One Year and Two Days Later


The view of the Yaquina Bay Bridge from Three Quarter Time
The engine replacement took place over the winter and spring months. Sydney and I moved back onto the boat in early May, after spending 8 months in Alaska working and visiting with family and friends. Paul continued working over the summer in the Lower 48, and one week a month, was able to come back to TQT and help prepare for her August departure. During that time, a new group of Coho Hoho sailing vessels was working it's way south for warmer waters. It was then that we also started making new friendships with non-Coho vessels that also left behind the Pacific northwest, with Mexico and beyond as their destination. We are grateful to have met folks on Bella Nave, Lorien, Cayuse, Simplify, Westy, White Raven, Severance, Tuwamish, Malo, and a few others while in Newport.

It's all about safety when watching a solar eclipse
Lincoln Beach, Oregon (just a few miles north of Newport) was the starting point of complete totality for the Solar Eclipse on 21 August. Many of the above-mentioned vessels planned on departing either that day, or sometime shortly thereafter. It was our plan to leave that day following the eclipse, and during the high tide that afternoon. The eclipse itself was interesting. The surrounding towns had planned on this mega-gathering of people and went crazy offering t-shirts, ridiculous “Eclipse-rates” at nearby hotels and motels, closing down the bridge to pedestrians and bicycles, canceling public transportation on account of the expected chaos, and yet, we never saw these gigantic crowds they were expecting. I will say though, that the hour building up to “Totality” was just as cool as the eclipse itself because of the way animals were behaving. The ravens appeared to ground themselves during that time. They all seemed to leave the rooftops at the brewery, were not catching the wind they usually soar in over the marina, and just hung around the parking lot and on the docks. Many other bird species flew out to sea. It was so baffling in fact, that one guy set up his video camera at the marina, not to record the eclipse, but to record the unusual animal-activity happening in the opposite direction. I have yet to find his video online though.















A few hours later, and with much anxiety, we once again crossed the bar to exit Newport and head south. This was exactly one year and two days after losing our engine in the opposite direction crossing it upon a return to port. We were lucky to have John and Debbie on Bella Nave ahead of us this time, as a buddy boat, and a few others we kept in contact with via VHF radio. It took me a full day to get my sea legs again, and the mal de mer was a bit strong for both Paul and Sydney that first day at sea. We also had to adjust to the daily routine...three-hour watches at night, paying attention to what we eat and when, and adjusting to the rough sea state. The cool thing now is that at night, we could finally start enjoying the bioluminescence that was becoming evermore present the further south we traveled. 


We could not wait to arrive in Crescent City, our first stop in California, and the chance to see how TQT would perform with her donor engine. It was a day and a half of mostly motoring, but as we arrived after 11pm under a thick blanket of fog, we were so relieved to see our friend John from Bella Nave waiting at the Crescent City dock to help us tie off and catch a few days of rest and sight-seeing.



We finally made it! We were cruisers once again and we were so appreciative of everyone who helped us out over the last year, all of the prayers and well-wishes, and everyone who followed us on social media, and in text messages and phone calls. One person who stood out for me especially, was my Uncle Bobby. He always commented on pictures, asked how things were going, and even got to meet Paul on one of his work trips as he was passing through Lawton, Oklahoma on June 3rd, 2017. Sadly, less than a month before our departure from Newport, Uncle Bobby passed away in his sleep with his dogs by his side, guarding over him. I like to think that he is watching over us and knows that we finally were able to continue on our journey safely.   Rest in Peace Uncle Bobby.

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