Last Days in Eureka...ready to move on!

We have spent a total of 9 days in Eureka.  Originally it was thought we would stay 1- 2 nights.  The fact that we broke 4 of the 5 batten sail slides  while sailing from Crescent City, changed our plans.  The replacement parts arrived yesterday from South Windsor, Ct on overnight delivery. The funny part is that my home town Coventry, CT is only a couple towns away from South Windsor.  Dan filed the parts down to fit our mast and installed them.  He believes they fit much better, and are considerably more rugged.  I sure hope so.

We plan on leaving around 6 am tomorrow morning in order to be at the entrance to the bay when it is generally calm- at the end of low tide and the winds should be low.  Apparently this is a very tricky bar to get in or out of.  So we want to play it safe.

One of the highlights of this stay was meeting Tom and then Phil.  Both have long time nautical histories and are retired now.  They have some interesting stories to tell and get together 5 days per week to play 3 hands of cribbage.  I visited them a few times and got to play cribbage with Tom a few times myself.  He also happens to be the sail repair man that told us about the sail slides for our boat. I know my Dad would have loved to chat some with these two fellows.





Dan is filing down the thickness of the sail slides before he could put them on the mast.  It worked.



Then Cinderella showed up at the dock and the fun began for me.  A crew of 4 had just sailed 6 days from Seattle and this was their first stop.  Pajo the captain and his girl friend Ava will continue on to sail around the world.  The two additional crew members will depart after they arrive in San Francisco.  Their young, vivacious energy was enjoyable.  Very capable individuals that worked well as a team.  The boat is a racer that Pajo has converted to have an electric motor.  Here is Ava and Dane on the boat.




They needed to re-provision their boat with food supplies.  I offered her Dan's bike and I rode my bike and off we went 3miles to Winco.  A couple panniers and 2 back packs were filled, some laughs shared and a connection made.  We both needed some "girl" time.  It was fun.




Here is Pajo and Ava together on Cinderella.  I hope we will run into each other in Mexico or even southern California.



We put one of the SUP boards out and I got to do some exploring while on the board.  It was nice to be doing something on the water.




There were a few interesting properties and boats to see as I paddled.









Old pylons in Humboldt Bay.



Dan and I rode our bikes to Samoa Beach and looked down from the bridge for this view during low tide.

We then took a walk along Samoa Beach.



We visited the Cookhouse in Samoa.  While it is a restaurant now, they had a lot of old pictures and artifacts of the old logging days. The Cookhouse was where the log workers would eat and I believe  lodge nearby.  It was very fascinating.




The size of these logs is impressive as are the chainsaws below!



 I noticed this Underwood Typewriter.  My Dad had worked for Underwood Typewriter in Hartford CT for many years.



Meanwhile, back at the dock, The Cinderella crew was getting a lesson on how to fillet a tuna.  They threw out a line while sailing south, and caught a tuna plus some other fish.



There is a NOAA office nearby our marina which offers free tours and marine forecasts.  Dan and I went down there yesterday to confirm our thoughts about leaving Friday Sept 22, 2017.  It is looking pretty good.



We packed up the bikes, SUP boards and started getting the boat ready for departure.  Said our farewells to fellow boaters and friends we met along the way.  Some we might see again in our travels. It's been a good 9 days at the Woodley Island Marina!



Stay tuned for more.....
Beverly