Made landfall in Neah Bay! We avoided any weather and am happy to say we never saw more than 30 knots the entire trip. The last few hours were wet and cold sitting in the rain fighting a ebb tide trying to get into the harbor. Still raining like crazy here, but nice to be on land again. Still getting use to being on a boat that isn’t moving. The storm that is fueling up out on the water may interfere with our timeline to get out of here, but I’ll put a post up when we are ready to leave.

Only 20 miles from land now. No sightings until we get there or the fog lifts. I’m glad to be getting in this evening because the forecast calls for winds up to 50 knots on the water tonight as an intense low pressure system is right on our heels. We will be comfortably anchored in Neah Bay. The sailing now is quite pleasant, no rain and fairly calm seas.

Current Position:
48,20,19N 125,08.90W
Course: 77 deg at 5.5 kt
137 progress, 2510 traveled, 17 to go
Wind: 15 kt from 170 deg, fog

Yesterday continued to be windy, with the rain pouring down at times. I’ve got a leak near my bed that soaked it from the bottom up, one more leak to tackle when back home. The winds dropped off in the evening, leaving us tossed around by the seas uncomfortably for several hours. Today is a gentle breeze with calm seas and no rain. I’m drying my bed out! The calm winds have delayed us, likely putting us in Neah Bay Saturday evening and on the mainland Tuesday.

Current Position:
47,42.57N 128,09,66W
Course: 69 deg at 4 kt
100 nm progress, 2373 traveled, 154 to go
Wind: 14 kt from 225 deg, overcast

Shortly after the update yesterday we decided to shut the engine down to ensure we had enough fuel to get into the harbor. We drifted along for 8 hours at around 1 knot, which was frustrating, but also very calm as the seas were perfectly flat and was just like being tied up to the dock. The wind arrived as scheduled a few hours after dark and have been building constantly since then. The seas are growing, but the ride is fast and mostly comfortable. This is the most wind we’ve seen all trip, but not near the windiest I’ve seen. The forecast looks good; we should make landfall in Neah Bay, Wa just before dawn on Saturday. We plan on refueling then making our way to Victoria to clear customs. Arrival on the mainland should be Monday evening.

Current Position:
47,04.04N 130,25.36W
Course 67 deg at 6.5 kt
108 nm progress, 2273 traveled, 254 to go
Wind: 27 kt from 175, overcast

Had a slight breeze yesterday that kept us moving. The nearing low pressure system should give us the first of the wind that will take us home this evening. Currently burning the last of our fuel in a calm. Been seeing more hints that we are getting close to shore. A few birds, a pod of dolphins, and hearing the weather forecast on the radio tell us we are getting close.

Current Position:
46,20.32N 132,49,26W
Course: 64 deg at 5 kt
84 nm progress, 2165 traveled, 362 to go
Wind: 0-4 kt, overcast

The wind did shift yesterday, but also dropped to near zero. We don’t have enough fuel to motor for several days, so we drifted along at 1.5 kt all night. Today, things have picked up a little and the sun it out, so it is quite pleasant. We were flying the spinnaker earlier, but somehow the snap shackle on the halyard released, sending the spinnaker into the water and stranding the halyard at the top of the mast. I’d have to climb the mast to get it down. I’ll wait until I’m back on land to do that, so we are back under the jib. More wind is coming Wednesday night, which should get us to land sometime on Saturday.

Current Position:
45,43.99N 134,37.16W
Course: 63 deg at 3.5 kt
66 nm progress, 2081 traveled, 446 to go
Wind: 9 kt from 300 deg, mostly sunny

Feels like the wind is trying to change, but it is shifting between a better northern wind and the same NE wind we’ve been fighting for the last week. Really looking forward to being able to sail again in the right direction at a reasonable speed.

Current Positon:
45,19.30N 136,05.07W
Course: 60-120 deg at 2 to 5 kt
82 nm progress, 2015 traveled, 512 to go
Wind: 6 to 16 kt from 0 to 60 deg, overcast

Still working our way upwind and counting down the hours to the promised wind shift that will allow us to point in the right direction. Nice and sunny this morning and the port tack is leaning the solar panels right at the sun, giving the batteries so love.

Last night was busy one for shipping traffic. I have a system on my computer called AIS that receives digital transmissions from ships including their location, heading and speed. I can pick these signals up while the ship is up to 60 miles away, long before they are visible. This gives us lots of time to keep a safe distance away and avoids any guessing about the ships heading and collision potential. It took dad a few times to begin to trust the system because at night the ships lights can be unclear and make it look like the ship is coming right at you. Last night we had 3 ships come within 2 miles of us, one of which we had to change course to avoid. With AIS this is a trivial matter and makes this crossing much safer.

Current Position:
45,19.25N 138,11.78W
Course: 100 deg at 4.5kt
71nm progress, 1933 traveled, 594 to go
Wind: 15 kt from 45 deg, sunny

The wind shifted slightly to the north, giving us a good reason to tack. Turning the boat through the wind turns us about 100 degrees, continuing to work our way up wind. On the other tack, the boat heels in the other direction, what was up is down. Our packing was quite good and not much fell from the shelves. Getting used to living at a different angle takes some getting used to. The hand holds in the cabin are different. I get to sleep against the padded hull, while dad needs to use his lee board to hold him on the bunk. He doesn’s like it, but it will only be for a day or two. Looking forward to that wind shift!

Current Position:
44,38.19N 139,35.52W
Course: 100 deg at 4.5 kt
63 nm progress, 1862 traveled, 665 to go
Wind: 19 kt from 55 deg, mostly cloudy

Our world has been leaning 20 degrees to the left for the last 4 days and feels much longer than that. The wind is now coming from the direction we are trying to go, so our progress will be slowed further as we need to tack upwind and fight for every mile. The forecast calls for winds to continue from the NE for several days before changing to the W on Tuesday. Getting so close to home and it feels like it getting further away!

Current position:
45,11.40N 141,33.12W
Course: 15 deg at 4.5 kt
92 nm progress, 1799 traveled, 728 to go
Wind: 17 kt from 60 deg, mostly cloudy