Port Angeles Welcome

WindWatcher greets Comocean as we approach Port Angeles.

We arrived at Neah Bay on Wednesday, July 27th around 11pm. Our journey is complete. Our voyage from Hawai'i was 3,174 miles. Neah Bay was empty of anchored boats this time and anchoring in the dark was fairly easy. Finally we could sleep all  night. Thursday was a day to clean up the mess from a three-week passage and then rest.

Friday morning at 6:15am we were under way to Port Angeles. A few miles from Port Angeles Greg noticed a vaguely familiar boat. It circled around and approached us. Lo and behold, there were our friends Chuck and Jan on WindWatcher -  another Catalina 42. They had sent an email, which we hadn't received, telling us that they were starting their adventure and would try to intercept us as we passed in the Straight of Juan de Fuca. What a pleasant surprise! They joined us at the public dock  in Port Angeles for the night and we shared dinner on Comocean. Chuck and Jan are headed to San Diego where they will prepare their boat for a cruise to Mexico, the Caribbean and beyond. We shared our new cruising knowledge and said goodbye in the morning.

It was so nice to share our regular bed. Our passage berth was the aft starbd berth. The cushions, abandon-ship bag and various bags of stuff kept us in place. Cinnamon was a frequent bunkmate. I had to be very careful when I rolled over because would end up under me. Once we were at anchor and back in our regular bed he didn't need us for security and we sleep without him now.

Cinnamon picked up some unusual habits while we were at sea. When he didn't eat or drink during the first week I had to resort to some unconventional methods to encourage him. He developed a fondness for drinking his water from a tumbler in the bathroom. I guess it was the traces of toothpaste that made it so special.

We visited the NOAA center for the Olympic Coast Nat. Marine Sanctuary in Port Angeles. It was smaller than the Hawai'ian center in Hilo but filled with lots of interesting exhibits and two knowledgeable workers. I gathered some materials to share with my Semiahmoo friends and the next C42 Rendezvous.

Now we are headed to Dungeness Spit which is a little southeast of here. We have our fishing/crabbing license in hand and we are eager to get back at it!