Monday, May 11, 2009

May 7, 2009, Astoria to Newport, by Bob

When we were on the Columbia, the left engine was putting out a LOT of black smoke, and wouldn't run at full RPMs. The left transmission was messed up, too. It wouldn't go into forward gear very well.

Mike and I got back from flight training, and the transmission was rebuilt! Lasse the mechanic said he couldn't fix the smoking engine. Cliff the air-conditioner / heater repairman was there, too. He replaced the logic board in the controller, but couldn't make it work. He's only had three months and several hundred dollars on this, so we shouldn't expect miracles.

After waiting a few days in Astoria for the weather (and waves) to improve, I took off for Newport on Thursday. Mike had jumped ship a few days earlier.

I had planned to take off about 5:30 a.m. so I could make it to Newport at a reasonable time (i.e. daylight), but they were forecasting 12-foot breaking waves at the mouth of the Columbia at 4:15 or 4:45. So I forced myself to sleep in to the civilized hour of 6:00 and got to the "Columbia Bar" about 7:00.

The waves were fairly big, but they were spaced far enough part so the boat wasn't smashing into the waves. It was just riding on top. Then I had a favorable wind and an unfavorable current to Newport, Oregon. Or maybe it was Rhode Island.

I arrived at the marina between 9:00 and 10:00, somewhere between dusk and dark. I managed to fit underneath the Highway 101 bridge and park the boat without any permanent damage to the dock, which we can't say about The Dalles.

No comments: