Our planned "few" days in Coos Bay turned into a much longer stay than anticipated, but we didn't mind. We had a great time hanging out with my sister and her family while waiting for an ideal weather window to continue on our next leg to San Francisco. And she didn't mind us overstaying our welcome either. Our time in Coos Bay was filled with family, friends (old and new!), sightseeing & touristy stuff, laundry (exciting stuff!), a backyard movie night, haircuts, and even a surprise birthday party aboard Lorien for my Bro in Law's 40th!
It was here where we said goodbye to Lorien's beloved furry, 4-legged crewmember (I'm not crying, you're crying!). She did so well on the boat, even offshore. However, knowing her reactivity towards other dogs, and the logistics of bringing her further on this adventure, particularly into some of the countries we plan on visiting in the South Pacific, would have been extremely difficult for us and Zoe. Thankfully she's got a great temporary home at grandma & grandpa's, who have a nice back yard for her to run around in to burn off some of her endless energy! We're quite grateful for my folks who have volunteered to take her in while we're out on the high seas until our return in a couple years. Zoe's showing her thanks by keeping every living critter out of their back yard.
Not long after our arrival, my sister Heather executed quite a surprise birthday party for her husband, DJ. She arranged to have 4 of his best buds stow away on Lorien, all while she readied her, her husband, and her kids to head out for a "family cruise" captained by me. Upon arriving to the boat, DJ's friends began piling out of Lorien and into view. Heather handed DJ the bag of snacks & cooler of beer and said happy birthday, now go sailing with your friends! We had a nice time sailing up and down in the bay.
Our nieces sure enjoyed Auntie Amy and Uncle Lance hanging out for so long. We spent time at the park, played LOTS of Barbie, and some general horsing around. I'm pretty sure their parents liked all the babysitting too.
On a sunny day we took a car down along the coast to do some sightseeing. We made a few stops including the lighthouse at Cape Blanco, one secret beach, that wasn't really all that secret, and natural bridges. We always love trips along the coast!
Our Tacoma besties, Chris & Merilee, found some time and made the long drive south to spend a couple days with us! We had a great time catching up with them and even got a dune buggy trip in with them! Fun times.
One of our favorite (if not THE favorite) things about cruising is the people you meet along the way. And it was here in Coos Bay where we really began to start meeting more people like us doing the same thing. One afternoon while Amy and I were aboard the boat with Chris & Merilee at the marina, I received a facebook message from a stranger introducing herself as a sailor from Washington and saying she and her husband were aboard their boat, tied up just a few feet away. She had recognized our boat name from some posts we'd made in a Facebook group tailored towards sailors from the Pacific Northwest headed south. Instead of replying, I just got up and walked over to their boat and knocked on the hull. Out popped a couple of brand new friends. Margot & Elliot on their boat from Friday Harbor, Favignana (Fah - vin - YAHN - ah). After a brief conversation, we invited them aboard Lorien to mix old friends and new over drinks and a delicious tray of homemade nachos provided by Favignana!
Later during our stay, we got to meet another boat from Washington, also seeking shelter in Coos Bay awaiting a similar weather window to continue south, New Sensation, crewed by Eric & Heather along with their friends Derek & Nikki who were helping crew New Sensation south. Soon us 3 boats were all hanging out, talking weather, strategy, boats, boat problems, future cruising plans, etc...
We spent an afternoon at the beach with Favignana & New Sensation, along with my sister & her family. It was a really beautiful afternoon!
As the time ticked by, eventually a weather window began to materialize and our "few days" here was coming to an end after nearly 3 weeks of fun and family and friends. For this next leg, our good sailor friend Andy would fly out from Minnesota and join as crew for the 475 mile sail to the golden gate.
All 3 boats carefully eyed this potential weather window to finally continue south. It was unanimously agreed we'd leave at 1st light on September 2nd. What we didn't quite expect, was the thick soupy fog that blanketed the bay, making for an eerie departure over the bar. Ominous as it was, we made it out of the marina, through the channel and over the bar safely.
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