On Novemberf 6, 1943, the USS Pampanito was commissioned into the US Navy as fleet submarine SS-383.  She went on to have a distinguished career in the  World War II Pacific theater and today has become one of the most visited warship museums in the country.  Fortunately for us, today was a slow day for tourism and we had the boat virtually to ourselves.  We took the audio tour and spent a little over an hour moving from stern to bow through the different compartments.  Eighty six men served aboard in tight quarters.  Having spent time in the engine room of our boat in tough conditions, the prospect of serving aboard didn't seem too daunting to me (Michelle thinks I'm nuts).  Then again, nobody was shooting at me.

My high school buddy Curt Haggard joined the US Navy shortly after graduation and recently retired after a successful career serving onboard nuclear submarines.  I always had a great deal of respect for Curt for having done this, but now I have an even greater appreciation of what he had to put up with through those years.

Meanwhile, back on board Rhapsody, today was a clean-up day.  We saw our crew check out early for the airport and Michelle and I had the boat to ourselves.  We've been doing laundry (five days at sea piles it up), converting our office from a spare stateroom back into the office and washing down the outside of the boat (it's going to take a couple of rounds to completely get all the salt off).

Did I mention that we decided to stay at Pier 39 rather than relocate to a different marina?  We moved the boat this afternoon to a roomier slip (still near the sea lions).  As it so happens, both Michelle and I sleep soundly enough that we don't even hear the sea lions at night - even with the port holes open for fresh air.  The prevailing wind has so far worked in our favor - no smells.  Besides, they're entertaining as can be in the day time.  So, we decided to stay.  (We're only here for a couple more nights anyway before flying back to Seattle for a week).

I have many photos, but no Photoshop to edit them to the correct size for posting.  So, posting will have to wait until I get home.  I'll be sure to bring the correct software for the boat's computer next leg of the trip.

We appreciate the comments to the blog posting.  More to come tomorrow . . .

Time:   1800 hours

Position:   Pier 39 Marina,  San Francisco, California


We have arrived!   We got in about four this afternoon after a tough last 18 hours.   As I mentioned yesterday, the winds began picking up - just as had been forecast by our weather router.  By this morning, this had translated into 8' to 10' seas with winds consistently in the mid-thirty-knot range.  Depending on the angle of our course line to the direction the swells were running, the ride was anywhere from smooth with a lot of motion (hold on!) to something like a spin cycle!  When we turned in from the San Francisco sea buoy to head for the Golden Gate bridge, the winds were in the low to mid forties with at least one gust of 50 knots!  Ours was the only pleasure boat we saw since the Grand Banks yesterday. 

We passed under the Golden Gate Bridge at 3:30 - what a sight!  I took plenty of pictures and will post ASAP.

Tonight, we'll treat the crew to dinner at Scoma's.  Tomorrow, Mike and my mom return to  Washington.  Michelle and I will follow (by airlines) on Friday.

Incidentally, I was warned by some of my fellow Nordhavn owners' to avoid the Pier 39 Marina because sea lions have "taken over the place" and the slips are rolly.  You guys were right, as usual.  The only way I can sleep with all the sea lion noise is because I've been at sea for five days and tonight, I could probably sleep just fine in a jet-engine test facility.  Tomorrow, we'll look for nicer accomodations.

More tomorrow . . .

Time:  1800 hours

Latitude:  39 deg 59.71' N
Longitude:  124 deg 12.53' W

Position:   west of Fort Bragg, California

We passed into water off northern California very early this morning - around midnite or so.  We were absolutely smokin' all day in great weather - doing about 8.5 knots or so on average.  Shortly after my noon watch started, I spotted several Dall's porposises that quickly converged on the boat and started crossing the bow in high-speed runs, jumping, and turning before diving under the boat to come up on the other side and shoot away.  Then, they'd pair up and repeat the performance in the other direction.  Quite a show!  I got several photos - some might have even turned out.  When I'm able (soon), I'll post them in the gallery.

About 2:30 in the afternoon, we got a radio call from the coast guard asking if we'd proceed to a disabled boat in advance of a Coast Guard lifeboat that was on its way, but further out.  We said yes, of course, and headed for the scene, about six miles away.  Forty-five minutes later, we arrived to find a 42' Grand Banks lying ahull with both engines disabled (bad fuel, no doubt).  The Coast Guard asked if we'd take them in tow and proceed southbound to meet the lifeboat that was on the way from the south.

I'd never towed anybody before and I didn't really have the equipment - my longest line is a 60' dock line.  But, these people were scared so I tied three 60' one inch dock lines together and Mike Norton - my brother-in-law and crew member on this trip - and I started trying to pass a line to the disabled boat.  Oh, did I mention that the seas were running six feet or so and the wind was blowing 41 knots at the time?  The Grand Banks was rolling dramatically - I could count the transducers in the bottom of the hull!

It took several attempts to pass a line, but finally, I was able to approach very closely and Mike heaved a 1/2" messenger line over the bow of the Grand Banks that was tied to our made-up tow line.  THe Grand Banks owners fastened the line to their bow and away we went!  We towed them for about an hour before the Coast Guard life boat (an aluminum "tank" with huge engines and a whole platoon of well-trained crew members) arrived on the scene.  They had the Grand Banks cast off our tow line and when we left, they were preparing to take them under tow themselves to Fort Bragg.

The weather had been deteriorating all afternoon and by early evening, the seas were running six to 8 feet with winds in the 25 to 30 knot range with gusts into the mid 30's.  The seas were mostly behind us so the ride wasn't too uncomfortable (but certainly very active!)  At about 7 p.m., we got passed by the same Coast Guard boat towing the Grand Banks!  They were towing her at 9 knots - faster than our cruising speed.  Oh well.

We had made up all of our lost time, but with our "rescue", we gave back a couple of hours.  For a good cause.

More tomorrow when we reach San Franciso!  

p.s.  We went grocery shopping as a group before we left.  We grabbed three shopping carts and completely filled all three.  As it stands now, with about one day to go, each crew member is going to have to eat 6 yogurts and 3 tapioca puddings apiece tomorrow.

1800 Hours

Latitude:      43 deg 01.36' N
Longitude:  124 deg 39.69' W

Position:   south of Coos Bay, Oregon, about 8 miles offshore

Just got off watch.  Since we're running 24 hours per day, we're standing watch 24 hours per day.  We split the hours from 6 a.m. until 6 p.m. into four three-hour watches each manned solo.  Since there are four of us on board, we each get one daytime watch.  We split the night-time hours between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. into four-three hour shifts but with two people on each shift.  We each share two night shifts.  Makes for a total of 9 hours on watch each day with 15 hours off.  Mike Norton, one of our crew members, says that the boat ride is basically a series of strung-together, interrupted naps.

We had to dodge a fishing fleet a few minutes ago.   There were nine long-line trollers in two rows - five boats in the front line and four boats in the back line, staggered between the gaps of the front line.  Quite a sight.  We had to alter course by about two miles to get around them.  I took a couple of photos and will post them soon.

At about 1330 (1:30 in the afternoon), we got a radio call from another Nordhavn 55.  The Enterprise, owned by Bob Bingham, passed us northbound on their way to Anacortes.  That makes two Nordhavn 55's northbound in the past two days.  No other yachts spotted so far.  We arranged to pass close - about 75 yards separation - so we could get photos of each other.  I'll post a a couple when I can.

Good run today.  Yesterday morning's 7 a.m. 24-hour run showed about 161 miles made good due to the adverse currents in the Strait of Juan de Fuca.  Today's 7 a.m. 24-hour run shows 206 miles made good since our speed has increased.  We gained back about half of our lost time.  Today, we've been averageing in the mid-8 knot range, sometimes even into the low 9's.  If this keeps up, we'll cut the lost time back to about 1 hour by tomorrws' 7 a.m. mark.

Smooth seas today.  Ran into a fog bank at about 10:30 a.m. and had to sound the fog horn for an hour until it cleared out.  We should pass into the waters of northern California very early Monday morning.  Tomorrow's a big day because we expect to round Cape Mendocino in the early afternoon, after which we'll turn to follow the coastline in a more southeasterly direction. Cape Mdndocino is a notoriously rough point of land in northern California, although we're expecting relatively mild conditions tomorrow.

More to follow tomorrow . . .

Time:           1800 hours

Latitude:      46 deg  20.45' N
Longitude:   124 deg 19.83" W

Approximately 8 miles west of the Columbia River entrance

There was no day one update because by the time we were able to post an update, the boat was rocking too much to do so. 

Happy to report that conditions have calmed down significantly - we even have sunny skies (mostly).

We got off from the dock yesterday morning (May 8) at 0715.  Had a nice, uneventful ride up the Admiralty Inlet making good time.  We turned west aroun Point Wilson (near the town of Port Townsend, Washington) to head out the Straits of Juan de Fuca to the Pacific Ocean and were met with a strong opposing current that kept our effective speed down to about 5 knots.  It took forever.  The closer we got to Cape Flattery and the Pacific Ocean, the worse the conditions became.   We rounded the cape at just past midnite this morning.  As soon as we turned south and started taking the seas on our starboard quarter, the ride became much smoother.

We ended up about 3.5 hours short of my 24 hour goal this morning at 0700 (it took us until almost 1100 to reach the waypoint that I'd predicted we'd hit at 0700). 

Today, conditions have improved and our speed has picked up considerably - we've beem doing 9 knots most of the afternoon and we're making up for yesterday's shortages.

The crew is becoming acclimated to the "motion of the ocean".  Not too much problem here, except the constant need to hold on and be careful.

The machinery is mostly working as it should.  we conduct thorough, regular Engineering Inspections and log the results.  I'll definitely know the equipment better after this trip!

No whales spotted yet.  We've seen dolphins, seals, sea lions, and lots of birds though.

This afternoon near Gray's Harbor we said hello to a fellow Nordhavn 55 owner, Jim Wade on "Just Beiieve".  They are in the process of moving their boat from Dana Point to Anacortes,  They got delayed by the same system that caused us to delay our departure.  We passed within about 1.5 miles of each other - visible by site, on radar, and initially, on AIS.  Both of our boats broadcast our position, course, speed, etc. using a radio called the "AIS".  Other boats with the same capability can receive these broadcasts and plot the results on their chart plotters.  It's a great way to quickly see and identify traffic.

We've managed to get a few pictures so far.  We'll post them when I get a faster internet connection - probably in San Francisco.

More to come tomorrow . . . .

I received my second-to-the-last weather briefing today and there's essentially been no change in forecast conditions.  The nasty weather we're experiencing in Seattle the last couple of days will continue thru Wednesday and then start to clear up on Thursday.  Bob Jones at Ocean Marine Nav, Inc. - our weather router - called these weather systems right on the money.  He advised us to delay our departure and we did.  Good thing!

Bob says we're still looking good for a Friday departure.  He suggests that the weather nearer shore (5 miles or so off) will feature smoother water and winds that are not as strong as those to be found further offshore.

Initially, I had planned to round Cape Flattery, run out to the 125 degree meridian and then head due south until past Cape Mendocino before turning east to the San Francisco entrance.  For those of you familiar with the "Douglass Guides", they refer to this as their "Blue Water" route.  It avoids much traffic, crab pots, etc.  But, if the price is a rougher ride, that's a high price indeed.

So, I've decided to change routes to an inshore route that the Douglass' refer to as the "Express Route".  This route follows a designated crab-pot free lane and generally runs five to ten miles offshore.  We still plan on running 24 hours per day, but hopefully, we'll have a smoother ride.  Just have to keep a careful watch for traffic.

So, as for now, it's Friday morning - 0700 departure.  I'll keep you posted.

5-01-2009  
2301
Elliot Bay Marina


I had my initial weather briefing with Bob Jones of Ocean Marine Navigation, Inc. this past Wednesday.   Bob is a highly-respected weather router whose services have been used by ocean-crossing boaters for a number of years.  When he says it's best to delay the departure, I'm going to delay the departure.  And, that's what he said.

Specifically, in his briefing on Wednesday the 29th of April, Bob said that it appeared as though a fairly significant low pressure area was moving into place this weekend over the Pacific Northwest coastal waters, to be immediately followed by another low pressure area.  Bob projected winds of 40 knots and seas "at least" 15 feet off the Oregon coast by Tuesday.  That's exactly where we were scheduled to be if we left on Monday morning, as originally planned.  Bob recommends not leaving before Friday the 8th.  So, as of now, we're scheduled to leave on Friday May 8th at 0700.

Unfortunately, this will cause a crew change because my sister Jennifer, who is a captain on the Yakima Fire Department, had already commited to a range of days off and she can't change at this late date.  Good news, though, is that my mom will accompany us down the coast.  So we'll still have four crew members onboard - me, Michelle, Mike Norton (my brother-in-law and Jennifer's husband), and my mom, Ellen Kremer.

The four day delay (hopefully that's all it is) gives me four more days to polish things off on the boat.  She's just about ready to go now - I topped off all four fuel tanks on Tuesday (1780 gallons!).  We carry a total of 2,280 gallons - enough fuel to go from Seattle to San Diego and back again and then, halfway back again.  We won't be having any fuel-shortage problems.

Adding 10,000 pounds of fuel has dropped the boat almost 7 inches so that, for the first time, she finally is sitting on her designed water-line.  Actually, she's just slightly light in the bow (usually, she's been very light in the stern).

The next weather check is scheduled for Monday the 4th.  At this time, Bob will be able to give a pretty accurate picture of the weather for the next week or ten days - far enough out for us to make a confident go or no-go decision on Monday.  We'll confirm this decision with a final weather briefing with Bob on Thursday the 7th.

I'll post again after the Monday weather briefing.

Good night!

Welcome to our blog for Rhapsody - our Nordhavn 55.  This is the area of our website where we'll try to keep you posted as to where we are, what we're doing, and how we're liking it (hopefully).

Check back often for the latest news.