Mile 204 Report
Driftwood Beach Wayside, Buckley Creek
August 9, 2024
Mile 204 isn't my usual mile, so I've waited to walk it again until work resumed on PacWave South's wave energy testing project at Driftwood Beach Wayside. https://pacwaveenergy.
Report Details
Mile 204 isn't my usual mile, so I've waited to walk it again until work resumed on PacWave South's wave energy testing project at Driftwood Beach Wayside. Undersea conduits stretching thirteen miles offshore to the project's four test sites were installed earlier, and now the power and data cables to be threaded inside the conduits have arrived from Norway aboard the HOS Innovator, the cable laying vessel now stationed offshore of Driftwood Beach with its fourteen officers and crew, twenty member project team, and three-person catering team. Attached are photos of the ship, the Driftwood Wayside construction site, and the Utility Connection and Monitoring Facility being constructed east of Highway 101 where underground terrestrial cables will feed into our local electric PUD. Work is expected to continue offshore and at Driftwood Beach Wayside through September, with wave energy testing to begin next year. Information and updates can be found at: https://pacwaveenergy.org/south-test-site/ and https://pacwaveenergy.org/constructionupdates/
Conditions
Temperature: 60 F. Cloud Cover: Foggy. Wind Velocity: Calm/Light. Tide Level: 1.5 feet.
Human Activities
Number of people: 12. Number of dogs: 2. Walking or running: 7. Sitting: 2. Surfing: 3.
Notable Wildlife
As usual, there is almost no wildlife to be seen on this mile, just a few gulls.
New Development
See Summary regarding PacWave South construction.
Natural Changes
The big old driftwood log whose comings and goings from Driftwood Beach I've been following for years is still on the beach but has been washed a bit south to the mouth of Buckley Creek
Report Images
Jon French
CoastWatcher
All Mile 204 Reports
Mile 204
Driftwood Beach Wayside, Buckley Creek
Mile 204 isn't my usual mile, so I've waited to walk it again until work resumed on PacWave South's wave energy testing project at Driftwood Beach Wayside. https://pacwaveenergy.
Jon French
Mile 204
Driftwood Beach Wayside, Buckley Creek
Today marked my latest sighting of the old growth driftwood log that I've admired and whose comings and goings from Driftwood Beach I've documented since June 2020, when I first photographed it high on the beach south of Buckley Creek.
Jon French
Mile 204
Driftwood Beach Wayside, Buckley Creek
I had read that the 265-foot vessel Seacor Lee would be anchoring a mile off Driftwood Beach in support of OSU's PacWave South wave energy testing project, positioned so that divers from the ship could perform work on previously installed seafloor conduits.
Jon French
Mile 204
Driftwood Beach Wayside, Buckley Creek
I haven't walked Driftwood Beach regularly since the PacWave South wave energy project completed work underground in the Driftwood parking lot.
Jon French
Mile 204
Driftwood Beach Wayside, Buckley Creek
By the time I got to Driftwood Wayside, a lot of people had already arrived for their New Years Day beach walks, some 30 vehicles in the parking lot and 30 - 40 people down on the beach, accompanied by at least half as many dogs, almost all leashed.
Jon French
Mile 204
Driftwood Beach Wayside, Buckley Creek
This was probably the last dependably dry Mile 204 walk before the rains begin in earnest.
Jon French
Mile 204
Driftwood Beach Wayside, Buckley Creek
After the morning fog lifted and before the marine layer moved in, I walked from Seal Rock on Mile 205 to Beach Access 66C on Mile 203.
Jon French
Mile 204
Driftwood Beach Wayside, Buckley Creek
Driftwood Wayside is open again after PacWave's departure, but I was the only visitor on this breezy, drizzly day.
Jon French