Bodega Bay to Noyo River (Fort Bragg)

Photos:
1. Pete and Brian enjoying some apple wine in Bodega Bay.
2. Hey! I got up at 2:30am. Give me a break!
3. Pete is ready for anything!
4. Our dockmate in Noyo River.

Monday Night 6/2/08 After a relaxing day and a crew meeting we decided to make a run north for Fort Bragg. It's all supposed to be a lot better than today was (I confirmed this with a call to Petty Officer Ramirez of the USCG) and then things look ugly until at least the weekend. We all agreed that we'd MUCH rather be stuck in Fort Bragg (it's a real town) than Bodega Bay. We're planning to get up at 2:30am and double check the winds and then run for it ("run" of course being a relative term!).

Tuesday am 6/3/08 After getting up at 2:30am we snaked our way out of the channel (with mud flats on both sides right at the edge of the channel!). After rounding the buoys and turning north to Point Arena), things are still looking very good. Peter is napping, Brian is at the helm, and I'm working on the computer. I just downloaded a quote from a vendor, uploaded it to the server in VA and then opened our server based management software and attached that quote to a customer quote and updated all of the internal notes...all while cruising 6 miles offshore. I may be a geek that this is just too cool! At the current speed we should round Point Arenas around 2pm. The buoy is reporting calm winds and 2' seas...knock on wood!

Tuesday pm 6/3/08. We rounded Point Arena on schedule (in spite of the 2.5 kt opposing current) with the seas flat calm. The marine layer (fog to the rest of you) prevented us from seeing very much. We did see a small pod of small fin pilot whales (about 100' from the boat) and a jumping salmon. Unfortunately, no California fishing licenses on board....
Toward the end of our run into Noyo River the wind and swells started picking up but nothing too terrible. We made the turn (after getting advice from the Coast Guard) into the river entrance and discovered that it is TIGHT! When we entered the breakwaters we had 38" of clearance on each side of the boat. The 4'-5' following seas made it interesting. With any sort of significant surge this would be horribly dangerous to try and enter. We wound up the river for about a quarter mile past the Coast Guard station (they waved) and into our marina. It is very much a commercial fishing type place with work boats all around. As we pulled into our slip in the marina I noticed a LARGE sea lion on our dock. Fortunately the boat pulling in made the sea lion jump off so Brian didn't have to try and scare him away! The poor sea lion wandered around the marina trying to find another dock and ended up getting in a fight for "dock rights" with another sea lion. Something right out of "Wild Kingdom!" You can also see a video of the sea lion after we chased him off the dock:

We launched the dinghy and putted across the river to a dock where we could tie up and walk to a restaurant. Brian and Pete kept muttering about the ground swaying.....
What a great day!