Entering Depoe Bay, a 5-Minute Thrill Ride!

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• published: 24 Sep 2012
• views: 18925

A thrill ride on a fast boat entering Depoe Bay, a blind approach to a narrow serpentine channel, wide enough for one boat only. One way traffic, either In or Out! And which one is more demanding? Going out to sea, when you don't have a feel for what the sea will be until you're committed and cannot turn back; or coming back in, when the skipper must time his approach to have steerageway into the final turn - where bad timing might let an overtaking swell rob your rudder of the directional control it needs to keep you off the rocks. People have died here...it can be extremely dangerous. This day, however, we had a benign sea, so no worries after a great day on the ocean, as we returned to Depoe Bay, Oregon. Just a gorgeous sea all day long. We saw a Minke Whale breach twice just off our starboard side; we were enthralled by the antics and curiosity of a pod of Dall's Porpoises; we put two tuna in the well in spite of fierce competition from blue sharks; and we harvested one shy of our limit of Dungeness crab. All in all, an unforgettable day. I considered editing out some of the parts where the camera motion was too great, but then I decided the continuity of an uncut video was important to the 'five minute thrill ride' experience. I was lying on the foredeck, trying to hand hold the camera as steady as possible, but at these speeds and even with smallish, two-foot swells you just can't get a steady cam effect at any budget that I can afford; I'll just leave it to National Geographic or Ken Burns to do a professional job on this. It was a thrill, though. Thanks to Dave and Wade, of the good ship Double Trouble (a 30 ft Sea Swirl Striper with two 250 hp outboards), for their excellent hospitality. It was all for the cat shelter...or as I like to say, 'We're killing fish to save cats.' Also, feasting on albacore tuna and Dungeness crab to save cats. Hey, it's a tough job but somebody has to do it.