Fall 2020 - Down the Coast

We made a September cruise down the Oregon coast and departed Portland on the last day of August for Ilwaco. We had three weeks to see how far we could get and we weren't keen about overnight legs. Northern ports on the Oregon coast are each a long, full daysail apart. This meant departing with the tide at sunrise and arriving at sunset. Mid-coast destinations like Florence, Reedsport, Coos Bay and Bandon are shorter legs offering 6 hours of sailing between each.

Day by day weather planning is easy. There was one day in September with 40+ knot wind but we were safely tied up in Newport. There were several days of small craft advisories that we enjoyed from the marina.

These are useful pages for the trip:

• Bar Reports and Closures

• Coastal Waters Forecast

• 2020 Special Local Notice to Mariners

  • Chapter 2 describes bar approaches. Be sure to get the latest version

• Tide Predictions

I print the local notice and tide tables and take hard copies for the cruise plan.

We had a few surprises. The Tillamook entrance changed last year and it wasn't updated on my chart. I couldn't understand why we we couldn't find the clearly marked buoy. This was poor planning on my part. Some large recreational craft go much too fast in poor visibility. Heavy fog obscured some entrances and running a plotter and compass heading over the bar made for some nervousness. Army Corp dredges run in all weather and it's important to negotiate passing agreements.

Fall offers good sailing but also brings fog. We won't make the trip again without radar. Seven is equipped with an AIS transponder that broadcasts our position, speed, heading and other information. We can see other AIS equipped vessels and it is a truly magical tool. Most of the recreational boats we encountered are not using the system.

We are thinking about our next cruise. Vacation time is short, but a trip to Victoria or the San Juan would be a great adventure. Brookings is a long but tempting ride.