SVSoulsticeAdventures: Neah Bay, WA to Newport, OR to Coos Bay OR

Well... we just arrived in Coos Bay! It was an 80 nm trip and we left at 0300 dark so we could get out of the bar of Newport ok and more importantly get to the Coos Bay bar at the proper time which is the end of the max flood. It took us 13 hrs and we primarily motored with some motor sailing to keep to our strict time frame. Pheeeeww. There are Gale force winds farther south 9/1-9/4 predicted and seas possibly 15 to 17 ft Sunday and Monday so we are staying put for now and enjoying what Coos Bay has to offer. We are excited to have some days to be mellow since being very busy since our arrival to Seattle. I know we left our jobs but the boat thing is truly a FULL-TIME job. There is constant work to be done on the boat and everyday chores like laundry and grocery shopping can be all-consuming.
We are looking forward to having some more time to enjoy our surroundings in Coos Bay. Newport was a great town with many quaint shops and restaurants and I did sneak in a few runs, hence the early morning fog pics below.

My last post we were in Neah Bay and we actually left the very next day 8/25 and it took us over 50 hours to cover 248 nm to Newport. The sea state had big swell and cross swell. I cannot say the wind was too much and indeed not enough as we motored a fair bit but we did get a broad reach to downwind sail at times. I definitely prefer sailing for the motion and no loud motor. Sailing is so peaceful! When we arrived at Newport our boat was trashed and after sharing 3 hours watches with little "real" sleep we were quite harried when we arrived finally to Newport. Additionally, the stress level of crossing a bar added to the maxed cortisol levels. There was minor nausea on my part and Stephen did not fare so well. His usual stand by a medication called Marizine from S. Africa ( similar to meclizine and promethazine) did not work out so well :(. We were spent! That was my first offshore passage and he has done a few but this was definitely bigger then what he has previously experienced. We were glad to take a few days to get our bearings and put Soulstice back together again! This also included fixing our water pump, working on wiring for navigation lights, and fixing a broken solar vent. As I said always work to be done.

But... we did get a break and were elated to find out the Rogue brewery was on the marina site!!!!

Only about an hour in the slip and enjoying a beer. I forgot to mention the wind was HOWLING when we docked and Dave and Kelly were behind us. It was an amazing docking job by Stephen -TRULY - no one around for dock line help. We met Keith the Harbormaster who is 78 yo young and very laid back and cool. He spent 10+ years in the S. Pacific and welcomed us all there with some great life stories.