Aug 18-19, 2012 - POA fly-in Shelter Cove

I flew from Montana through Oregon, Northern Calif, and SoCal today. Holy Cow! was it smoky today. The whole way was clear and VFR. However, the entire state of Oregon to Shasta was full of smoke. I was surprised how low the visibility appeared even when I could make out some mountains barely at 25 miles. At some points, maybe visibility was 5 to 10 miles. At that point, I climbed to 13.5K to get above it. I did not like it much! I kept imagining how clouds could easily be embedded within the haze where they could not be seen until too late, although not quite as risky as not seeing a mountain. Here is a shot with Mt Shasta.
 

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Jonathan - are there actually, as in the photos, semi-outdoor couches and ping pong tables? Should we have a tournament? Does anybody even know the rules of ping pong?
 
skidoo said:
I flew from Montana through Oregon, Northern Calif, and SoCal today. Holy Cow! was it smoky today. The whole way was clear and VFR. However, the entire state of Oregon to Shasta was full of smoke. I was surprised how low the visibility appeared even when I could make out some mountains barely at 25 miles. At some points, maybe visibility was 5 to 10 miles. At that point, I climbed to 13.5K to get above it. I did not like it much! I kept imagining how clouds could easily be embedded within the haze where they could not be seen until too late, although not quite as risky as not seeing a mountain. Here is a shot with Mt Shasta.
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Wow, cool photo.
 
skidoo said:
I flew from Montana through Oregon, Northern Calif, and SoCal today. Holy Cow! was it smoky today. The whole way was clear and VFR. However, the entire state of Oregon to Shasta was full of smoke. I was surprised how low the visibility appeared even when I could make out some mountains barely at 25 miles. At some points, maybe visibility was 5 to 10 miles. At that point, I climbed to 13.5K to get above it. I did not like it much! I kept imagining how clouds could easily be embedded within the haze where they could not be seen until too late, although not quite as risky as not seeing a mountain. Here is a shot with Mt Shasta.
Click to expand...

Wow, that is one nasty looking haze layer!
 
skidoo said:
I flew from Montana through Oregon, Northern Calif, and SoCal today. Holy Cow! was it smoky today. The whole way was clear and VFR. However, the entire state of Oregon to Shasta was full of smoke. I was surprised how low the visibility appeared even when I could make out some mountains barely at 25 miles. At some points, maybe visibility was 5 to 10 miles. At that point, I climbed to 13.5K to get above it. I did not like it much! I kept imagining how clouds could easily be embedded within the haze where they could not be seen until too late, although not quite as risky as not seeing a mountain. Here is a shot with Mt Shasta.
Click to expand...

I flew from Creswell (77S) to Toledo State Oregon (5S4) on Monday and it was almost as bad then. There are fires in northern California and southern Oregon (also a bunch of fire fighting TFRs) feeding all that smoke into the valleys. Hot weather and inversions seem to do the rest.

Weather is expected to get cooler and wetter this Friday and Saturday and hopefully help clear the air a little. Unfortunately I have to be a lot more fluid in my travel plans because of that weather.
 
I took this photo at the POA Little River / Mendocino Fly In last weekend, when 3 of us planes flew to another coastal airport.

This is what we saw after landing in Little River last week (the airport itself in Littler River is a bit further inland, but this is probably what Shelter Cove looked like that day, only a bit further North up the coast):

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Filed two flight plans with a briefer (one there, one back). Hoping Jonathan will post a PIREP today regarding when the fog goes away. (What time).
 
Jim Logajan said:
I flew from Creswell (77S) to Toledo State Oregon (5S4) on Monday and it was almost as bad then. There are fires in northern California and southern Oregon (also a bunch of fire fighting TFRs) feeding all that smoke into the valleys. Hot weather and inversions seem to do the rest.

Weather is expected to get cooler and wetter this Friday and Saturday and hopefully help clear the air a little. Unfortunately I have to be a lot more fluid in my travel plans because of that weather.
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I hope so, because I need to decide a route back next week.
 
kimberlyanne546 said:
OK so I watched the 13 second time lapse for yesterday (the SouthEast cam which seems to be the foggiest).

It was only blue sky for about a second or two (fog before and after). How can I tell what time the blue sky appeared?

Here is a link:

http://www.wunderground.com/webcams...html?month=08&year=2012&filename=20120816.mp4
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It is not clearing, yet. I won't be there until about 3:30, though. We shall see. On the hourly forcast, that is pretty much the best window.
 
kimberlyanne546 said:
Jonathan - are there actually, as in the photos, semi-outdoor couches and ping pong tables? Should we have a tournament? Does anybody even know the rules of ping pong?
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I did see ping pong tables, ground level, shore side of the inn, under cover, no real view from there. The view from the third floor on tue other hand is another story, slept with window open all night, must have been in the low sixties, waves pounding the rocks, slept well.
 
kimberlyanne546 said:
OK so I watched the 13 second time lapse for yesterday (the SouthEast cam which seems to be the foggiest).

It was only blue sky for about a second or two (fog before and after). How can I tell what time the blue sky appeared?

Here is a link:

http://www.wunderground.com/webcams...html?month=08&year=2012&filename=20120816.mp4
Click to expand...

Take a look at the Northwest Cam archived videos - there is a barely visible timestamp running across the top of the video. It appears to be the only camera with a timestamp recorded on it. In that direction it looks like it cleared yesterday somewhere around 3:40 to 4:20 PM.
 
It seemed to be breaking up a little earlier with more clearing apparently to the northwest. More solid now with the wind more onshore right now. I think some component of offshore breeze is what we're looking for which may be more likely in the afternoon, like yesterday (winds were out of the NW yesterday when we landed btw)
 
Met the folks flying a c180, they were staying at the campground on the south side of the field. $36/night.
 
focal_plane said:
Met the folks flying a c180, they were staying at the campground on the south side of the field. $36/night.
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Really? That's great, thanks for the info. If I end up going back that could be an option, especially if we go fishing and whale watching.
 
It is a bummer that things won't clear until so late in the afternoon, which tempts me to just fly to Garberville and pay for the shuttle (my "worst case" scenario). It also makes me worry about getting "stuck".

Jim, roughly what time would you land in Garberville if we decide to do that and split the costs of the shuttle? 2pm?
 
kimberlyanne546 said:
It is a bummer that things won't clear until so late in the afternoon, which tempts me to just fly to Garberville and pay for the shuttle (my "worst case" scenario). It also makes me worry about getting "stuck".

Jim, roughly what time would you land in Garberville if we decide to do that and split the costs of the shuttle? 2pm?
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Hard to give a small time window because there is a ~20% chance of scattered thunderstorms between here and northern California, so remote possibility my departure time could be delayed (that and not know who I might have to wait behind at the fuel pump before departing.) Otherwise I will say arrival around 2:30 PM, +/- 30 minutes. If you like, I can try to give you a call when we depart - which would probably be between 11:30 AM and noon.

I think if you do have to depart in the afternoon so your arrival time is around 2:30 PM you actually have a much higher chance of getting directly into Shelter Cove. Otherwise we can try to meet up at Garberville around then.
 
Jim Logajan said:
Hard to give a small time window because there is a ~20% chance of scattered thunderstorms between here and northern California, so remote possibility my departure time could be delayed (that and not know who I might have to wait behind at the fuel pump before departing.) Otherwise I will say arrival around 2:30 PM, +/- 30 minutes. If you like, I can try to give you a call when we depart - which would probably be between 11:30 AM and noon.

I think if you do have to depart in the afternoon so your arrival time is around 2:30 PM you actually have a much higher chance of getting directly into Shelter Cove. Otherwise we can try to meet up at Garberville around then.
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I am not very good with being on time in an airplane, but what I like about your suggestion is that I get to take my time. I still have to drop off the dog at the dog sitter around 7:30am, but I heard there is a "pilot breakfast" at my home airport with all my buddies from the group I belong to there. Perhaps I will be able to join them and just enjoy the morning at the airport, take my time with the preflight, etc. Check in at the hotel isn't until late anyways (3pm was it?).

Using your time frame above, I would feel OK if I departed by noon. That is early, but I could get an overall picture and land by 2-ish in Garberville. Of course, Petaluma is sometimes fogged in so I can't / won't take off until that burns off.... and I'd want things to be looking good in Garberville as well. It just means my time is shortened and my little gathering might not happen / the BF's fishing might not happen. Oh well. If we get you there at let's say 3pm and call the lady and she doesn't get there until 4pm - then we won't get to the hotel until 5pm. Plenty of time to check in and get ready for dinner.
 
Jim Logajan said:
Hard to give a small time window because there is a ~20% chance of scattered thunderstorms between here and northern California, so remote possibility my departure time could be delayed (that and not know who I might have to wait behind at the fuel pump before departing.) Otherwise I will say arrival around 2:30 PM, +/- 30 minutes. If you like, I can try to give you a call when we depart - which would probably be between 11:30 AM and noon.

I think if you do have to depart in the afternoon so your arrival time is around 2:30 PM you actually have a much higher chance of getting directly into Shelter Cove. Otherwise we can try to meet up at Garberville around then.
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Yes, please either call or text when you depart. I would like to know when you are in the air. I can then leave at some point after that, knowing when I land (if I land in Garberbille) that you will land within an hour or two. I don't mind the wait.

It will cut both our costs in half if we split the shuttle. But of course we both really want to land in Shelter Cove (to me, part of the whole experience will be landing there - though I've landed at Half Moon Bay before which is also pretty much on the water).
 
kimberlyanne546 said:
Yes, please either call or text when you depart. I would like to know when you are in the air. I can then leave at some point after that, knowing when I land (if I land in Garberbille) that you will land within an hour or two. I don't mind the wait.

It will cut both our costs in half if we split the shuttle. But of course we both really want to land in Shelter Cove (to me, part of the whole experience will be landing there - though I've landed at Half Moon Bay before which is also pretty much on the water).
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I will call. [1] If you find the weather good for an early departure direct to Shelter Cove, call or email me. (Or text; I at least know how to read them.)

[1] I've never learned to text and I'm afraid I don't understand the advantage over verbal dialog that makes it worth the effort; I think my wife knows how to text, though.
 
Jim Logajan said:
I will call. [1] If you find the weather good for an early departure direct to Shelter Cove, call or email me. (Or text; I at least know how to read them.)

[1] I've never learned to text and I'm afraid I don't understand the advantage over verbal dialog that makes it worth the effort; I think my wife knows how to text, though.
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That's OK, calls are fine, I even tried one in the plane and it worked but they said I was hard to hear (I have a cord that plugs from my cell phone to my headset)
 
This was using some pretty slow speeds, apparently I'm faster than I thought. I should have taken 96E last week to Little River, this Skyhawk is FAST! I warned my boyfriend he shouldn't drop off his dog tonight, he has changed to doing that tomorrow (his friend is watching his dog, my dog sitter won't watch un-nuetered males).
 
The "avoid TFR" puts me off course a bit but there is an airshow / TFR between 10am - 4pm at KSTS so I want to steer clear.

8500 feet is about 2000 higher than I need to be (even / odd) but I wanted to see more weather.

"Go between" is flying between Shelter Cove and Garberville, so I can make my choice and not have to go too far for either one. Also, this avoids a part of the flight that, if direct, had me flying over open ocean.
 
kimberlyanne546 said:
Was the place near the runway the deli or the tea room? Or were you saying the Cove is there?

Also, when I called, they said it was about a mile from our rooms at the Inn (each way). Would you agree? I was thinking of walking but wanted to offer to drive everyone in the van if they'll give it to us.
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The deli, the tea room and the cove restaurant are all near the southeast end of the runway (opposite end as the inn). Ate some lunch at deli, fish&chips, seagulls would like to share with you. It's about the length of the runway so a little less than a mile I think. The overcast completely went awaylate this afternoon and we watched a very nice sunset.
 
Wow, just was out on the balcony looking at the big dipper, what an amazing sky full of stars.
 
Looks like it's mostly cleared up on the Web cams!
 
Now it looks like the fog rolled back in.
 
Anybody able to get out of there today?
 
Goofy said:
Anybody able to get out of there today?
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I believe everyone managed who managed to get in also got out by 1 PM when the fog rolled out long enough to depart.

I had to divert to Garberville Saturday afternoon, so called for a shuttle to take my wife and I between it and Shelter Cove. By the time the shuttle picked us up at 1 PM all the planes had departed on Sunday.
 
Glad to hear! Would be a nice event to schedule for later in the fall when the coastal weather is perfect. Half Moon Bay would be another good one.
 
Goofy said:
Glad to hear! Would be a nice event to schedule for later in the fall when the coastal weather is perfect. Half Moon Bay would be another good one.
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The fog and low clouds definitely caused frustrating problems for people attempting to travel in and out on the weekend. I'll let everyone tell their own stories - if they choose - and tell only mine.

Four planes carrying eight people managed to make it in. My wife and I departed around noon from Creswell, OR (77S) and flew out to near North Bend, OR (KOTH) and then followed the coastal fog and low clouds south down to where Shelter Cove (0Q5) should have been (arrived about 3:10 I think.) But other than seeing the homes on the hills above the fog layer that had lifted to be a low cloud layer, the only hole appeared to be over the water on the south end of the runway. I decided to divert to Garberville - but about 2/3rds of the way there I decided I gave up too easily, so flew back and took another look. This time I approached from the south and descended toward the south hole to take a good look through it at a low angle. I could just see the numbers for runway 30 by flying to the right of the extended runway center line. But that was it. Would have required some ess turning at low altitudes to line up for landing. I gave up and landed in Garberville. 3.6 hrs on the Hobbs to fly 233.5nm.

Took an hour for the shuttle to arrive and another hour to get to the hotel. $100. I suspect it is one of the few places in the U.S. where a rental plane is faster (and cheaper) to go 12.4nm.

Met John, focal_plane, Kimberly, and their significant others. We had a nice dinner at the restaurant that Kimberly had made reservations for and later we all swapped lies around the hotel's outdoor fire pit. Being an easily tired old man, I (and the wife) left the group around midnight.

On the flight back I took a more direct route back home and put 2.5hrs on the Hobbs. A head wind versus a tail wind made a difference too.

It was fun but exhausting - I regret not having arranged to stay two or three nights like John and focal_plane did.
 
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It was a great trip. The fog was definitely fickle. It was clear when we landed on Friday afternoon. When we departed today, we seized a short opportunity (right behind focal_plane) to get out at about 10:30 am. The company was great and Shelter Cove is great weekend destination. We especially enjoyed Black Sands Beach and the tide pools. The fire fire pit was great and none of us lasted later than 12:30. I logged 1.7 each way.
 
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