Gofirstclass
Well-Known Member
Yesterday's ride from Umatilla, OR to the yacht club was interesting, to say the least. We were delayed an hour due to a tug/barges being allowed to lock through ahead of us. So we just stayed at the marina and had more coffee and breakfast before we got underway.
When we got the all clear to go into the lock the wind was really howling and blowing directly on our stern. We had some trouble getting the boat to the wall and tied up so the lockmaster helped us by closing the downstream doors to the lock to block the wind. After the wind was reduced we got tied up and lifted without any problem.
After leaving the lock and getting fenders and lines stowed we headed out, running at 20kts. The wind was blowing at about 18kts directly on our stern. I put the camera away and got out the video camera so you can see what it looked like. The wind kept rising and by the time we got towards the bend in the Columbia (where it turns from east to north) we were in a 3'-4' chop. It was really bouncing the boat around and spray was blowing up on the windows.
As we made that bend the wind was now off our aft port quarter and blowing harder. Now the boat was really bouncing, but it was still a fun ride. The temps were in the mid 40's, the sun was out, and we were having a good time. Like I told Jack, "Anybody can drive a boat when the wind is calm. It makes you a better skipper to learn how to handle the boat when the wind is howling." We also started discussing some alternative docking sites in case the wind was howling when we got to the yacht club.
We got on the downstretch towards the Tri Cities (and home) and the wind was directly off our port beam. We were on the same VHF channel where we talk with the locks and we heard a tug ask the Ice Harbor lockmaster about the winds. The lockmaster replied that the winds were steady at 27-29 and they were gusting up to 39mph. The tug, rather than head up the Snake River to the dam decided to just hang out in the Columbia (it's a lot wider). He told the lockmaster "I'll check in with you in an hour or so and see how it's doing". My guess is the tug spent the night in the Columbia because the wind howled all night.
We stopped at my marina to fuel up the boat. It took about 170 gallons and we ran about 178 miles, all of that against the current, including a half hour inside the lock with both engines running, so it's just a whisker over 1mpg. Not to shabby for a 38' boat that's full of fuel and water and three of us aboard.
After fueling up we continued on to the yacht club. By this time we'd pretty much run out of the high winds and when we got to the club we found that the condos on shore blocked most of the remaining wind.
Yesterday's ride from Umatilla, OR to the yacht club was interesting, to say the least. We were delayed an hour due to a tug/barges being allowed to lock through ahead of us. So we just stayed at the marina and had more coffee and breakfast before we got underway.
When we got the all clear to go into the lock the wind was really howling and blowing directly on our stern. We had some trouble getting the boat to the wall and tied up so the lockmaster helped us by closing the downstream doors to the lock to block the wind. After the wind was reduced we got tied up and lifted without any problem.
After leaving the lock and getting fenders and lines stowed we headed out, running at 20kts. The wind was blowing at about 18kts directly on our stern. I put the camera away and got out the video camera so you can see what it looked like. The wind kept rising and by the time we got towards the bend in the Columbia (where it turns from east to north) we were in a 3'-4' chop. It was really bouncing the boat around and spray was blowing up on the windows.
As we made that bend the wind was now off our aft port quarter and blowing harder. Now the boat was really bouncing, but it was still a fun ride. The temps were in the mid 40's, the sun was out, and we were having a good time. Like I told Jack, "Anybody can drive a boat when the wind is calm. It makes you a better skipper to learn how to handle the boat when the wind is howling." We also started discussing some alternative docking sites in case the wind was howling when we got to the yacht club.
We got on the downstretch towards the Tri Cities (and home) and the wind was directly off our port beam. We were on the same VHF channel where we talk with the locks and we heard a tug ask the Ice Harbor lockmaster about the winds. The lockmaster replied that the winds were steady at 27-29 and they were gusting up to 39mph. The tug, rather than head up the Snake River to the dam decided to just hang out in the Columbia (it's a lot wider). He told the lockmaster "I'll check in with you in an hour or so and see how it's doing". My guess is the tug spent the night in the Columbia because the wind howled all night.
We stopped at my marina to fuel up the boat. It took about 170 gallons and we ran about 178 miles, all of that against the current, including a half hour inside the lock with both engines running, so it's just a whisker over 1mpg. Not to shabby for a 38' boat that's full of fuel and water and three of us aboard.
After fueling up we continued on to the yacht club. By this time we'd pretty much run out of the high winds and when we got to the club we found that the condos on shore blocked most of the remaining wind. Jack did a good job of putting the boat in the slip and it felt good to be home.
When we got the all clear to go into the lock the wind was really howling and blowing directly on our stern. We had some trouble getting the boat to the wall and tied up so the lockmaster helped us by closing the downstream doors to the lock to block the wind. After the wind was reduced we got tied up and lifted without any problem.
After leaving the lock and getting fenders and lines stowed we headed out, running at 20kts. The wind was blowing at about 18kts directly on our stern. I put the camera away and got out the video camera so you can see what it looked like. The wind kept rising and by the time we got towards the bend in the Columbia (where it turns from east to north) we were in a 3'-4' chop. It was really bouncing the boat around and spray was blowing up on the windows.
As we made that bend the wind was now off our aft port quarter and blowing harder. Now the boat was really bouncing, but it was still a fun ride. The temps were in the mid 40's, the sun was out, and we were having a good time. Like I told Jack, "Anybody can drive a boat when the wind is calm. It makes you a better skipper to learn how to handle the boat when the wind is howling." We also started discussing some alternative docking sites in case the wind was howling when we got to the yacht club.
We got on the downstretch towards the Tri Cities (and home) and the wind was directly off our port beam. We were on the same VHF channel where we talk with the locks and we heard a tug ask the Ice Harbor lockmaster about the winds. The lockmaster replied that the winds were steady at 27-29 and they were gusting up to 39mph. The tug, rather than head up the Snake River to the dam decided to just hang out in the Columbia (it's a lot wider). He told the lockmaster "I'll check in with you in an hour or so and see how it's doing". My guess is the tug spent the night in the Columbia because the wind howled all night.
We stopped at my marina to fuel up the boat. It took about 170 gallons and we ran about 178 miles, all of that against the current, including a half hour inside the lock with both engines running, so it's just a whisker over 1mpg. Not to shabby for a 38' boat that's full of fuel and water and three of us aboard.
After fueling up we continued on to the yacht club. By this time we'd pretty much run out of the high winds and when we got to the club we found that the condos on shore blocked most of the remaining wind.
Yesterday's ride from Umatilla, OR to the yacht club was interesting, to say the least. We were delayed an hour due to a tug/barges being allowed to lock through ahead of us. So we just stayed at the marina and had more coffee and breakfast before we got underway.
When we got the all clear to go into the lock the wind was really howling and blowing directly on our stern. We had some trouble getting the boat to the wall and tied up so the lockmaster helped us by closing the downstream doors to the lock to block the wind. After the wind was reduced we got tied up and lifted without any problem.
After leaving the lock and getting fenders and lines stowed we headed out, running at 20kts. The wind was blowing at about 18kts directly on our stern. I put the camera away and got out the video camera so you can see what it looked like. The wind kept rising and by the time we got towards the bend in the Columbia (where it turns from east to north) we were in a 3'-4' chop. It was really bouncing the boat around and spray was blowing up on the windows.
As we made that bend the wind was now off our aft port quarter and blowing harder. Now the boat was really bouncing, but it was still a fun ride. The temps were in the mid 40's, the sun was out, and we were having a good time. Like I told Jack, "Anybody can drive a boat when the wind is calm. It makes you a better skipper to learn how to handle the boat when the wind is howling." We also started discussing some alternative docking sites in case the wind was howling when we got to the yacht club.
We got on the downstretch towards the Tri Cities (and home) and the wind was directly off our port beam. We were on the same VHF channel where we talk with the locks and we heard a tug ask the Ice Harbor lockmaster about the winds. The lockmaster replied that the winds were steady at 27-29 and they were gusting up to 39mph. The tug, rather than head up the Snake River to the dam decided to just hang out in the Columbia (it's a lot wider). He told the lockmaster "I'll check in with you in an hour or so and see how it's doing". My guess is the tug spent the night in the Columbia because the wind howled all night.
We stopped at my marina to fuel up the boat. It took about 170 gallons and we ran about 178 miles, all of that against the current, including a half hour inside the lock with both engines running, so it's just a whisker over 1mpg. Not to shabby for a 38' boat that's full of fuel and water and three of us aboard.
After fueling up we continued on to the yacht club. By this time we'd pretty much run out of the high winds and when we got to the club we found that the condos on shore blocked most of the remaining wind. Jack did a good job of putting the boat in the slip and it felt good to be home.
