Cruising to Astoria
By Dale Mack, C30, Celtic Myst

This would be our longest cruise on the boat to date and would by coincidence occur at the same time as the Six-Pac race downriver (July 26 - August 3).  Onboard were Laura, our son Sean (14 yrs old), Sherman our Cavalier King Charles Spaniel , and myself.  For the next nine days we sampled some of the lower Columbia River's hospitality as we visited various riverfront towns.

Saturday, Rainier

CRACA member Gary Bruner racing his C25, Encore! in the weeklong Six-Pac.

Our plan for the day was to head to St. Helens, top off the tank and proceed to the town of Rainier, Oregon about a mile upriver from the Longview bridge.  Under bright sunny skies our journey to St. Helens was swift, and during the last couple of miles we started catching the tail end of the Six-Pac racers also heading to St. Helens.  After passing Warrior Rock we cut between Sauvie Island and the upstream end of Sand Island and headed down the the waterfront.  The staff at the St. Helens Marina were quick and efficient, and we were on our way in no time.

Once we passed Martin Island everything was new for us, at least by boat.  A few weeks earlier I had driven the entire route and visited all of our planned destinations, but experiencing it from the water still made it exciting.

Below St. Helens the banks and scenery of the river starts to gradually change from the levees, cottonwoods, and sandy beaches found from Portland to St. Helens into something with more Douglas Fir and rocky outcroppings.   There are still lots of sandy beaches and cottonwoods, it just a subtle change as the river moves away from from the population centers of Vancouver and Portland.

Downstream of Martin Island we passed the town of Kalama, WA with its marina, and the decommissioned nuclear power plant with its very prominent cooling tower standing sentinel like on the Oregon side of the river.  Those that have driven up or down I-5 getting to Seattle have seen this portion of the river from the road.

Celtic Myst with the Longview Bridge in the background. Laura and Sean Mack in Rainier. A scene from another time as one nears the turn off for Cathlamet, WA. Typically of the camping one sees along the Columbia River. Elochoman Slough at a minus one foot tide. Celtic Myst buried amongst the Six-Pac participants at Elochoman Marina.

The town of Rainier just sought of sneaks up on you.  As the Columbia River nears the towns of Longview, WA and Rainier, OR, it begins to shift from its northerly route and curves left as it assumes a westerly direction.   What this means it that the Douglas fir covered hills on your left obscure your view of the Longview Bridge and Rainier until you are nearly done transiting this bend in the river.  Once you have both towers of the bridge in view, the town of Rainier is easy to make out, and the dock can be found at the east end of town.

The new Rainier docks are wonderful.  The only downside is that like St. Helens, you're exposed to the wind and any swell.  The moorage is within easy walking distance (2-3 blocks) of restaurants, a grocery store, and other services.  The availability of restaurants were important to us because we had decided in our planning for the cruise that we would enjoy as many meals ashore as possible so the cook (that's Laura) and the pot and bottle washer (that's me) could really be on vacation.  We can highly recommend he Cornerstone Restaurant for good old fashion American diner style food at good prices.  The staff was friendly and courteous, and the dinner and breakfast we had was great.

Sunday, Cathlamet

The next morning shortly after returning from breakfast we were underway for Cathlamet.  A mile later we were passing under the Longview Bridge, and for awhile we enjoyed 8+ knots on the GPS as the current and ebb tide combined to propel us to our next destination.

The journey to Cathlamet saw the banks of the Columbia River become more heavily forested, and signs of civilization more sparse.  Even the vacation homes situated along the south shore of Puget Island didn't distract from the natural beauty of the area.

Being our first time to Cathlamet, I played it pretty conservative and stayed in the ship channel most of the time.  We didn't reach our destination via Cathlamet Channel along the north side of Puget Island even though the chart showed it was doable with my 5'3" draft.  Instead we took the longer route an entered the channel from its west end, leaving the Columbia River just short of buoy "G41" and then heading toward buoy "G1" at the south end of Elochoman Slough.

All the stories about running aground in Elochoman Slough had me anxious as we prepared for our first transit.  Definitely don't cut between buoy "G1" and the southern tip of Hunting Islands because a sand bar extends a considerable distance from the shore toward the buoy and much of it is uncovered at low tide.  The other caution is to pass daymark "R2" on your starboard side when entering the marina (cutting between the daymark and the marina's dike may leave you on the rocks).

We planned our arrival to coincide with a rising tide and stayed in the center of the slough as we headed toward the entrance to Elochoman Marina, marked by daymark "R2".  Making the right-hand turn into the marina caused some anxious moments because the water gets shallower directly north of the daymark since there is a small hump in the bottom.  Once inside the marina things start to deepen again.  At two hours prior to high tide (predicted to be +6.5) we saw just shy of ten feet over the hump.

We really enjoyed Cathlamet.  So much so that we spent two more nights there on the return trip from Astoria four days later.

We were joined in the afternoon by Laura's sister, brother-in-law, niece, and dad for lunch at the Riverview Restaurant.  After lunch we walked about checking out some of the shops and architecture.

Late in the afternoon, the Six-Pac participants (both cruisers and racers) started to arrive and raft up.  They had spent the day racing from St. Helens, so most folks were pretty subdued that evening (actually my experience locally is that Portland sailboat racers aren't a rowdy group anyway).  I unfortunately misjudged where to place the boat for a 5:30 am departure for Astoria, and by the time everyone was put away for the night we were pretty hemmed in.

Elochoman Marina has an amazing capacity for holding boats.  The night we were there, they were hosting the Six-Pac, a yacht club with very large powerboats, lots of commercial fishing boats, and a large number of cruisers like ourselves.

The restroom and shower facilities at the marina are among the finest you'll find on the Columbia River.  Additionally you'll find picnic tables, campsites, a pretty nature walk, ice at the Harbormaster's office, and a fuel dock dispensing both gas and diesel.

Monday-Wednesday, Astoria

Astoria, West Basin.  Red Lion Inn in the background. Astoria Riverfront Trolley. Sean Mack at the Columbia River Maritime Museum.

Our departure was delayed the next morning as we waited for enough tidal height to leave.  Having missed the early tide, we chatted the morning away with sailing friends from SYSCO who were headed to Warren Slough that day.

Once underway and back into Cathlamet Channel heading west, we cut a beeline to buoy "G41" to reenter the Columbia River and continue our journey to Astoria.  This portion of the river starts to take on a very different look.  While the Washington shoreline continues with Douglas fir and hills, the Oregon side starts drawing away as the river widens and portions of it starts meandering amongst many low tide islands and marshes.  While there is water everywhere, particularly the closer you get to Astoria, the charts show you can easily find yourself in shallow water only a short distance outside the shipping channel in some place.  Something to take note of is that the newly purchased charts I was using didn't show any river bottom surveys since Mount Saint Helens erupted, so who knows the true depth in some areas.

Ralph was Right.  Back in the June newsletter, Ralph Ahseln (C27, Oblio) had written a short piece on cruising downriver.  In his article, Ralph recommended transiting the area from Cathlamet to Astoria in the early morning in order to avoid the high winds and sea swell that can sometimes greet unsuspecting boaters unfamiliar with the area.  Our late departure from Cathlamet made the journey to Astoria, bumpy, wet, and slow as we pushed against the flood tide and winds reaching the mid-twenties.  The whole time we're slugging our way through the chop, I'm thinking "Ralph told me so".  Fortunately we didn't encounter the 50 knot winds or the six foot seas Ralph wrote about.  In fact, while our speed over the ground (SOG) via the GPS had us down to 4.5 knots a few times, Laura commented that it wasn't any rougher than our approach to St. Helens the previous year, although we'll heed Ralph's advice on any future trips to Astoria.

So what does one do for three days in Astoria?  First you get off the boat since the swell coming through the entrance to West Basin was surely going to make Laura sick if we spent three nights bobbing in the guest slips which are located the closest to the opening.  With the boat secure, we checked into the Red Lion Inn that overlooks the marina.  If your cruising budget has room for it I highly recommend the stay at the inn, it makes for a nice break in the middle of the cruise.

Astoria has lots to see and do and many fine places to eat.  Things we did while we were there included:  seeing two movies, swimming at the indoor aquatic center (both the theater and the pool are near the maritime museum), touring the Columbia River Maritime Museum, visiting nearly every shop along the riverfront, and walking all over downtown.  Even with all of that we could still have killed a couple more days walking about.  I highly recommend the Astoria Riverfront Trolley.  An all day pass costs $2 and a single ride costs a $1.  Traveling between the West and East Mooring Basin, a round trip takes about 45 minutes, so depending which way you are heading and which way the trolley is heading, it is sometimes faster to walk, but when it's going your direction, it's the way to go.

Our stay in Astoria was wonderful and moorage was no problem even with the Six-Pac in town for three days to participate in the Astoria Regatta.  What the harbormaster does for Six-Pac boats is to place them into vacant slips so they aren't occupying the normal guest slips.

CRACA member Gary Whitney and his C28 KASL arriving at Cathlamet after completing race committee duties for the Six-Pac.

The SIX-PAC.  Just a word about the Six-Pac for those unfamiliar with this event that takes place on odd number years.  Six-Pac participants are divided into several classes depending on the performance characteristics of their boat and how serious they are.  As a result you'll have some boats with more money wrapped up in their sail inventory then many of us have in our boats, and at the other end of the spectrum you'll have the cruiser class with folks who will stop racing on some legs if conditions aren't favorable or they just want to get to the next destination more than they want to sail.  Spread over the course of a week, the first leg of the race is from Portland to St. Helens.  On Sunday the group races to Cathlamet.  Monday is a non-race day as the boats travel to Astoria for the start of the three day Astoria Regatta.  On Friday, Six-Pac participants race the final leg from Astoria back to Cathlamet.  This year, CRACA had two boats involved in the event.  Gary Bruner raced his C25, Encore!, and Gary Whitney's C28, KASL served as the race committee boat for the Six-Pac.

Thursday - Friday, Cathlamet

While the Six-Pac participants raced in their third and final day of the Astoria Regatta, the crew of Celtic Myst got underway for Cathlamet shortly after topping off with fuel and pumping the holding tank at West Basin.

The early morning marine layer slowly burned off as we headed upriver, and unlike the journey downstream, we had smooth water, and what wind there was, was pushing us to our destination.  Our arrival was uneventful, and we selected a location that would avoid seeing up hemmed in again when the Six-Pac arrived on Friday.

Laura and I really liked Cathlamet.  It's has a very relaxed feeling to it that seems to encourage reading, naps, and walking the dog.  I can easily see the town being as far downriver as we get on some future summer cruise just because it's that nice a place.

Dawn just south of Puget Island. CRACA members Berkeley & Carole Smith's C34, Hotspur seen sailing near St. Helens as we headed for the city docks. Sean and Laura Mack mugging for the camera as we prepare to eat dinner at the Dockside Steak & Pasta restaurant in St. Helens, OR.

Saturday, St. Helens

Our decision to stay an extra day at Cathlamet meant we faced a nine hour motor upriver to our next destination at the city docks in St. Helens.  You'd think backtracking over the same ground would make for a boring trip, but I found the experience just the opposite.  We were underway shortly after 5:30 am, so I got to enjoy some morning sights along the river normally reserved only for early birds.  Fortunately the marine layer hadn't moved in as far as Cathlamet, so we had relatively clear skies.

By the time we reached the upstream end of Puget Island, the light morning breeze had died to nothing and the river's surface was like glass.  You could literally see the the Douglas firs along the Washington shore reflected in the water.  I also noticed two large sailboats exiting Cathlamet Channel which only reinforced my desired to learn more about navigating this short-cut to Cathlamet for a future voyage.

We arrived about mid-afternoon at the city docks and found space on the inside.  The new docks and ramp are wonderful, and they have been reconfigured to accommodate more boats.

Dinner was another shore side affair, this time at the the Dockside Steak & Pasta restaurant.  This was our first time to the establishment despite having visited St. Helens several times before.  We had a great meal topped off by an enjoyable walk around the town.  We though about taking in a movie, but decided instead to just go back and relax on the boat.

Sunday, Portland

Breakfast was at the St. Helens Cafe.  The food's not fancy, but there is plenty of it and it's pretty good in a greasy spoon kind of way.  You know a place is loved when not a single piece of flatware on the table matches, and yet all the tables are full of customers.

The trip back to Portland seemed quick when compared to the previous day's nine hour voyage.  It was hard to believe we had been gone for over a week.  Between eating out, and a three nights stay at the Red Lion mid-trip, it was definitely one of our most restful cruises.

Looking back on the week we had seen and done a lot.  From meeting sailing friends, to walking the streets and alleys of Astoria, it had been an adventure.

Our Little Piece of the Beacon Rock Cruise
By Dale Mack, C30, Celtic Myst

August 15-18  We departed Friday morning and motor-sailed straight through to Beacon Rock.  We covered the thirty nautical miles from Tomahawk Bay Moorage to Beacon Rock in six hours and twenty minutes.  The trip up was beautiful, and occasionally the wind's direction would support some motorsailing that would another half knot of speed.

On Saturday we were joined by Jim Elieff and his friend Marilyn aboard his C30, Fortune, and by John and Mary Ann Meyer aboard their C34, Shekinah.  John gets the award for his demonstration of docking prowess as he backed Shekinah into the docks and Mediterranean-style tied the stern off so he could wax both sides of the boat.  I'm still learning to back Celtic Myst, in fact I had some minor successes and some not so successful attempts on our cruise to Astoria, so it's pretty impressive to me when someone can maneuver thirty-four feet of boat around obstacles as if they were parallel parking.

Starting Planning to Attend the October Cruise to Coon Island - You'll have a Ghoulishly Fun Time
By Dale Mack, C30, Celtic Myst

The Columbia River All Catalina Association newsletter is published once a month online at ColumbiaRiverCatalina.org. Articles are the opinions of the authors and don't necessarily represent the consensus of the Association.