By Aaron
We’ve been having a great time in Newport. And if you’re ever sailing down the coast (or driving for that matter) we’d really recommend a visit. The marina is very inexpensive and well run. Power and WiFi are included. And they also give you free bus passes so you can get around town. The guest dock is a tad shallow, and we were sitting in the mud on a minus tide but no big deal.
Going aground… It’s always that last .2 feet of keel that gets you in trouble.
And it’s a small world – we’re tied up right next to SV Deep Playa and SV Anna, former neighbors from our marina in Seattle.
It can also be a bit noisy with the incessant barking of sea lions across the river.
These guys get extremely pissed when another sea lion tries to snag some dock space next to them for a nap.
We took a nice walk out to the beach the other day.
Well don’t just stand there… do a cartwheel or something!
Difficulty: 3 Execution: 9.7 Form: 9.2
On the way back from the beach we stopped by Nessie.
While Loch Ness is her home, she apparently spends summers in Newport.
We already told you about the Rogue Brewery, but they also have a Rogue distillery tucked away in another building by the marina. So we joined the crew of SV Deep Playa for a few drinks at Rogue Spirits. They make them right there. As in the still is right behind the bar.
Nope, it’s not a time machine or a submarine. It just makes your drinks.
I started out with a “Hop Frog” which is kind of like a mojito but they mottle hops in it instead of mint.
The ladies got their lady drinks…
I sampled some of the rums. Patrick had one of everything.
There’s a reason the expression “Drinks like a sailor” came to be.
There are a couple of lighthouses here - the Yaquina Bay Lighthouse and the Yaquina Head Lighthouse. We checked out the Yaquina Bay Lighthouse first.
I’ve noticed that lighthouses tend to have nice views of the ocean.
We tried to go all the way to the top. But you can’t actually go the very top due to some “safety” BS. Lame. At least it was only about two flights of stairs.
With our lighthouse ascension urges not fully satiated, we took the bus up the coast a bit and checked out the Yaquina Head Lighthouse.
Before making it to the lighthouse we stopped by the surprisingly expansive and well appointed interpretive center.
When you’re out cruising you’re probably going to, like, learn stuff. Along with very well done flora and fauna exhibits for species in the area there were some interesting exhibits about the Fresnel lens used in the lighthouse. One explained how it’s able to project the light from a 4 inch flame 20 miles out to sea.
Pew! Pew!
The lighthouse itself was beautiful.
And we got to go to the top!!!
The climb to the top made me wish they had built a 20ft tall version.
We climbed the many, many steps to the top of the lighthouse. And like the lighthouse keepers of ages past would surely agree, the view was totally worth it.
Out to sea
At the top of the lighthouse the original Fresnel lens is still in place, but of course the oil light has been replaced by one a them newfangled electric bulbs. And the government doesn’t have to pay a dude to keep an eye on it 24/7.
New light, old lens
Looking up from inside the lens
The lighthouse is also equipped with an Eye of Sauron
Where we head’n from here, Sweetie???
You guys are just having way too much fun!!
ReplyDeletevery cool great post. Just got caught up with your post after a summer with little internet. We follow Deep Playa also, we have a sister ship, 424. fair winds and following sea to you all.
ReplyDeleteYou two should be hired by Newport for their tourist market! That lens is SO cool!
ReplyDeleteBtw - what does -0.2 and keel mean?
So happy to hear you made it to Cali!
Keep having such a fabulous time!
(PS. I finally got commenting working! I can't even tell you how many comments I have written up)
Tom & Jeanne - you're damn right we are! We're in Eureka and are going to try and see NOAA like you guys did. I'd love an explanation for what happened with our rounding of Cape Blanco in 30+ knots.
ReplyDeleteHerb & Laura - thanks guys, and I'm sure we'll be mingling with Deep Playa quite a bit. Had a nice time at the Rogue Brewery with them a few days ago.
Rebecca and Will - We totally felt like we were advertising for the tourist board :)
What does -0.2 and keel mean? Well the keel is the fin part that sticks out of the bottom of the boat - basically this keeps us from going sideways under sail. From the waterline to the bottom of the keel on our boat is 6 feet. The depth sounder is calibrated to read depth under the keel. So once it hits zero, the keel is touching the ground. (Which we generally try to avoid!) At the marina we had a minus tide, and the keel was sitting in the mud, and actually sank down into the mud a few inches. That's why the depth sounder was reading -0.2 feet.
Not sure what the deal is with Blogger comments. I also have a hard time leaving comments on other Blogger blogs, and lots of people have complained that they have trouble leaving comments on our blog. We're a little pissed about that, and also the tools aren't very good for doing the blogs. We use Windows Live Writer to do our blog posts because the Blogger interface sucks so bad (Live Writer is pretty good). We're thinking of moving over to Wordpress... perhaps once we stop moving so often and have some more time. Hell, I couldn't even post a comment as myself and had to do this one as "anonymous" first (which I deleted).
-Aaron