The Columbia River Bar

Beautiful Sky and Calm Seas

Brown Pelicans

Cape Disappointment and Mouth of the Columbia River

After the parade of sport fishing boats had left Grays Harbor, we departed at 8:30am on a beautiful day with gentle 2-4 ft ocean swells, which later flattened to 1 foot seas. The gentle ride meant we could easily walk about and I could make coffee and a batch of muffins while underway. The seas were so calm it was hard to believe we were out in the ocean. The soft breeze and warm sun felt great and even Java went out on the bow to sun herself. There are always challenges, however, when cruising at sea: keeping a constant vigil to avoid the many crab pots that line the Coast, timing your arrival to cross sand bars into ports, and dealing with unexpected surprises like your auto pilot dropping its auto steering mode (more about that to come). We cruised past beautiful Long Beach, the world’s longest beach at 28 miles long and could see Oregon’s Saddle Mountain in the distance. As we approached Cape Disappointment and the mouth of the Columbia River, we saw Brown Pelicans flying overhead. We watched as they folded their wings and plunged straight down into the sea to catch their prey (the only pelican species that does so). We had also noticed numerous Brown Pelicans at Grays Harbor. They are such pre-historic looking birds with their large beaks and round heads. Once again, we were positioned for favorable conditions to cross a river bar; this time the notorious Columbia River Bar which has earned the world-wide reputation as the “Graveyard of the Pacific.” Bars are created from the deposit of sediment as the river meets the ocean; and without the benefit of a river delta, the current is forced through like a fire hose. The Columbia River Bar is 3 miles wide and 6 miles long with a channel dredged in sections of 55, 48, and 43 feet deep. Fortunately, our timing was good and the crossing was a piece of cake. The only challenge was to keep toward the outside of the navigational channel to avoid a large cargo ship moving at 16 knots! We let this big boy go first and eventually reached the quaint town of Astoria and the lovely Astoria Bridge around 3:55pm.