Hi. Cap'n Glen here. Looks like this will be the last post till our next adventure later this Fall. I did want to clarify my ramblings on my last post. All the info is correct but I screwed up the days. Never mind. The final day was return to Tha Dalles marina from Hood River on Sat. morning and I did want to say that the return from Hood River was A very beautiful morning cruise. We left shortly after daylight and that is always the best time to get underway on a boat. The air is still and cool and others are sleeping and you sort of slip away. Arrived at our slip at the marina in The Dalles and our neighbor and very dear friend Jim Kirk was there waiting to drive us home. We had a brunch at the Petite Provence in the Dalles and then a relaxed and safe drive home. We have had a wonderful adventure this summer and it has made us hungry for more. Thanks for all of your support and good wishes. They really do mean a lot. Stay tuned!

                                                             Cap'n Glen
                                                                   and
                                                             First mate Naomi

coming home

Hi folks. Cap'n Glen here and it looks like this may be the last post for the year except for some pics that we are going to add. Also hoping to add video if we can figure how to do it. this blog spot is not an easy one to work with unfortunately.
  Naomi and I got back to the boat in Astoria on Sunday the 25th and prepped for leaving early Mon. the 26th for the trip home to The Dalles. Guess what? Nah you will never guess! It was raining!!!
In Astoria of all things. Can you imagine? Alright I will let it go! So off we go, saying goodbye to Astoria for the time being. Also waved goodbye to our friends at the Columbia River Maritime Museum, Carol  Shepherd in particular. Carols parents were friends of my folks back in the late 1940s. Small world! On to Cathlamet, Wa. for the night and guess what. Nah, you'll never guess!
Yes it started pouring as soon as we had lines out. Just like on the way down!!!! On the way to Cathlamet I almost ran the boat aground! The Coast Guard had installed a new set of ranges in the river that were not on my 20 year old chart book. Shame on me for not investing in a new chart book.I figured how much different could the river be in twenty years. Shame on me! Naomis Garmin
GPS saved us
  Tues. am we left Cathlamet on an overcast morning enroute St. Helens,Or. to stay overnight. The weather got better and better. Met our friend Joe Pecore and a friend of his and we all went to dinner and had a great evening. In the morning Naomis brother Scott and his wife Heather arrived for the trip on up to Portland marina on the willamette River. Had a fun trip up with them. The weather had gone fine and we got in mid day. Met our friend Cliff Hunter, classmate of mine and we went to
PF Changs for dinner. Great evening. but we were pretty tired.
  Wed. am Got underway up river to Vancouver, Wa. where we tied up to the public dock by the I 5
bridge. Scott drove me back to Astoria to pick up my truck to shuttle it back to Vancouver. When I
got back on the boat we decide to make some time so we got under way and made it to a public dock on government island. Was a really nice evening with people visiting.
  Thursday morning we were under way by daylight. beautiful day. Made Bonneville Dam and locked through by mid day. Current still very strong below the dam and we were only making about three and a half knots up to the lock. Above the dam we passed through the old lock which has no gates anymore but was in use before Bonneville was built. We were checking out the place for our friend Joe Pecore whose daughter is getting married there on Thunder Island and we may be the get away vehicle if it all works out. From there it was drift in the River for lunch then on to Hood River for the night. Very Hot in Hood River!

CRMM

Hi, Cap'n Glen returns to the boat!
Aug. 9th. went over to the Columbia River Maritime Museum Sat. and Sunday. Tied up at their new floating dock early Sat. and was not even shut down before the first of what proved to be a long line of folks arrived at the boat. Once again by the end of the weekend my voice was gone but this is exactly why we are here. There is so much interest in this boat and the motor lifeboats in general.

 I admit in the beginning when we talked about bringing the boat to the coast for a cruise I was skeptical of the interest we might generate but Naomi was right. There are so many people out there with ties to the Coast Guard and these boats in particular that I have ceased to be surprised at the response we generate when we tie up somewhere. Anyway,  another great visit and once again my friend retired master chief Tim Stentz was there for me as crew. Naomi simply will not hear of me moving the boat on my own and I am fortunate to have lots of qualified folks to help out. It looks like the next move with the boat will be home to The Dalles. We have decided not to do the Wa. coast this year but next. Sorry!

The 13th CG District Lifeboat Reunion

Hi.

This is Cap'n Glen doing a lot of catching up on this blog. I hope you haven't all given up on us. I know it has been a while since we posted but time and tide wait for no man and we have been so busy or sick or what ever so lets get under way. As you know we and MLB 36391 were invited to participate in the 13th district CG lifeboat reunion in Astoria and at the National MLB School at Cape Disappointment. If we did nothing else this summer this would have made it all worth while. On Friday, the 2nd of Aug. there was an informal get together at the Elks Lodge in the PM. On Sat. night there was a formal dinner at the Lodge as well with several hundred old Coasties and spouses. Almost all retired Chief Petty officers. More horse power than I have seen in one room in my life. I got to make a short speech about our boat that I think was pretty well received and the highlight of that evening for me was seeing a painting that depicted our boat MLB 36391 in the surf off North Head light house near The Cape. Wonderful moment! Great evening!

The next day was the 4th of Aug. and is Coast Guard day around the country. The National motor lifeboat school at Cape Disappointment hosted a barbecue for all the reunion folks and we got to take 36391 over ther from Astoria and be rock stars for the day. Had a wonderful visit! Even the Admiral of the 13th District was there and visited the boat! Oh, on the way over we had two Master chief Boatswains Mates and a Bm3 on board as well as the return trip. They were trying to pull rank on each other as to who got to steer. Really great Day.   I could not have asked for a more gratifying event!!!!!!  I was virtually voiceless by this time so we decided to come home for the week.

Back in Astoria

We had a FANTASTIC trip from Garibaldi to Astoria this past Wednesday.  Couldn't ask for better water conditions.  A bit overcast, but that made the trip easy.

Now we're getting ready for the big reunion!  Woo hooo!

Another rough day on the water

So, after leaving Depoe Bay Friday morning, Glen and Kathy report that the first half of the trip was just great.  A little "squiggly".  As Mac puts it, these MLBs are "lively" boats on the water.  But good running, right up until Cape Mears.

Then the swells and wind chop got exciting.  It took nearly 3 hours from there to get into Garibaldi, through waves that were splashing over the bow, getting things soaked in the cockpit, even washing over the engine room once. 

"We only took one 40-degree roll" says brave Kathy!  That when turning back in towards Garibaldi.  No pictures or video of this, as it was way too rough to mount the camera, and no free hands for photos, as it was all they could do to keep holding on. 

This heat wave inland is definitely causing heavier-than-usual winds off the coast for this time of year.  We'll be glad to get it back to Astoria.  In the meantime, come visit us in Garibaldi for a week or so!

Great visit in Depoe Bay

Glen and Kathy had a wonderful time in Depoe Bay.  What a great welcome from the Coast Guard station there, and -- wow -- we must've had 40 people from the community stop by to look and chat and tell stories.  Thanks to all of you who came.  This is what we're out there for!!  that and the great coffee and scones.  :)

Thursday in Depoe Bay

Hooray!  Glen & Kathy made it Depoe Bay this morning.  Great visiting ensued.  Unfortunately, the station was busy with an inspection, and the Coasties couldn't come out to play today.  Hopefully, some will be able to visit in the morning before Glen & Kathy have to leave for Garibaldi.  It's a short weather window, and they've got to make the run tomorrow, or wait several days.

When I called, Glen's voice was hoarse from talking, and Kathy was relaxing in the sun on the side decks.  It was a good run.  

July 14th - Still "trapped" in Newport

It's the next weekend.  I zip down to Newport Saturday morning, and we have a good day visiting.

We're all set to head up to Depoe Bay Sunday morning, but lo!  fogged in around the bar at Newport.  Fearless, we're thinking of going out anyway, because the bay is calm, the sun is breaking through, and it looks like the fog's only close in to shore.

As we're getting ready, some slip-neighbors say "hey, have you heard the report?"  "No...." I says with trepidation.  "It's crazy out there, way too rough!"  Can it be?  It's so calm in the bay, it seems impossible.  But then we check around.  Yes, all the boats, local fishermen, tour boats, transits, everybody's coming back in within 30 minutes of going out.  When we see the "Discovery" tour boat coming back in with 20-odd paying customers, we know it's no good.

So, make lemonade, right?  We decide to toodle up the bay & Yaquina river for the day, a trip we'd wanted to do but hadn't had time for before.  It was LOVELY. 
It was warm, calm, a fun navigation (the river's a bit shallow at low tide).  And we hung out in Toledo for a couple hours.

downtown Toledo

                                                           After walking around town, we took a nap in the sun,

lovely terraced garden with shade

 then toodled on back to our guest slip.

Back in Newport, we checked in with folks, and heard the seas were no better.  I found a decent wi-fi signal and checked with wind and swell reports:  saw it was due to be steady nasty clear until Thursday.  So, decided to go home and enjoy our cozy home in the woods.