florida without taking a huge risk.
Click to expand...

1. The West coast of the lower 48 has no equivalent to the East coast inland waterway.
2. Distance between safe harbors.
3. Does the East coast have anything like, say, the Columbia River Bar?
4. Angle of the near-to-shore seabed?
5. Prevailing winds?
6. The Pacific Ocean is pretty big.
 
Jason go to [urlhttps://webapp.navionics.com/#boating@5&key=%7Df%60%60Htz%60yV]Navionics web app of the Oregon/Washington Coast/and Straits of Juan de Fuca.[/url]

The wind and waves can be high, and not as predictable as those on the East Coast. The majority of weather is out of the North West, so this entire coast is a lee shore with very few harbors of refuge.

I went to "Windy.com" and looked to see what the conditions were on mid voyage for this trip currently. 9 knots out of the SE (unusual), against two sets of swells: (representing two different storms in the Pacific--one in the Northern portion, the other in the mid Northern, but South of this area.) Average swell is 7' at 9 seconds. But in some places 12' at 5 seconds. When you adding back wash from the shear cliffs, and against even a mild breeze, it can become rough quickly.

Now tomorrow at about this time the wind will be 31 knots out of the SE with some waves up to 12 feet. (I have run into SE storms when going down the coast in both spring and fall.)

There are some difficult passages on the East Coast also--would you go out in a Nor Easter? There can be some very difficult bars, and passes, all along the coast depending on the weather. For example anything North against the Gulf Stream current of 2.5 to 3 knots can get very rough. I have gone up the East Coast both totally offshore, and in the ICW--both can get rough enough that you don't want to do it in a C Dory 22--but as noted, there is the ICW, and many more harbors. Much of the East Coast is gradual topography at the shoreline, vs cliffs and rocks on the West coast--refer to the * on the chart.

Near La Push during a storm:

b4d7078e-a45c-404e-bf04-09f3e90ac488-large16x9_jay.jpg
 
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