Mile 204 Report
Driftwood Beach Wayside, Buckley Creek
August 11, 2023
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.
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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. When I looked out my window this morning, I could see the big ship, which formerly served as command center for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill response, sitting offshore a mile or so to the north. At the Driftwood Wayside parking area, the site of last year's PacWave onshore work, access for large RVs was being restricted so that work could be performed in the parking area's underground vaults, pumping water into the conduits in support of the work offshore. One of the Louisiana based electrical contractors explained that divers from Alaska would be diving down forty-five feet from the Seacor Lee to open up the seafloor conduits for maintenance and eventual connections next year with the electrical transmission cables being manufactured in Norway, cables which would run under the seafloor to the wave energy testing devices further offshore. Across Hwy 101, construction of the PacWave electrical substation is continuing. See the link below to the PacWave construction update website for more information.https://pacwaveenergy.org/constructionupdates/
Conditions
Temperature: 58 F. Tide Level: 4.0 feet.
Seacor Lee, telephoto from my house this morning
Seacor Lee, as seen from ADA viewing platform, Driftwood Wayside
Seacor Lee, telephoto from Driftwood Wayside parking area
Work at PacWave onshore site
PacWave underground vaults
PacWave contractor explaining operations
Construction of PacWave electrical substation
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