T&T: Nighmares in your Logs

[Mike Maurice]

I forgot to report on the amount of debris off the Oregon/Washington 
Coast at the end of November. There was plenty of storm activity and 
rain in the area during November and the beaches have had unusual 
amounts of logs and debris wash up on them.

Going up the coast, there was enough wind chop that we may not have been 
able to see much small stuff, assuming that it was there. However, we 
did see enough large logs on the order of 30-40 feet long and upwards of 
18 inches in diameter. "Enough" is a sugar coated way of describing the 
amount it takes to produce nightmares of striking one in the dark.

Obviously, we did not see very many and struck even fewer. But a summary 
would observe that there are logs that one keeps notes in and logs that 
leave notes in one's mind and the ones that leave no witnesses.

The process that washes logs up on the beach where they are much less 
hazard to mariners consists of 2 parts. The wind which acts on the 
exposed port of the debris, large logs riding high out of the water are 
pushed faster and currents which act on the underwater portions. During 
periods of NW or SW winds around here the debris(logs) tend to get 
pushed towards the beach. A week or 2 generally serves to get about 95% 
of the logs onto the beaches.

In making any passage along a coast with serious amounts of debris it 
pays to take into account the plan you have to counter the effects of 
striking some debris and punching a serious hole in your hull. If done 
during a period of good weather conditions the outcome can often be 
satisfactory. But, if it happens during a really bad storm you may not 
be able to help yourself and maybe no one else can either. And even if 
they can you will be putting lives at risk to do so. It is worth keeping 
all this in mind before ordering, "full speed ahead".



Regards,
Mike

_____________________________________
Capt. Mike Maurice
Beaverton Oregon(Near Portland)