This was my first trip via RV to the Portland Yacht Club's Willow Bar outstation located twelve miles downstream from Portland on Sauvie Island. The outstation is one of the perks of PYC membership. Equipped with docks, restrooms, showers, water, electricity, and a heated floating pavilion, the outstation is a popular destination for many of the club's weekend cruises.
Laura and I had led this cruise a couple of times in the past aboard our Bayliner 3870, Celtic Myst that we sold in 2015. This year, we'd be co-leading the cruise with Joe and MaryKaye Brady. As fate would have it, the flu laid Laura low, so with much encouragement from her, I ended up doing the cruise alone in order to support the Brady's while Laura recuperated at home.
I arrived on Thursday so I could start prepping the facility for the cruise. Fortunate to have a role at my company that allows me to work from wherever I have an Internet connection, I simply worked from the motorhome on Thursday and Friday.
PYC's Willow Bar outstation is off the Columbia River on the site of what was once an old silt clogged dilapidated marine. Purchased in the 90's, the club's volunteers removed all the old docks, pilings, and trash, dredged the area to permit sailboats access, built docks and a floating pavilion, and recently, installed fencing and paved the access roads and parking lot. The photo below shows the facility along with a private trailer park nearby.
Weeks of rain had the river's level at or slightly above flood stage. For those coming by boat, it meant swifter currents, more debris in the water, and the need for assistance from the bridge operators in order to gain clearance. At the outstation, familiar landmarks were below water or just barely visible. The access road between the parking lot and the ramp to the docks was flooded, so it meant me playing a game of "Frogger" every time I needed to visit the moorage or return to the motorhome.
I had visited Willow Bar six weeks earlier to check on the condition of everything. Here's a photo from that visit showing the area that would be flooded during the cruise.
With the river at stage 16.5, this is what the same area looked like six weeks later.
Weather-wise the weekend was wet, even by Pacific Northwest standards. While it suppressed the urge to take walks and ride bikes, it didn't dampen the spirits of cruise participates to share time together either aboard the boats or in the pellet stove heated pavilion.
Between the rain showers, the sun would come out briefly and remind you how wonderful it is to be on the cruise, even if you were having to view it from behind a window.
One of the traditions on cruises Laura and I lead is the morning Gourmet Coffee Bar. Since I'm an early riser at home so I can be in the swimming pool by 5 am, I'm always the obvious choice to fire up the pellet stove in the pavilion and start prepping all coffee making elements before most members are awake.
The rainy weather suppressed participated to under twenty-five boats. Several boats had guests drive down for the club's corned-beef dinner, and others had guests stay the night. All told, about sixty folks attended the cruise.
Six weeks prior to the cruise I shot this photo of the ramp leading down to the docks.
During the cruise, the ramp down was actually a ramp up. Check out the tops of the pilings in the two photos.
As we prepared for Saturday's dinner the sun came out.
The food for the cruise was prepared by the club's chef using Laura's recipes and then brought to the outstation by the club's staff. The execution was excellent. Everything tasted wonderful and looked great.
As dusk settled in, cruise participates headed shore-side for the annual USA flag retirement ceremony followed by the "Burning of the Socks" ritual.
Eventually, thirty folks gathered around the fire as members respectfully retired their faded and weathered USA flags to the flames. Next came the Burning of the Socks and wishes were made for the coming boating season as socks were tossed into the fire.
In addition to being my first RV trip to the outstation, and my first RV trip alone, this was my first boondocking experience (no shore power, no water service, no sewer) with the motorhome. As part of the process of renovating a 1996 Safari Motorhome, I'd replaced the house batteries, installed a new Magnum Inverter after the original unit failed, restored the generator to operation after the voltage regulator board failed and took the control panel board with it, replaced the trickle charger solar panel for the chassis batteries, and switched all the lighting over to LED. I found that the generator had to be run about 90 minutes a day to keep the batteries topped off.
Sunrise
Sunrise on or near the water can be breathtaking. I always feel sorry for those that sleep in and miss one of the greatest experiences on earth.
Our last day of the cruise was greeted with a wonderful sunrise and flat water. A thin marine layer added a haze to the morning scene.
While viewing the boats with the sun coming through the trees, I was reminded of a question people frequently ask, "...do you miss the Bayliner...", and the answer is always yes. While RVing shares much in common with boating, it is still different. Laura and I are boaters at heart, both sail, and power. It's why we bought the Catalina Capri 22 sailboat, Celtic Myst, as we prepared to give up the Bayliner. We knew this phase of big boat cruising was over for the time being, but the sailboat keeps us on the water for both racing and daysailing. Nothing makes one more reflective than a sunrise.
The morning's clear skies left frost on the docks and a chill in the air. While most were still asleep in their boats, the Gourmet Coffee Bar was readied for early risers, and the tables were prepped for the morning's potluck breakfast, as the pellet stove warmed up the pavilion.
Sunday turned out to be a rain-free day. The temperatures warmed, spirits brightened, and some amongst the cruise attendees decided to add another day to their itinerary.
Six weeks earlier I shot this photo of the entrance to Willow Bar with Mount St. Helens in the background.
With the river at stage 16.5, things looked very different.
It had been a wonderful cruise, and working with the Brady's as Cruise Leader co-leads had been a joy. I was glad Laura pushed me to go without her.
