Neah Bay, Sunday, August 6 (Leigh)

We spent 2.5 nights anchored off Port Townsend. The first 2 nights were incredibly windy, typical for that spot, and it was great for getting our stomachs and legs accustomed to the motion. We left Port Townsend at 1:30AM Saturday 8/5. The plan was to leave at about 3:30AM but we were woken by bar patrons in town and decided since we were up and there was no wind it was a great time to get going. The moon was already gone but it was a clear night with great visibility. Rounding Point Wilson we were contacted by vessel traffic control asking our intended course. They notified the cruise ships to watch out for us and seemed happy to hear that our course was actually consistent with our plan. They told us to stand by on another channel for our trip in case they needed to contact us. That's a first for us! So, our first "official" radio contact was a success. The water was relatively calm after the green water over the bow at Point Wilson, there were a lot of shooting stars and it was a beautiful night to be out. It's always good on a long trip to get some sleep so I (generously) offered to take the first shift asleep. - It was boring after a few hours and somebody needed to go to bed first! I slept for a couple of hours and woke up ready to take my turn at the helm. Peter had a short nap after setting the computer up to receive the weather fax and we motored on. We checked in by radio with Kinship. They left Neah Bay Saturday morning and were already around Cape Flattery in some big waves and fog. The last 12 miles of our trip to Neah Bay were in fog and required a close watch on the radar. Tools like that are really great to have when you need them. Arrived Neah Bay at 2:30, got fuel, and contemplated our jobs to complete before departure. We were both exhausted. Had dinner in town and decided to stay another day to finish projects and get an early start Monday morning. Went to the Makah Cultural and Research Center and are getting all the last projects wrapped up this afternoon. It's been very foggy here all day. Hopefully this will all dissipate tonight and be clear skies in the morning (hope springs eternal)
L & P