Central Oregon Coast

[MtHopeBay]

This is my first post outside of "Introduce Yourself". My wife and I don't sail, yet and live in the Willamette
Valley. We're most familiar with the central Oregon coast from Waldport to Newport/Yaquina Bay to Depot Bay. Who sails these waters and can tell us what it's like? We're thinking about taking lessons at Yaquina Bay Yacht Club. We see lots of sailboats at the marinas, but I can't say I've seen many underway in the bays or off shore.
Mike

[CaptainRonandAshley2]

Hey Mike, I can toss a bit of info into this. The Pacific coast is about as unprotected a bit of water as you can find and unless there is a good sized bay, its not really a good place to learn boating. All of the exits to the ocean out here have bar's that can become quite nasty rather quickly and what started out as a nice jaunt in a calm ocean, can become a struggle getting back home against a stiff current and steep waves, its the nature of a coastal bar into prevailing swells.

Its rare to see any small sailboats out here for good reason, hull speed on a small boat is frequently less than the Ebb current heading over the bar.

You may want to look into a sailing school on the Columbia near Portland, the current there is usually 1-2 knots and decent wind in the afternoon for most of summer. The Seattle area is good too, but a bit of a drive for you.

Captain Ron Micjan
SeaTow Lower Columbia River

[MtHopeBay]

Thanks, CaptainRon. We begin our sailing classes in Yaquina Bay later in September. Since we're rank sail beginners we're open to any and all suggestions and will keep an open mind. This is where we live and work so it's where we'll start sailing and go from there. It's fun being a beginner and learning something new.

[tomhuntdmd]

Hello Mike:

I live in Florence and used to sail in Newport 2 or 3 times a year. We have an Ericson 23 that we would trailer up to Yaquina Bay for their Memorial Day and Columbus Day regattas. They were a lot of fun and the folks were great hosts.

The bay is a good place to learn in a lot of respects. Usually light winds in the morning building to heavy in the late afternoon. The water, however is very cold, so be very careful about capsizing. You will learn a lot about tides and currants that will serve you well if and when you travel or charter in the San Juans.

Respect the bar, especially on strong ebb tides with large swells. Never go out into the ocean without consulting the tide book and checking the swell. The NOAA buoy on Stonewall Bank is a good reference. See National Weather Service - NWS Portland .

Anyway, I grew up sailing on Woahink Lake here in Florence, and last year we bought a Catalina 470 that we keep up in Poulsbo, WA. You can learn an awful lot there in Newport and then graduate to bigger and better things.

Tom

[MtHopeBay]

We completed our two weekends of lessons on Yaquina Bay, mostly behind the sea wall between the bay and commercial docks. My wife calls this the "kiddie pool". We were in Lido 14s, two per boat and were on the water every day, even the first. On the final day we went well up the bay and back in pretty light wind. It was a blast. The most exhausting thing I've done in about 30 years, but a lot of fun.

We'll definitely get a boat and do some more sailing in the bay and lakes around here.

We watched sailboat racing at Yaquina Bay today at the Yaquina Bay Yacht Club Columbus Day regatta. There were a handful of Santana 21s, some little guys, probably Lasers, and various other sailboats. It was tough to watch and not be able to join in.

[Stillraining]

Your going at it from a good direction..sounds like your wife is ready to expand her horizons already.

I second respect for your coastline..it isn't like you can hide anywhere. Northern Cal to the straight of Juan de Fuca is respected by all seasoned skippers for good reason.

There are boats to charter here in Puget sound once you know what your doing and a whole nother world opens up to you here..Id take a few 3 day week ends and strech your wings up here so to speak..Life can be good where ever you live it but some areas are definitely more conducive to a life style more then others..there is one member here that fly to there boat when they can and there not rich either..just obsessed..and willing to sacrifice to make it happen.. Keep the dream and stick with it you never know you may get an opportunity to transfer or a career change may someday put you in sailing paradise.

[MtHopeBay]

Thanks for the encouragement. I can see me getting obsessed with sailing and doing it for real. As for finding a sailing paradise, I'm from Mt Hope Bay which is the Massachusetts side of Narragansett Bay and Newport, RI. I grew up around Cape Cod, Woods Hole and New Bedford. I am drawn to the other coast and have never stopped thinking about returning. For now I'll make the most of sailing in the Northwest.