OOR 2019

Oregon OFfshore Sailing Adventure

In pursuit of good winds and an offshore adventure on our way to Astoria we sailed 80 NM off the Washington coast. Once in Astoria tyen team readied Salient for the race. One important item included an upgrade to the toilet seat. Roger figured out that through-bolting the hinges will result in a much sturdier design - well worth the effort. Deck & running rig inspection, provisioning, spinnaker packing completed the task.
We rented a house above the West Basin, overlooking the Columbia River and the marina. A fantastic view that included the landmark iron bridge connecting Astoria to Washington State.
The owner of the house takes great pride in decorating it with countless model boats. He had the hot tub ready for us and the fire pit stocked with wood. This was great for team building!
The Portway Tavern is a place not to be missed. Rumours have it that in its early days, sailors who had a few too many drinks may have gotten more than they bargained for: There is a hidden fall door behind the bar, leading to the back alley where sailors disappeared onto ships bound for Shanghai. The term "Shanghaied in Astoria" was coined.
Race day greeted us with a spectacular sunrise and light winds. The start was lumpy due to the strong ebb and river current hitting the Pacific Ocean at the start line. Light winds continued for much of the race but at least it was dry & sunny and the team was in great spirit.
Salient had a good race through the night and into the second day approaching Cape Flattery in site of Rage (Wylie 70) and Riva (J121). A great spinnaker run and the usual excitement sailing through Race Passage followed. Fog bound and in the middle of the night this felt spooky. I can only imagine how tough this was in the days before electronic navigation and no engines. That night only the foghorn reminded us of those tough days for sailors.
Sadly, the wind went silent shortly after the passage, the fleet caught up to Salient. Five hours later, at sunrise, with the first breeze most of us finished within the hour and many boat corrected over us. Salient was third over the line and finished with a respectable 4th place corrected.
Salient's second Oregon Offshore was much fun and we will be back in 2020 aiming at the podium!
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