September 2, 2004
Pillar Point, Washington (N 48o 12' W 124o 05')
We had a wonderful sail from Port Angeles to Pillar Point today. We got out a little later then we had hoped because the fuel dock didn't open until 8 am. No big deal, we set sail right out of the harbor and proceeded to sail upwind (with the tide) about 28 nm. It's really amazing how much better NAKIA sails with her new Max-Prop and new UK head sails. I suppose we could have made it all the way to Neah Bay (and so returned to the scene of our crime) but that would have involved motoring and we were having such a fine day we decided to stop and complete the trip tomorrow. The only problem with the day was the temperature. The sun was bright, there were very few clouds, but it didn't get much over 60 degrees all day long. Both Linda and I had to resort to our winter sailing clothes to keep warm.
Pillar Point, unlike any other anchorage we've been in in the Northwest, is not that great. Pillar Point is on the south shore of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and juts out into the main flow of the wind only a quarter of a mile or so. It offers very little protection, but has a clean sand bottom that really took hold of the anchor. The current runs around the point and half the time the wind is against the tide. This makes it very bouncy, at least until the wind dies. If you've anchored in McNear's Beach on a windy day you know what it's like. It says a lot about the remaining upwind 22 nm to Neah Bay that we'd want to stop here at all.
Of course stopping here means we simply must stop at Neah Bay. Linda suggested that we continue out the Strait and on our way to San Francisco instead of stopping. She, unlike me, failed to check the calendar and note the day of the week that September 3 falls on. Friday. Any sailor knows that starting a voyage on a Friday is bad luck. Not that I'm superstitious mind you, its just that I don't like to take any chances. Especially with my luck. So our plan now is to begin our passage to San Francisco on SATURDAY, September 4.
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