• Gary, Kris
• Drive Gary's truck to Anacortes. Transmission starts to go.
• Rent Uhaul. Unstep mast of e-Ticket and begin trek down I-5.
• Left-rear tire shreds outside of Marysville.
• We stay at a hotel in town.
• Make it to Gary's place Saturday evening.

• Kris, Gary and his truck.
• First splash at James Gleason Boat Ramp.
• Outboard started on first pull.
• Motored with mast lashed to deck to Tomahawk Bay Marina.
• Weather: Sunny and cold (mid to low 30s).
• Outboard: 0.5hrs

• Kris, Larissa, Gary, Stewart
• Step mast!

• Kris
• Install boom, running rigging, sails
• First sail!
• 150% jib and full main.
• Weather: overcast and cold (low 40s), calm to light breeze.
• Max 4kn upriver.
• 11V voltage alert on the Garman. Survey recommended battery replacement. Now confirmed. :) Probably get one nice AGM such as a Firefly Oasis.
• Outboard: 0.5hrs

• Name decided: Spar Trek

• Kris, Stewart
• Afternoon, gentle breeze, 2kn current
• Beating upriver, beam to broad reaching down river
• Hit 9kn SOG on beam reach with gusts to moderate breeze
• Outboard: 0.5hrs

• Kris, Alex T., Sean (puppet), Mickael (puppet)
• Morning, fog, mostly calm, some light air
• Barely making headway on port tack, no headway on starboard
• Started engine after floating past buoy 2 in fog
• Fog began to clear up around 11am but not much
• Outboard: 0.6hrs

• Kris
• Up past I-205, turned around at Gov. Island docks
• Fresh breeze (15 gusts to 25kn) after turn-around
• Difficulty reefing and overpowered main until after I-205 (downstream)
• Great weather, great sailing
• Outboard: 0.5hrs

• Larissa, Kris
• Mike Hall on I-5 bridge taking photos
• Sunny, clear, Gentle to Moderate breeze
• First time using new Ullman mainsail
• Outboard: 0.5hrs

• Main Halyard clutch replacement
• Drilled out oversized holes, coated with un-thickened epoxy, filled with thickened epoxy
• Used Butyl tape
• Did not camphor holes. :(
• Oh, and later realized I got my epoxy ratio wrong, 1:1 instead of 1:2. Not sure what the repercussions of this will be.

• Kris
• Issues with engine on way out. Possibly due to fuel level in tank.
• Lots of current. Made it to airport before turning around.
• Partly cloudy with small amount of rainy early on.
• Gentle to Moderate breeze.
• Good sailing on beam to broad reach up river. Experimented with wing-on-wing.
• Great main takedown by heaving to with reefed jib and lashed tiller.
• Outboard: 0.7hrs

• Kris, Julia
• No wind. Motored past Hayden Island, raised sail, floated down to I-5. Motored just above Tomahawk Bay entrance and anchored.
• Lots of river current, levels at flood stage.
• Used the stereo for the first time, works great, loud, good bass!
• Could not get engine started. Replaced spark plug, let sit due to flooding. No luck.
• Our new friend Justin and his boat from F-dock rescued us – gave us a tow to end-tie of C-dock.
• Outboard: 0.5hrs, and now dead.

• Kris, Julia, JT, Donnell
• Borrowed Donnell's outboard.
• Weather variable. Moderate to Fresh breeze.
• Started off dodging CYC racers, then headed down river under the I-5 bridge and back. Winds lightened going upriver under the bridge – it took us a while to claw from under the bridge to Buoy 2.
• Late afternoon weather front hit with a big wind shift from S to SW with a 20-25kn gust. JT on the helm, we rounded up and sipped a bunch of water into the cockpit. Fun times!
• Wind picked up steady on a beam-reach to run going up river towards PDX.
• Doused main under a heave-to after turning around and beating back.

• New name and registration graphics installed.
• Kris & Stewart rigged spinnaker setup.
• Left the dock around 18:30pm without engine under wind and paddle power (cheap paddles found on boat).
• Reached down E-dock without issue, could not make way down out the West entrance.
• Turned to run towards the East entrance, wind died, got hit with the huge incoming current at that entrance. Turned down K-dock to come back around on a beam reach, paddle broke in half. Made way until just before the entrance, turned to head down towards West entrance again, caught in eddy pushing towards the island.
• Turned to port again to head and dock on K-Dock, call it good and tied up, buttoned up the boat.

• SYSCO Spring race 1: 2nd out of 6.
• Evenrude outboard borrowed from Gary with cooling issues. Gary towed us to the start.
• Kris, Mark, Stewart
• Bad late start, wind died at the windward mark over by the Hayden Island channel entrance. Crept our way across the river under spinnaker on a broad-reach to DDW.

• Kris, Larissa
• Tested rowing. Works great!
• Fired up autohelm for the 1st time. Seems to be working.
• Changed rowing every 15m. Moderate breeze from NW.

• SYSCO Spring race 3: DFL
• Kris, Stewart, Larissa
• Evenrude outboard + sails couldn't get us upriver at 4:15pm. We knew we would have to sail to the start due to impeller issue on outboard. Wind from the East didn't help with this. We beat in light air to pick up Larissa at the Island Chief (McCuddy's).
• Missed our start by 5m or so. Lots of current and no wind made things difficult. Kept the spinnaker up too long and drifted way past the downwind mark requiring long tacks upriver (again in light winds). Finished 2nd to last across the line (beat Elixir) and 8th of 8 in class. :(

• Kris, Eric Z, Ian
• Mercury outboard back in service. New ignition unit, engine oil, gear oil, idle adjusted.
• Sunny skies and calm breeze.
• Outboard: 0.5hrs, some under full throttle.

• Kris
• Epoxy/drill/bed bow navigation light.
• Epoxy/drill/bed aft-lower rigging. New fasteners.
• Sailed in moderate breeze, mostly sunny.
• Running to beam reach up to airport, turned around buoy 18. Heaved-to for reefing main.
• Tested autotiller while beating without issue back to Tomahawk Island.
• Heaved-to for main drop. Should have furled jib some for this.
• Sailed into dock.
• Outboard: 0.5hrs

• Kris, Julia, Nathan, Sarah
• After work, light air then built up to gentle breeze when the sun came out (then set). Reefed main and furled jib once we headed back close hauled.
• Outboard: 0.5hrs

• Kris
• Motored to Schooner Creek
• Bike on-board
• No mast
• Outboard: 1hr

• Kris
• Motored from Schooner Creek to Tomahawk Bay
• Bike on-board
• No mast
• Outboard issue; Pull-start lockout was stuck even when out of gear.
• Outboard: 1.2hr

• Kris
• Motored and anchored outside Tomahawk Bay
• Kris's anchor-work-yard, blistered hands in a blundered stern-release anchoring gone bad.
• Outboard: 1hr

• Kris, Larissa, Drew
• Tomahawk Bay Marina to boat ramp
• Port Townsend Boat Haven ramp to Point Hudson Marina
• Evening test sail with Stewart
• Stage 1 and 2 to Ketchikan, AK
• ~90hrs of rowing.
• Stops
  • Campbell River - lunch, sleep, Adventourists rudder issue, Kracken rum
  • Seymour Narrows - anchor prior to slack, sleep
  • Port McNeil - sleep, breakfast, shower, laundry, interview (in laundry), late lunch
  • Commando Inlet - avoid gale, Kung Fury, sleep
• 750mi, 9d10hr, 10th place, 3rd monohull

• Kris, Drew
• 750mi
• Honda 6HP Purchased
• Stops
  • Prince Rupert - customs dock only
  • Unnamed inlet south tip of Sterling Island (running from big seas in Hecate), sleep
  • Grief Bay - near Sorrow Island bottom of Calvert Island, sleep, The Martian
  • Port Hardy - dinner, sleep, breakfast
  • Friday Harbor - dinner with Steven Roberts, tour of Data Wake, kitty (Isabell)!, sleep
• Outboard: 100hr

• Kris, Justin
• Justin burnt to a crisp.
• Splash at PDX boat ramp.
• Motor to slip. Mast horizontal.
• Motor lost some oil on the flatbed to the ramp.
• Motor idle high and went higher when out of gear.
• Outboard: 1hr

• Stewart, Ian, Eric, Kasea, Alice
• Mainsheet swivel failure.
• Finish: 4 of 4 (DFL)
• Outboard: 0.5hrs

• Kris, Heather, Matt
• Sailed to East Government Island public dock.
• Furthest Kris has been up the Columbia (boat and person).
• Wind was decent from N-NW, 4.5 - 5.5kn boat speed up river.
• Wind picked up after sunset on the way back.
• Genoa has lost its leech line. :(
• Sailed into slip.
• Outboard: 0.5hrs

• Kris, Stewart, Eric, Ian, Kevin, Kasea
• Practice race with Pajema
• Tried out #2 jib.
• Flew all the spinnakers!
• Outboard: 0.5hrs

• Stewart as skipper
• Finish: 4 of 4 (DFL)
• Outboard: 0.5hrs

• Stewart as skipper
• Finish: 3 of 4
• Outboard: 0.5hrs

• Kris, Stewart, Eric, Ian, Alice
• Start was great except for the near collision with Yeah Baby!, they asked for a turn and we complied.
• Winds light with some gusts.
• Overall a good race.
• Sailed into slip.
• Finish:
• Outboard: 0.5hrs

• Kris, Stewart, Eric, Ian
• Winds 15-25kn up the Oregon coast
• Lightened after the fist day. Bobbing around
• Were not able to make it to Cape Flatery and abandoned.
• Motored inside Tatoosh Island in fog.
• Stopped in Neah Bay for food and fuel.
• Outboard: 19hrs

• Stewart, Eric, Ian, Larissa
• Abandoned due to lack of wind
• Sailed to Washington and trailered
• Outboard: 10hrs?

• Kris, Heidi
• Collision causing dismasting
• Outboard: 1hrs

• Kris
• Motor only
• Tomahawk Bay to Schooner Creek for repairs
• Outboard: 1hrs

• Kris
• Motor only
• Schooner Creek to Tomahawk Bay
• Outboard: 1hrs

• Kris, Heidi
• Sunset cruise
• Anchored to area just upriver East Hayden Island wing dam
• Outboard: 1hrs

• Kris, Heidi
• SoS
• Sunny, 8-12kn
• Full new genoa
• Racing SoS, collided with a 35ft cruiser, dimasted
• Outboard: 1hrs

• Outboard maintenance
• New fuel filter
• Oil change

• Kris, Heidi
• Boat camping. Left Tomahawk Bay Saturday morning, 8-12kn until wind died around noon.
• Moored at the West Government Island dock overnight.
• Motored home.
• Outboard: 3 hrs

• Kris, Larissa, Jesse (Puppet AUS)
• High winds from WSW, 20kn gusts to 28kn
• Big East-moving swells, whitecaps
• Double-reefed main only. We had the new genoa lashed to the foredeck.
• We intended to casually participate in SoS, but aborted. We crossed the line lazily after the level fleet then just cruised around.
• We hit 8kn downwind going upstream(!)
• Outboard: 1 hrs

• Kris
• Tuned rig, seized turnbuckle pins (intermediates 28, inline lowers 42)
• 4-8kn, full main and old genoa
• Sea lions
• Outboard: 0.5 hrs

• SYSCO Singlehanded Race
• Kris
• Did ok. Wind was pretty good. New jib halyard too small for old clutch and slipped towards the end of the finish leg. Had a difficult time pointing to cross.
• 8-11kn, full main old genoa
• Overcast
• Outboard: 0.5 hrs

• Kris, Heidi
• Evening sunset motor/anchor

• Kris
• Anchored outside Tomahawk Bay to install new jib halyard clutch
• Outboard: 0.5 hrs

• Kris
• Spar Trek to Schooner Creek
• New bottom paint: Pettit Vivid Red
• Starboard keel fiberglass repair
• Aft keel chip repair, possibly anchor chain hung up

• Kris, Heidi
• From Portland to Ilwaco, WA (new home slip)
• Epic trip, good weather
• https://kris.smugmug.com/Spar-Trek-to-Astoria/
• Outboard: 16 hrs

• Light winds until Warrior Rock
• Traded tacks with a Farrier trimaran until the wind got going (and the smoked us)
• Spent the night at Sand Island Marine Park outside St. Helens
• Choppy water on stern is unberrably difficult to sleep in

• Motored from St. Helens to Martin Island Lagoon for some sleep.
• Dropped anchor in the Lagoon. Suprisingly dragged anchor a bit (did not back down on it).
• Sailed in light winds to the Rainer public boat dock. Couple local fisherpeople fishing from the dock.
• Assholes in a motor boat pulled alongside and went full throttle sending a wake at us that scuffed the hull paint agains the public dock. We were both down below and did not obtain a registration number.
• Continued sailing under Longview bridge.
• Noticed reverse bend in mast. This is due to boat yard not lengthening the headstay and backstay properly (mast rake). To be addressed later.
• We sailed on for a bit more, eventually anchoring behind Walker Island between large sets of pillings on the Oregon-side at the NW entrance to the channel. We noticed motor cruisers on the Portland Yacht Club float dock and did not approach (part due to COVID, part for privacy).

• In order increase the arrival by a day, we decided to motor the rest of the way arriving at the Ilwaco Harbor at sunset.
• Outboard: 16 hrs

I have always enjoyed trips down this leg of the mighty Columbia River. The first time I did this was in 2009 aboard Messenger, a Pearson 39 as part of an early learning journey about river navigation and sailing just outside the bar (I also shared that trip with the owner of Willamette Week, which led to a web development deal with them and OpenSourcery at the time). I have also traveled this leg a couple times with Gary Bruner , as part of deliveries of Shamrock in preparation for offshore races such as the Bridge to Bridge and Oregon Offshore. This trip we had a few days so we took our time and hoisted sail (all my previous trips were mostly under engine power). The boat was having bottom paint done at Schooner Creek – we left right from their dock to a well timed opening of the railroad swing bridge.

• Day 1: Sailed to St. Helens Sand Island Marine Park the first night. That day we crossed tacks for a while with a Farrier who we kept ahead of in light winds but lost ground once winds picked up. We encountered some shipping traffic and heavier winds as we rounded Warrior Rock Lighthouse. Due to the wind direction, current and water slapping against the hull, we got absolutely no sleep and were a bit disgruntled that morning.

• Day 2: At sunrise we decided to find someplace quiet to sleep, so we motored an hour to the Martin Island log pond (http://columbiariverimages.com/.../burke_island_martin…). A very calm spot and a favorite amongst local cruisers. I have always seen boats in here while driving south on I-5.

• Mid-day we awoke and began the next leg, stopping at the Rainer public dock for a restroom break, sailing under the Longview bridge, and plotting our next anchorage.

• Walker Island has a non-land-connected dock owned by a Portland yacht club that I have moored at before on Shamrock (http://columbiariverimages.com/.../Places/walker_island.html). Given the political leanings and age group of the motor boaters that would probably be there we kept a great distance and tucked ourselves in behind a row of large pilings with a eye on our depth and swing radius (the river does have currents that flow backwards on tidal floods). After the winds died down around midnight it was perfect for a nice, comfortable sleep.

• Day 3! Once beyond Longview you are free from large cities until Astoria and the most beautiful section of the river from Portland to the mouth. Calm motoring that morning with some stops along the way to get a closer look at some ancient cannery ruins. The long passage by Puget Island with lots of natural gas pipeline work being done. The beauty of Tenasillahe Island with the beaches of Skamokawa in the distance. The big turn to the West with Astoria in the distance. Passing Woody Island, the site of the dramatic Camping Trip of 2011. A slow buzz by Pillar Rock, dodging the anchoring and transiting cargo ships as we entered the Astoria area. Passing under the Astoria-Megler bridge, and the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse in the distance as we negotiated the Ilwaco Channel to Spar Trek's new home until the wait-list clears for us at Astoria West Basin marina.

Day 3 was a lot to take in including motoring through what seemed like every bird on the planet hanging out on the water to the North of buoy 14. We also entered the Ilwaco Channel near sunset which had a trail of speeding motorboats and commercial fishing boats backed up behind us as they came in from fishing (our little 6HP can only push us so fast).