Northwest Sportsman – August 2019

88 Northwest Sportsman AUGUST 2019 | nwsportsmanmag.com

upside: the engine was still running,

and they were still afloat.

TO MAKE MATTERS worse, though, the

fog was beginning to set in up north,

so the decision was made to run for

Port Orford. They could see Humbug

Mountain and Orford Rocks to the east

and knew Port Orford was over there

somewhere. Jim had never been there

from the seaward side, so he pointed

the boat in that direction, thus making

some headway in the wind while the

waves lapped at the boat’s port side.

At least they were underway despite

not knowing for sure where they were

going or if conditions might change

before they got there.

As Jim steered, the other two

continued to bail water. They were

all cold, wet and fearful as the seas

continued to whitecap. Yet their

situation slowly improved as they

continued to bail water. The trip in

seemed impossibly slow.

When they got closer to shore, the

sea conditions improved, and they

recognized what they though must be

Orford Rocks and knew the port was

somewhere around there. Everyone

got excited when they spotted a

boat fishing the reef near the rocks.

They approached while making the

emergency signal, raising both hands

above their head and crossing them

back and forth. I was in that boat

fishing the reef. I saw the signal and

recognized their boat.

“This is weird,” I thought. “Where

did they come from?”

I hadn’t seen their rig at the dock

when we’d launched.

Jim came close enough to me that

I could shout directions for getting to

Port Orford. I also made eye contact

with Leonard. I would bet that if he

thought there was any way he could

have gotten off that boat and onto

mine, he would have jumped. I did not

know the client but he looked like he

had literally escaped death. His clothes

were soaked and disheveled, his hat

was gone and his expression was grim.

Jim and his crew made it to the

port. It was what we seafarers call a

“kiss the dock moment.” They had

Port Orford is the one

harbor on the Oregon

Coast where boats have

to be lifted in and out of

the water. When the crew

arrived there, it was a

“kiss the dock moment,”

the author writes. They’d

lost their halibut, were

soaked and shivering,

but the skipper had

brought them in alive.

(RAY GILDEN, PFMC)

The sight of the rocky islands off Port Orford and Cape Blanco, and the author’s boat fishing a nearby reef were godsends for the men. (ANDY WALGAMOTT)

ROUGH DAYS

AT SEA