When I was contacted by the new owner of this incredible 65-foot yacht I was excited that we had such a good weather window on the Washington Coast otherwise I would have been a little concerned. The more I move boats in big water the less concerned I am about the size of the boat and the more I’m concerned about the complexity of their systems. This boat was a good example of a complicated boat but I was comforted by the fact that Rick from the Salty Boys Boat Works was keen to come along. I’ve worked with Rick quite a bit this year having him and his business partner Jake help prepare boats before deliveries. I thought this would be a fun one and a chance to share a trouble-free delivery as Rick had previously experienced a very dramatic delivery with another captain his first time on the coast years that ended in a Coast Guard rescue.

After he said he would join he mentioned the only conflict was his dad was visiting and if he could come. I said yes and just like that, we had a crew and a great weather window. Now, this boat was quite different from the last powerboat I took south around the corner. The last boat had been a Nordhavn and a very seaworthy boat in contrast. This Pacific Mariner 65 was a very large and fast boat and not what I would call a very sea-worthy craft. The potted plants were fake but the crystalware was not. But there was a bath tub and bidet to make up for it.

Our first challenge was fueling. During the summer in any busy port with a fuel dock, there is a line for the fuel. The boat was moored right across from the fuel dock but that wasn’t the same as being in line and if we wanted to be “in line” we were going to have to hover. So when the line got down to one last Bayliner filling up we cast off and turned around to orient the boat so as to best communicate our intention to any barging other boats. The bow thruster on the boat was hydraulic and needed the generator running or, I should say, one of the generators running to operate. It blowing about 20 knots so it was going to be a challenge holding this large and new to me vessel on station in what now felt like a small marina. I was glad at least that it wasn’t an electric thruster as those can overheat… The best steering station is on the flybridge and unfortunately, the alarm for the hydraulic temp is not at that helm.. the engines on a powerboat with two screws make a boat more maneuverable when they are further apart because they can twist the boat more easily that way and despite the fact that this boat had an 18-foot beam they did not twist the boat well and the thruster was key to its maneuverability. Im not sure why it took that Bayliner so long to fill but it did and we eventually got our chance to buy a lot of fuel. Now, putting over a thousand gallons of fuel into a boat is a job in itself. Many fuel pumps don’t have trigger locks to prevent spills so you have to hold the trigger for the entire time. We jockeyed the boat to allow the high-flow pumps to reach the two fuel fills and the pump nozzles had locks so eventually we were fueled up and on our way but later than we had hoped after provisioning and getting spare oil. I usually like to do a short run out the strait and top off to calculate the fuel burn because even if I know what the brochure or specs on the boat should burn dinghies on davits causing the stern to drag or dirty bottoms or props will affect the economy and range and with the remoteness of the coast its not something to mess with. All that said we were going to miss Port Angeles fuel Dock given our later departure and may as well run out to Neah Bay and wait for the morning to fuel up there.

We got to Neah Bay just as it was getting dark and at 20 knots SOG no less. Even in a place you know well like I do Neah Bay once it’s dark and there are a few boats you have a very poor sense of where you are in the anchorage. We set the hook and turned on the other generator, with a little guilt I will add. I’m not used to being THAT guy in the anchorage and I have more experience as the “blowboater” enjoying the quiet. What I didn’t know when I was just an innocent sailor is that some powerboats have so many systems that they require the generator to be on ALL the time.

I’m glad to say in retrospect other than throwing a little more wake that I should have later in the adventure the biggest mistake I made on the delivery was over-salting the steaks that night. Ill get over it one day. After dinner, I downloaded the weather and it looked like, what was supposed to be a little southerly in our future, was going to be a bit more substantial and if we waited for the fuel dock to open we would arrive at the Columbia River bar at max ebb (the worst time). I’m sure we would have been fine but my job is all about risk analysis..and a bit of docking…and cooking. And with the new info, it was looking like it would be better for us to head to Westport for fuel and not wait for the Neah Bay fuel dock to open. So at first light, we were off and down the coast of Washington heading to the home waters of Kurt Cobain. Not the best place to spend the night as there was still some crab gear out. We would have to make good time the next day to cross the Columbia bar and get all the way to Vancouver 100 river miles up from the infamous bar. The next day’s southerly wasn’t looking too bad and if we timed the beginning of the flood in Westport it would be the end of the flood on the Columbia fifty miles south… if we went fast.

We did not go fast. I think we were down to 7 knots at one point but as I suspected the outflow north would lay the chop down north off the bar and we would be able to speed up. By the time we were at buoy 14 we were doing 20 knots again. Our fellow powerboats and wake makers were there too. Doing their best to catch the last of the salmon the season allowed and strewn on every heading across the channel no less, forcing us to thread the needle while throwing a wake that only teenagers on jets skis can really appreciate. Starting our way up the familiar and nostalgic waters for me with the leaves just starting to turn and the days starting to shorten I knew the river summer I had just missed.

The convergence of the Willamette and the Columbia can be a busy place for commercial traffic. Tugs pushing four barges at a time and tankers anchored and underway all make transiting this area at night unadvisable even for one familiar with the area. A little further and we were in my old haunting grounds and an area of major silting and depth changes. One has to be sure to have updated charts here and even then deep drafted boats need to use extra caution. As we approached the boat’s new home on the Vancouver side I was glad that there was a little light left. It would be a tight one with an opposing current and wind. Some kind residents of the marina came to grab lines and our three-way call on headphones helped coordinate our efforts and we landed the big boat on the second stab.

Alls well that ends well.

Time to pop in a DVD and order a pizza