Empress returned to San Diego from Portland, Oregon, about a year ago. She now is berthed at Shelter Cove Marina on Shelter Island near the San Diego Yacht Club where the Penhunes are members.
Empress at Shelter Cove Marina
The trip south from Portland to Alamitos Bay south of Long Beach, California, was an easy one for our crew of five - Fred and Lynne Voosen, Jim Penhune, and Marcellite and John Penhune. We had to wait overnight just inside the Columbia River bar, because the Coast Guard had closed the bar due to high seas. However, once we exited the Columbia in the morning, the trip south was pleasant with light winds and following seas, even around Point Conception. We stopped for fuel and overnight rest at Crescent City, California - home of the Pelican Bay maximum-security prison. Sad to report, most of the docks and many of the boats in Crescent City harbor later were destroyed or damaged by the tsunami caused by the very strong earthquake in Japan.
