My wife and I are in the midst of spending nine days on the northern Fornicalia coast, right on the ocean, in order to celebrate our third anniversary which — luckily for me — is Valentine’s Day. Even I can remember that one! We were hoping to do some whale watching via local charters, but the ocean was tumultuous and the fog was thick. Above, the waves are cresting over the breakwater for Noyo Harbor!

Again, the incoming waves are burying the concrete breakwater. Last year, I stood right there.

I had, at one time, walked out to the red triangle. Today, I’d have been completely swept away!

However, our friendly, local sea lions were still in evidence, in the calmer waters. Taken with Sony A300, 75 – 300 lens at max zoom.

Fishing vessels in the harbor. No one dared the nasty waves at the mouth of Noyo. Tara Dawn at left, and Miss Kelly, right. MK is Noyo’s largest fishing vessel.

Local deer south of Noyo Harbor. Not far from here, in the 1800s, women would stand near the cliffs and await the return of their fishermen from the savage Pacific seas.

Waves crashing affect the “trashcans of the skies” not in the slightest. I can’t see gulls anymore and not think of the scene from “Finding Nemo” —

The waves were absolutely majestic.

Further out, my zoom at full, the waves looked to be perhaps 20 to 25-feet.

The waves crashed, the spume flew. I could watch the ocean for hours and hours and hours. It always changes, it’s never the same; each day, each hour, is different.

The red buoy in the background. It’s never tossed like the green buoy!

The Trek II takes tourists out for whale watching. The problem? That was the last moment of clarity; the fog descended and socked in the coast.

The Sea Hawk follows the Trek II on the 10 am whale-watching tour. After that, everything turned gray.

Because the waves had subsided a bit, the Donna J crew decide to try their hand at fishing, outriggers lowered for stability in the still-rough seas.

Donna J makes it out past the largest, most difficult harbor waves, both pitching and rolling in the rough Pacific waters.

We fed the local feral cats from our top story hotel patio. We discovered that kitties like appetizers such as salami and provolone cheese. They also enjoyed a few pieces of dropped sourdough. A bit of a problem? The wind. As I dropped food below, only at the last second did I notice that I almost beaned the head of a woman peering over her own patio one floor below. How was I to know she would be sticking her head into the Flight Path of Kitty Food?

The Coasties take the time to train whenever they can. I was disappointed, however, when the local station commander didn’t insist his troops brave the worst of the weather and take their new aluminum 47-foot lifeboats built by Textron Marine into the thick of the weather.

The motor lifeboat above is one of two possessed by the station at Noyo Harbor. These motor lifeboats (MLBs) were designed to withstand impacts of three times the acceleration of gravity, can survive a complete roll-over, self-righting in less than 10 seconds with all machinery remaining fully operational. Powered by twin Detroit Diesels producing 435 hp (324 kW) each, the 47 MLB can travel at 25 knots (46 km/h).

I’ve seen the waves at Noyo. And I’ve also seen the waves and visited the mouth of the Columbia River at Astoria. The Columbia River Pilots take some of the largest ships in the world on to Portland. Further, the Columbia River Bar Pilots Association guarantees those ships will negotiate the treacherous Columbia River bar successfully.

And I’ve visited the Columbia River Maritime Museum. Not to be missed.

If the USCG can handle the Columbia River bar? Then why can’t it can handle Noyo River?

BZ