WHAT DAY IS THIS? WHERE AM I?

Monday, July 4th  US Independence Day

We awoke early to gray skies, fog and cooler temperatures in San Fransisco Bay.  And... it was relatively calm as we finally motored away from the Golden Gate Bridge and set our course for Bodega Bay, 57 miles up the coast.

We had been 'captured' by San Fransisco Bay and the River Delta for five weeks, which we really enjoyed tremendously.  But it was time to move north towards home.

We had a pleasant day enjoying the improving conditions and views of rolling hills above sand dunes, rocky shorelines and sandy beaches.

These are pretty good conditions!

By mid afternoon we approached the channel, which was lined with RV’s, campers, and lots of families fishing from the rocks and fishing piers.  Bodega Bay is a big, shallow bay with a dredged channel and marina area.  At low tide it looks like Long Beach with miles of sand to explore.

We sat on a bench on this sandy hill overlooking Bodega Bay.
We're starting to see more northern trees now.

Dozens of commercial fish boats and a smattering of sailboats were moored at the Spud Point Marina.  Since this is crab country, there were two seafood takeout restaurants across the street specializing in cooked crab to crack and battered fish and chips. Judging by the line ups, both were doing a great business.  The road runs by the marina that links the rest of Bodega Bay to the more exposed coastal park trail, which gave these two restaurants endless new customers.  While staying for four days we got a couple of chores completed, hiked to ‘town’ three times and celebrated Jim’s 60th birthday on July 7th.

Jim celebrates his 60th.

It was a quiet celebration, one spent hiking around the horse farms and regional park before having Mexican food for lunch.  We both enjoyed his day very much.

Just after breakfast on Friday, July 8 we realized that we had another weather window, our chance to keep moving, so we left Bodega Bay a half hour later and motored towards Pt. Arena, Cape Mendocino and on to the City of Eureka, 188 miles to the north.

The first 8 hours were very unpleasant with big waves breaking over the bow, with wind gusts of 25 – 28 knots.  We thought about turning back or changing course to reach a ‘close by’ anchorage but it was still four hours away so we decided to pushed on instead.  We knew that conditions were going to improve overnight and they did!  By dusk the seas were settling down and by dawn we were motoring in flat oily waters.

We approached the channel leading to Eureka under excellent conditions.  We entered Humboldt Bay and motored along the waterfront businesses and marinas, happy to have a few more miles behind us.  After fueling up we anchored in the channel for a quiet, peaceful evening watching another stunning sunset as it peaked through the tree branches west of us.

Approaching the Humbolt Bar near Eureka - perfect conditions.

More northern trees - no more Mexican cacti.

The gathering place for pelicans, on the other side of the channel from us.

That's a motorized parasailer above the trees.
There was a landing strip on the other side of the trees.
We heard them taking off and landing all afternoon evening.

Nice of the pelicans to fly by at sunset!

All too early we were up and ready to go again, exiting the channel near 6:00 a.m.

Typical blue sky day - fog lurks just around the corner so often.

After a quiet passage, by mid afternoon we were tying up at the Crescent City Marina, which was almost empty.

Crescent City transient docks were a bit on the quiet side.

Slightly overbuilt, but necessary since Crescent City is susceptible to tsunamis.

It was mostly designed for sports fishermen but we saw a few commercial crab boats around too. The whole marina had been rebuilt after it was destroyed by the Japanese Tsunami a few years ago.  The new marina seems very solid, engineered to withstand another tsunami, should one hit.

The Crescent City marina district smelled of rotting seafood left in commercial crab traps piled up in the boatyards.  Within a half mile of the docks we spotted four seafood restaurants and a half dozen motels lining Highway 101. They looked just like the ones we stayed in along the Oregon Coast when I was a kid in the mid 60’s.  One or maybe two story.  A little window facing the parking lot and usually a small swimming pool.  My sister and I spent hours in those pools!  Hummm…yes I liked water even back then!

We took a walk along Highway 101, grabbed a snack at a local diner and headed back to Falcon for an early night again.

What day is this?  What town are we in?  Where are we going to today?

By dawn we were well on our way again, heading for Brookings, arriving a mere four hours later. We really enjoyed our time there, which included the 24th annual South Oregon Kite Festival July 16 and 17.  More about Brookings in the next blog. Until then…

Jim and Tricia Bowen
S/V Falcon VII
email: tandjbowen13@gmail.com

THE HOSPITABLE TOWN OF BROOKINGS

Brookings Harbor is a lively small coastal town supported by both commercial and recreational fishermen.  There's a commercial harbour and recreational harbour. Many fishers come in RV's and we spotted a half dozen large RV parks that were full with the most enormous, bus-like diesel pushers you’ve ever seen, many towing small cars behind as well.

The RV’s came in all shapes and sizes, vintage to the most up to date.  A tiny teardrop trailer sat on a tiny parking pad beside the motorcycle that towed it. Then there was the converted 60’s greyhound bus towing an old red rusty jeep.  Some had outdoor carpets and really comfy looking outdoor chairs while others had collected bits of firewood for the nightly campfire.   Day users parked overlooking the surf.  We ran into one energetic guy in a wetsuit who was just returning to his car from an afternoon of surfing; must have been 70!

Wall to wall RV's for the Kite Festival weekend.

One RV park was right on the ocean while others had to settle for being a few steps from the beach and on the other side of the road.

Wind was blowing about 30 knots out there... we were happy in Brookings!

We found a very convenient ice cream store right next to the marina moorage office.  We were so impressed with our ice cream scooper Steven at the Whale’s Tale Candy and Gifts that we went back three days in a row!  Excellent service and really well packed cones.  This little hub area also contained another ice cream and candy store, fishing charters, seafood restaurants, hair salon, the Voodoo Bar and even a small but very fresh farmer’s market.  We knew that big winds were coming in a couple of days so we decided to stay in Brookings.  We stayed a week enjoying the hospitality shown us by so many of the locals.  We took long walks along the fine sandy beach and did an afternoon dinghy trip on the Chetco River.

Chetco River was navigable for a couple of miles by dinghy.

Now that we’re hooked on river voyaging we thought we should ‘do’ the Chetco.  We launched the dinghy Friday afternoon and took off to locate the highway bridge we had to pass under.  Evergreen limbs were shrouded in lacy moss wafting in the gentle breeze.

As we motored further up the river water colours changed and temperatures heated up until we were searching for little patches of shade provided by overhanging trees.

Another RV park!

The Chetco River was still impacted by current and tide.

There are two big pieces of equipment in the center of this picture...

Closer...Not far from the river, this excavation project was going on.

It was a very relaxing way to spend the afternoon away from the north westerlies blowing across our dock.

All together now...raise your wings!  Yes! Raise them! 

We think they went thatta way...

Last weekend Brookings hosted the 24th annual South Oregon Kite Festival.  This was not a competition but an opportunity for invited participants to come and dazzle the crowds with their aerial routines, all done to music.   In return, they happily returned year after year to Brookings to display their talents and entertain the crowds who flock there annually to watch the two day spectacle.

Windy Brookings is a great place to fly a kite on the beach.

This  champion flier favourite was a great dancer...and his kite danced too!

Here he wows the crowd with his moves.

Many top class kite fliers attended each year and there was a real camaraderie amongst the fliers. Organizers paid for their weekend accommodation, fed them and invited them to the Saturday evening fundraising banquet.

Everyone was surprised by these two kites.  The
man is a member of the Bay City Fliers.  Both
he and his girlfriend were participating in the  festival.

She jumped up into his arms, hugged him
And...she said YES! Huge applause from all.

From newly engaged to this well seasoned retired
couple who fly kites in competitions all over the US
when they're not attending festivals like Brookings put on.

Their perfect unison kites.

We walked to the Brookings Harbor Volunteer Fire Hall for the Sunday morning pancake breakfast. A gracious volunteer fire fighter welcomed us with a warm handshake and a sparkle in his eye. Long banquet style tables lined the hall, their yellow plastic table cloths giving a festival feel to the place; there was a low buzz as diners enjoyed home made pancakes and ham.  As soon as we arrived a young girl of nine came to seat us and 'take our order'.  She shyly told me her name was Charlie.  All the kids were all so cute. Volunteer firefighter dads and moms hovered close by ready to help if needed while the kids got a taste of waiting on tables, cleaning up after guest departed, getting new cutlery out, etc.  The adult cooks were around back flipping pancakes and prepping paper plates. We had a wonderful time chatting with a young retired professional firefighter from Long Beach, California, who gave up the  six figure job and the ‘good life’ in California for a great life in Oregon. Quality of life – that’s what it’s all about!  His two daughters were our waitresses. We shook hands and thanked them as we wandered out towards the grocery store, so thankful that we stopped by.

The kite festival was held on a point of land just on the other side of the commercial marina where Falcon was docked, very convenient for us!

This raptor was hanging out next door, searching for dinner from the perch.

The professionals performed each afternoon on an oval shaped field lined with deck chairs, blankets, and picnic tables.

The dragon was taking off at the end of the field while these 7 fliers
worked in unison with a new routine.

Each performer flew a kite in this amazing performance.  You can
see the white lines they're holding.  They cross over each other then uncross.

Creating this unique performance to music.  The fellow on the right
was calling out commands for the others. Outstanding!

Some performers had to cut vents in their kites because of the high winds blowing all afternoon. Those particular kites cost around $500 each!  Each performance was choreographed to music ranging from classical to patriotic...and they were movin' and groovin' to the music too!

In addition to the main performers, the festival also had a face painting booth, kite workshops for kids, food outlets and…lots of different kites for sale.

Our days were split between walking along the long gray beach, watching the kite festival and getting a few chores done on Falcon. All in all, a great way to spend a week.

This fish boat is heading out in 35 knot winds.  

These tenacious plants were thriving on the side of the cliff, 20 ft above me.

We will definitely return to Brookings in the future.

We're now on the move again, hopping our way north towards the Oregon/Washington border. More later….

Tricia and Jim Bowen
S/V Falcon VII
email: tandjbowen13@gmail.com