September 3-9: Eureka, the Redwood Forest and the Lost Coast

We had expected to spend a few days in Eureka, however the weather (swells, windwaves and 30 knot winds) were not ideal, so we have found ourselves enjoying the past week here the Woodley Island Marina. Pelicans, harbor seals and cranes are constant visitors and seem to happily co-exist with the fisherman and sailboats. The Marina is located on Woodley Island (hence the name) and is across the river from the historic part of Eureka. The downtown area has been restored and has some beautiful architecture an older buildings that were built during the lumber boom. Just across the river we have a lovely view of the Carson Mansion which took 100 men 2 full years to build. It is now a private club and our boat friends Carol & Max enjoyed lunch there with their nephew and reported that it is even more beautiful on the inside. In some ways the Victorian style reminds us of the Flavel House in Astoria. Downtown Eureka is a short dingy ride across the river and we have enjoyed perusing the bookstores, the Discovery Museum and mostly Bon Bonnaire, the local ice cream parlor that has been a local favorite for many years. Another local favorite seems to be the “Humbolt bud” which people do not seem the least bit reluctant to light up in public parks, along the river front, etc. We’re pretty sure the kids have mellowed since being in Humbolt county---and they sure are hungry all the time! ;) I’ve been reading The Glass Castle which my friend Mary Wingard gave to me a few years ago to read. The central theme involves a family that is basically homeless and travels around the country in search of ‘investors’ for the fathers’ great invention, the Prospector. It has been an interesting reality to pass by the homeless here and I have started to see them as individuals and wonder what their stories might be…

One of our reasons for coming into the harbor in Eureka was to be at the gateway of the Redwood Forest. We enjoyed the Avenue of the Giants, a 31 mile drive through the heart of the Redwoods with frequent stops and trails along the way. The Immortal Tree & the drive-through tree albeit very much a tourist trap were two of the boys favorites. Hiking through the groves of trees was humbling for our little crew of tree climbers. They were amazed how wide around the trees were, and that each level of the canopy had critters living in them that never left their homes 150 feet above the ground. We enjoyed a picnic along the river and fed  the little chipmunks and bluebirds our crusts. When we got back to the car we all read the signs about not feeding the chipmunks and bluebirds. Whoops. They were so tame and patient with us, but none seemed like they had been overfed, and gee, they were just so darn Disney cute. Along the road we stopped for a swim in the river which turned into collecting rocks (just one more Mommy!) and sticks and frogs. The river bed was very low but apparently it can flood pretty badly in the winter. From the Avenue of the Giants we took the long and winding road out to Shelter Cover, apparently the road being paved is new. People either stay put there, or they fly into SC on their planes or heli’s. We checked out the harbor and met a nice family who had been Abalone diving and were in the process of cleaning their abalone.

The perfect way to end a trip to the Redwoods was to eat at the Samoa Cookhouse, the oldest cookhouse in the west. Its an original lodge that for years fed all the men who worked the forests logging. After a long day they would sit down at the long tables and be treated to a huge family-style dinner served by the young (single only) women in the town. Lots of original tools & kitchen appliances and stoves the used were on display. The food was a big hit with the kids, mostly the endless portions were the big appeal, but they ate as if they hadn’t eaten in days! BBQ ribs, roast beef, soup, salad, home baked bread, corn, dessert…we will be eating light for the next week to balance out our carb overload! Don’t get me wrong, it was worth every bite!

As we do each night, we ask the kids about their favorite part of the day. After experiencing the gentle giants of the Redwoods, we couldn’t imagine them saying anything other than that, however Cooper proclaimed that getting to have root beer AND choose any treat he wanted in Shelter Cover made it the best day ever!

Our window of weather has opened up and we’ll be heading south on Monday with cruisers on Monju and Windhowler. After we round Cape Mendicino  we should have pretty easy sailing down to Bodega Bay. We enjoyed some wine with fellow cruisers May and Carl of Monju, who shared some of their experiences. One of the things we both found so surprising were the people we’ve met along the way. Now when you say “How are you today?” it leads you into an hour long talk on the dock, and may even lead to a dinner invitation. All along in our planning I had dreamed about the destinations we would be visiting and about having friends visit from the states. We had no way of knowing how quickly we’d become friendly with so many other cruisers and would enjoy their company. Age is about as relevant as blood type, we’re all connected with this shared spirit of adventure and wanting to slow down and see more of our world. We will continue to enjoy our new friendships and will look for familiar faces in each port we enter.  

August 29-September 1: Joined by David Desmarteau, Noel’s cousin, we decided to o a longer and head down to Eureka, California rather than Coos Bay, OR…ah, best laid plans.

Our boat neighbor Max (Max & Carol of theWindhowler) was on hand to help us with lines at 4:30AM & bid us farewell. We eased from our slip under a full moon & clear skies, ready for a day at sea. By 4:45AM we were anchored 20 yards from our sip with a broken gear cable. We could go reverse, but forward was broken. Quick thinking on Noel & David’s part resolved in a quick fix that would enable us to get down the coast and order the part. Challenge One—resolved!

We were treated to a gorgeous sunrise with blue, purple and pink skies filling the horizon. We headed out 15 miles and set south. Before lunch we were close enough to see a whale which was so unexpected and exhilarating. We kept our eyes peeled for more, but if there were any around, they stayed below. Its early yet for them, but seeing him was a thrill. A few sea lions popped up to see what we were all about, and pelicans heading south flew overhead. Before dinner we caught a salmon, and just as I was thinking about foregoing our planned dinner for salmon, he got away right at the stern of the boat. Bummer.

A beautiful sunset and calm seas made us look forward to our evening watches—Dave 10-12; Ashe 12-2; Noel 2-4, and so on. By the time Dave started his watch, we were setting the timer for 15 minute intervals to check radar as a blanket of fog swept in and did not dissipate until after lunch the next day. We were slow moving through it and decided that Crescent City would be a prudent stop for us to get Dave back to OR on time.

We enjoyed Mexican dinner in Crecent City, shared a few stories with Max & Carol who had also ducked into that harbor (and actually beat us there) and enjoyed a good nights rest.

David was great to have on board and the boys miss him already. He played checkers, chess, taught them all some knots—and a few magic tricks, and had some great stories to tell…I will never forget the pony story and will enjoy sharing that one with friends. J In the 6 weeks before the Haha starts, Dave has promised to learn a few more tricks before he joins us for the 2 weeks in Mexico.

We left Crecent City early on September 1^st and headed south for Eureka. We were on radar until after 1:00, then enjoyed a view of the CA coastline. Boys enjoyed hearing the last 6 chapters of Harry Potter during our cruise down, almost as much as their Mom! We arrived in Eureka around 4:30, checked in and caught up with a few cruisers we’d met in Crescent City. After a Costco trip with Carol, we enjoyed ice cream at the local ‘hot spot’, Bon Bonnaire. Planning our adventure down into the Redwood Forest and the Avenue of the Giants. Boys will start school on Tuesday, however Griffin has already read 8 of his “required” Newberry books—a shipment from Amazon is already in order!

August 26-28: Enjoying Newport! A free shuttle at the Marina has made puttering around easy, though we are still relying on our feet for most of it. Found a farmers market for fresh produce and cookies, had some Tillamook Ice Cream down on the Historic Bay Area and enjoyed dinner out at the Rogue. Boys in their element exploring--the Hatfield Marine Science Center, the beach, the marina and dingying around with Dad in search of crabs. Cooper already found lots of treasures, 2 hermit crabs, shells, rocks, and a tiny Dungeness crab that he wants to keep, but is happy to go crabbnig and eat the larger version.

August 25: Sloppy seas kept us awake all night long. It was so noisy down below, you couldn' t hear a thing over the sound of the sloshing, the sails snapping, the boom, the lines, just freight train loud all night long. Wils did not move from his sleeping position through 7 foot sea swells, 5 foot wind waves and gusts up to 30 knots. He woke up after we tied up in Newport at 8:30AM. Amazing. Beautiful morning in Newport, nice to have this first leg under our belts. Heartfelt thanks to Ron Ash for joinng us, how could we start our adventure without a "Captain Ron" aboard!

August 24: We started our day with the smiling faces of Lori, Cammy, Erin and Claire waving to us from the docks early Thursday morning! Wonderful way to start our day, thanks for coming out so early gals--and Tom! :) Set off at 9AM, the fog was lifting and it was a beautiful morning with the sun just starting to break through the clouds. Ron Ash joined us as crew, Noel had met him through the Astoria Yacht Club racing series and had crewed on Ron's boat. We figured there were more than 200 boats fishing along the OR and WA side of the river--it was like a parking lot! Figure each of those boats get their limits and wow, that ends up being a LOT of salmon....and they blame the sea lions...! Anyway, crossing the Columbia River Bar had been perfectly calculated by Noel, and was smooth sailing. Friends called us from the Jetty as they watched us go through the mouth of the Cola River and turn south. We were surprised at how many boats were out 20 miles in the ocean, and despite it being a huge body of water, we still had a few yahoos who didn't follow the rules of the 'road' and yield to a vessel undersail. Our littlest crew member, Cooper, decided that his seasick shot wasn't working and was the first to 'chum the water'. It amazed us all how he rallied so quickly after vomiting and was back to talking 20 mph...thats our Cooper! During the bounciest part of the trip during the day, Griffin finished A Year Down Yonder, in the forepeak. Its like trying to read on a washing machiene during the spin cycle while keeping your balance on roller blades. What a trooper! Wils was content to sit and watch the waves and play with their new knight and dragons from Purple Cow.  Cooper spotted a large sharks head floating---and I'm wondering what was so big that it ate a shark in one bite? Yikes! We also saw probably 50 little clear jellyfish floating along, they looked like litle bubbles!

August 20-22: Crazy! Knocking off the to-do lists, multiple "Last Visits" to Costco (as if no one outside of  Astoria eats food!) and lots of visits with friends before we depart. Tom Tetlow made daily visits helping with a few last minute projects, troubleshooting, etc. Enjoyed a Bon Voyage dinner with the whole Tetlow family, thanks guys! Visit from Tony Enriquez was great, helped with the radar troubleshooting, etc. Another key part of our Oregon family who we will miss and can't wait to see down south of the border. Squared away Ron Ash as crew for Newport, a great relief for this first leg.

August 19: Bon Voyage! Enjoyed a gorgeous afternoon at the West End Mooring Basin with many friends from Astoria and Portland. Forecast called for rain, but the sailing Gods prevailed and we enjoyed an afternoon of sunny weather. We even did the official christening of Ketching Up with the champagne on the bow! Was a great day to enjoy with our friends and share goodbyes---at least until the weather turns cold & rainy and they're ready to come and visit us :)

August 15-18: Lots of progress on getting the punch list down to a few items. Noel resolved our issues with the Genset after many hours of trouble shooting. Wouldn't ya know, it was a loose connection, right on top that he looked at probably 10 times. He is now 'one' with the Genset and hopes to never have to go through that process again---ha! Finished rigging all the sails, setting up the jiffy reefing and replacing all running rigging (thats ropes to you landlubbers). Bid farewell to our boat neighbors, Fairanne, who is headed North to the Vancouver Wooden Boat Show. All the best John and Marilyn! Also said 'so long' (since we'll be seeing them soon) to Barry & Pat of Pacific Voyager who are going to be heading south after they do some visiting in Oregon. Thanks to the crews of both boats for all their wisdom, good humor and friendship...safe travels, and we hope to see you soon.

August 11-14: Shake Down Cruise to St. Helens completed and successful. Enjoyed a beautiful moorage at Walker Island after a long day upriver, chugging against a strong ebb tide. Boys kept busy with the binoculars keeping 'watch' but mostly enjoying spotting bald eagles, other boats, and playing keep away from each other. While searching for a good spot to anchor at Walker Island, we were radio'd by a fellow cruiser with suggestions. Turns out that cruiser was the Captain of the Oblio, a boat from Portland that Noel & Griffin sailed with nearly 5 years ago. Small world was even smaller when we found ourselves across the river from them the next night in St. Helens. Spent 2 nights at Sand Island in St. Helens, great exploring, berry pickin' and kids enjoyed the tiny beach--didn't leave much sand there however, it all seems to have come back in their pockets. Visits on Sunday from Asbury's and Chvatals were fun for all of us, looking forward to seeing them all down south on the trip. Siems joined us on Monday and enjoyed much better weather; great to visit while the kids enjoyed swimming with some fellow boaters they met that morning. Spent another night at Walker Island, got there early enough to dingy over to a tiny island that we claimed as our own. Boys romped, explored, bird watched and practiced driving the dingy. Returned to Astoria and started attacking the final pages of our to-do list before we head out in less than 10 days!

August 9: Another Haha boat in the marina, the Tailion, not sure where she hails from and have not met the crew yet. Planning to head up the river to St. Helens to rendevous with friends in Portland.

August 8: More forward motion this week...Noel added 500lbs of new batteries aboard and spent the day getting them stowed and building a spot for them under the workbench. Today he is rebuilding our sailcovers that didn't make it though the last Astoria winter and our Category 1 December Hurricane.

August 4: Deck taped off, Noel painting. Met another Haha'er, Gary from Coos Bay Oregon. They were a few slips down from us, on their way down from Portland, headnig down to Charleston, then making a shot down to San Diego.

August 3: Noel is now officially retired from Intel. He asked me what it was like to be married to an 'unemployed, homeless man'....personally, I prefer to call it a sabbatical. We moved our things out of the Asbury condo in Portland, so now the boys and I are offically crew!

August 1: Checked in with another member of our crew, Uncle Barry. He is meeting with the Doc next week to get the green (or red) light to venture off with us. Keeping our fingers crossed that its green, the boys adore Uncle B, and we sure enjoy his company.

July 30: Boat looks awesome, new paint job looks really good---even though nobody will ever see it! Noel put in some 20 hour days over the weekend and all the hard work shows. He applied our new boat name, so now we are officially Ketching Up!

July 27: Port of Astoria hauled out the boat today for us, Noel to get busy sanding, buffing, priming and painting the hull. Hopefully nothing to repair...

July 23: Great news, Noel's second cousin David DesMarteau has become our first official crew member for the Haha in October. We are thrilled at the prospect of having  him onboard. He said he couldn't imagine missing  once in a lifetime adventure like this...sounds like the perfect candidate for our crew and without a doubt, sounds like words that a former Peace Corps Volunteer would utter. Welcome aboard David, we're thirlled to have you!

July 20-22: Family Sailing Weekend to Mott and Lois Islands! On a fully equipped and provisioned (mostly) boat, we had wonderful weekend aboard the boat together. One noisy, stormy night was quieted by a yummy dinner (our first pressure cooker experience!), good wine, a fun Scrabble game and a chapter from the new Harry Potter book that we enjoyed reading its very first day available. At Lois Island we were surprised at how still and calm the water was, quite a contrast to the previous night in Astoria. The boys enjoyed exploing the islands, dingy rides around the island peeking at Sea Lions while they in turn were curious about us. We tried to quietly approach a large bald eagle, but startled it. It was beautiful to see it fly overhead and into the forest. Noel and I had a success of our own---anchoring without yelling, muttering or irritation at the other. :)

July 13, 2007: Hung our HaHa flag today, along with our trusty Tampa Bay Bucs flag. We are official HaHa'ers and excited for that part of our adventure.

July 6, 2007: Ha-Ha'ers from Astoria! Noel picked up the Liferaft today and learned that there are 2 other boats (so far) from Astoria registered for the Baja Haha. Found the Mermaid in our marina today and met the Captain. 30 years as a Tugboat Captain, I"m sure he will have lots of stories to share with us...

July 4, 2007: After a full day of fun festivities in Portland we headed west to Astoria and enjoyed fireworks from the bow of our boat. A perfect way to spend our last Oregon 4th of July.

June 29, 2007: Last box removed from our house...its starting to sink in that we are REALLY doing this!

June 20, 2007: Enjoyed a DesMarteau Family Reunion, chance to say Goodbye and hand out invites to join us as crew on our adventure. Wonderful time down in Lincoln City hosted by Aunt Linda and Uncle Barry. Special visits with our family of friends from Portland who came to the coast for the gathering. Looks like we will have Uncle Barry as crew for one leg, his son Spencer (who is lucky enough to LIVE full time in the Islands) and Noel's 2nd cousin David who will join us on a leg.

June 14, 2007: Another chapter closed today as Wils & Griffin finished their final day at Astor Elementary School. Yummy celebratory lunch at Bowpickers (the best fish and chips--ever!) and then some sweets from the Blue Scorcher Cafe, a new to Astoria (and new favorite of ours) organic and yummy lunch and dinner spot. Lots of smiles as school let out, but I'm sure it has not really sunk in yet for the boys that they won't even again see all their Astoria friends all together again. Cooper finished Kindergarten yesterday and announced that he was not one bit happy about it. He loves school and adored his teacher so it really wasn't something he liked the reality of afterall. And as this chapter closes, we begin another one as we finalize things with the house and start to move aboard. They've all been looking at their school treasures--gifts from their teachers, sweet notes and letters a compilation CD that Griffin's teacher gave them with all the radio shows they produced as a class for KMUN. It is hard to imagine what teaching them will be like next year, they've all had the best school experiences this year which makes it extra hard to measure up! And with warm weather and a view out every window, how will any of us concentrate??? (Mom and Dad included!)

June 11, 2007: Moving, moving, moving...our storage unit is looking more like our home than our house does these days. Boxes filled with "special lovies" have been carefullly packed and sealed by the boys. Its sad to think that by the time we open these for them, they will be too 'old' to still have any special feelings for them. Griffin has packed away all of his tools, creations, designs and woodwork. He isn't really sure how he's going to make it without them all, but Noel has reassured him that there will be lots of projects for him to help with on the boat. Cooper has his 500 (+ or -) Zoobs that he is taking with him on the boat. Thankfully they are larger than Knex and Legos so we won't have any issues with them falling in spots that could cause boat issues. Wils is pretty content with the few things he is planning on bringing, things that are special to him now and are too special to pack away. The closer we get to this adventure, the more excited we are to have this incredible journey and share it with our children. We thank the stock market for being so sluggish, otherwise we would have already completed this trip and we feel that right now our kids are at the perfect age for this adventure.

June 4, 2007: Today I am celebrating my birthday surrounded by boxes...not presents in boxes mind you, but the UHAUL variety! Not surprisingly, my gifts have all been boat/maritime related! Its funny to think about where in the world (and I do mean that literally) we will be celebrating my birthday next year. Will we have found a port we can't imagine leaving? Will we have ventured beyond our planned itinerary? Will we still be on the Oregon coast questioning our sanity? :)

May 25, 2007: Even more exciting than our family dingy is the Kids Dingy that Noel has for the boys. They have a modest (read safe, slow) little outboard on theirs and I do believe they are all dreaming about puttering away to a secret island...little do they know, Mom & Dad have been imagining that very same dream these past 10 years!

May 7, 2007: Noel brought home our 'new car', our new dingy! The boys are in Hog Heaven! Despite the windy and cool nights, they are already thrilled to go motoring around the Marina in the dingy. Of course, they ALL want Noel to put it on FULL power!

April 30, 2007: SOLD! Four years ago we purchased a nearly 100 year old Craftsman style home in Astoria, Oregon. We initially moved to Astoria to be closer to a Marina that would moor our boat, but for many other reasons we found life in Astoria to be the perfect move for our family. The home we purchased presented lots of opportunity for improvements and updating. Before we moved in our contractor remodeled the kitchen and bathroom, but the real work started after we moved in. In addition to painting all the rooms and ceilings, Noel stripped all the wood floors & stairs &  added another bathroom All the sweat equity paid off and in 60 days, we will hand over the keys to the new owners.

April 24, 2007: Noel has established July 20th as his FINAL DAY at Intel!! After 12 years working in Folsom, California and Hillsboro, Oregon its hard to believe this day is finally coming. He has really enjoyed this last group so much, great people and great customers, its hard to walk away from a job like this, but better to leave on a positive note. 

 April 15, 2007: After nearly 10 years of discussing, plotting and planning, the DesMarteau family will embark on a journey of a lifetime. The reality of sailing into open water with our three children is somewhat daunting and abstract and despite our planning and preparations, its difficult for us to imagine what the reality of this next step will be. The things that keep us awake at night as our adventure looms are riddled with contridiction...three months until I leave my corporate job becomes, OH MY GOD, I'm leaving a great job with great benefits! Anticipating the closing date on our home means we have successfully sold our house and for the first time since 1994 we do not have a roof over our heads. As scary as these two steps are for us, they both serve as testment to our friends and doubting family members that, yes, we REALLY are going to do this!