Thanksgiving side trip

11/19/12

Nice trip from Marina Del Rey to Catalina for 2 nights.  Catalina reminds you why you came on the trip to begin with; beautiful quiet anchorages and mild weather.  Not quite warm enough to swim, but it was very relaxing to just take a little time to breath, sit, walk on the beach and climb a hill.  We spend 1 night at Emerald Cove with just one other boat in the anchorage.  We left Marina Del Rey at 7am and arrived at Emerald Cove at 12:30. With no wind, we motored the entire trip.

The second day, we made the short 2 mile trip to Two Harbors, a little community with an elementary school boasting about 10 students.  In the summertime the influx of campers and sailors turns this quiet little spot into a busy vacation getaway. 

On Wednesday we got an early start and by 7am we were motoring back to the California coast.  Newport was our goal, with a plan to surprise our family for Thanksgiving.  We had debated about going back home so recently after we had left, but I found my attitude deteriorating.  We were not as far along as we had hoped, and trying to plan a trip home for Christmas was looking unlikely.  Finally we decided there are no “rules for cruising” so we planned a quick trip home to spend Thanksgiving with the family.

The plan was; quickly cross to Newport Beach, get a slip for a couple of days, pick up the rental car, and try to beat as much of the traffic out of LA as we could heading North. We figured we needed to leave no later than 3pm and we did, however the rest of the “miss the traffic” part of the plan fell short.   KNOWING the day before Thanksgiving is the biggest travel day of the year, and EXPERIENCING it are two very  different things.    The trip should have taken 7 or 8 hours MAX even with traffic.  Arrived in Elk Grove at 2am . . . 11 long brake-light filled hours.  It was grueling.  Surprising our girls and spending the Holiday with our family made it all worth it.

Up the next morning at 5am for a 6am start wasn’t as bad as it sounds since I crashed at 8:30pm the night before.  This time things did go according to plan, smooth sailing all the way to Newport Beach, 6 hours including stops.  Awesome!

Cypress was so glad to be back home, he promptly hopped up to the v-berth and took a nap.  The trip was tough on him as well.

After putting away a few things, we headed out on the one mile trek to the grocery store.  I’m trying to decide if we are afraid of running out of food before our next port of call, or if we are simply on a quest to visit every grocery store within walking distance of marinas in California.

Should be leaving for San Diego tomorrow, then we are one day sail from Ensenada!!

Channel Islands at the transient dock.  Went to the store and in search of the internet and when we returned, we found we had new neighbors.  Turns out it is a couple we had heard about that left for the BajaHaha (cruising rally from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas Mexico) shortly before we did.  They had been delayed and missed the Haha, but were still heading South.  Such a small world!! So we are generally heading in the same directing, keeping in touch and supporting each other.  Cool.  Here are a few pictures . . .

Sunrise on the Santa Barbara Channel

 

 

 Ken and Danetta of Odyssey from Isleton

 

 Marcus making waffles for breakfast

Marina Del Rey skyline

 Shy Grieb

 

Early morning rowing in Marina Del Rey

Condo Pirates!! (someone has a great sense of humor!

 

Wrapping my oars

11/16/12

2^nd night in Channel Islands transient slip.  No internet, yes I admit it is an addiction, but meeting new people heading south is nice.  Last night a Bristol 27 named Sacred Dance pulled in with 3 young crew onboard.  They too are heading South, Mexico, maybe South America.  Two guys and a girl, I can imagine her parents reaction, “you are going to MEXICO, on a small BOAT with your boyfriend and his friend?????!!!! Maybe when you are younger you can get away with it easier, we are at an age where we should know better.

Weather is not optimal, so we are waiting another day or 2 before heading out.  Trying to decide if we want to just harbor hop, or do another overnighter to Catalina, then on to San Diego.  While calculating, I see Thanksgiving is just 6 days away.  One of the questions is, where do you want to spend Thanksgiving.  Well, I know where I REALLY want to spend Thanksgiving, but we just left and can’t really justify a trip home quite yet.  DEEP SIGH. 

Rounding Point Conception

 

11/15/12

Made it around the infamous Point Conception on glassy seas, in fact, I slept through the entire thing.  I must have been tired.  We made great time with the 60hp diesel and long slow swells pushing us along.  There was no wind, and no moon, but other than making sure to avoid the well-lit oil rigs it was an uneventful evening.  Things went pretty slowly the next morning, as we now had a current running against us and we were going about 4.5 knots instead of the 6.5 knots we had been enjoying.  We were able to put up a sail and for a couple of ours enjoyed my first sail on the boat.

We arrived at Channel Island Harbor around 1:00, fueled up and took a slip for the night.  Will be checking weather and plan to go to Catalina and then on to San Diego. 

There are a couple of things we need to work out: The steaming light burned out(the light about ½ way up the mast that indicates to other boaters you are underway), the starter is not working correctly, and we need to rig the reefing lines on the main sail.  Reefing lines allow us to sail with a smaller sail so that if there is a lot of wind the boat will not be overpowered.

Last night we made a quick trip to West Marine, the grocery store and Starbucks for some internet action.  When I returned to the dock, Marcus was chatting with a couple on the dock next to us that had come in while we were out.  Ken and Danetta are also heading for Mexico in their Islander 40.  Turns out they are from Owl Harbor, right across from where we were in the Delta.  I couldn’t believe that in this vast area of anchorages, cities, harbors and slips, this couple that had left for cruising just a few weeks before us would turn up right next to us!  The cruising world is certainly small!

A little Champagne with strawberries to celebrate the rounding of Point Conception puts a nice end to a long 2 days.

Made the break from Monterey at 4pm Sunday night.  Amazingly shortly after we left, I received a call from daughter Mandy wanting to skype, a the family was together.  The amazing thing was I was at sea 2 miles off the coast of the Carmel Bluffs and had cell service.  Couldn’t skype but it was fun hearing they were thinking of us.

We made it to San Simeon in about 11 hours, great time.  Nice to have a boat with a big engine since there is still no wind for sailing, but eventually . . .   We arrived early, 5;30 AM and Marcus had to make a couple of big loops outside the entrance so we could wait for daylight.  We anchored, ate breakfast and took a nice nap.  Sleep is in 2 hour increments on overnight passages and it is still cold.

This is a big success for us, as we tried to leave Monterey the winter of 2009 twice and had engine troubles both times.  We had to end our 1^st attempt at cruising Mexico that year, and our 1^st boat, Quiet Moon, was severely damaged in a late winter storm there.  Although we had some very tough times there, we made some great friends and it will always feel like home to us.

Now I am sitting in San Simeon Cove and can’t believe it but I can occasionally get wifi here.  It is beautiful, and nice and warm right now, but there are a lot of flies, so we must keep the cabin closed up.  One other boat here and although this is listed as an Otter Sanctuary, we have not seen many.  We must be looking in the wrong places.

We will head for Point Conception tomorrow around 10am for a midnight arrival.  Not sure exactly where we will stop on Wed morning, just depends on how we feel and the conditions.  We need to be tucked in somewhere secure, as a Southerly is supposed to come in on Thurs.

This is where Marcus took me on our honeymoon, and we stayed at a Bed and Breakfast and toured Hearst Castle.  We can see the castle on the hill overlooking the cove.  Life sometimes goes in circles.

Spent the last couple of days here in Monterey sorting and organizing and most importantly, visiting with friends! Friday "Big Don" took us to lunch at LouLou's right here on the wharf, so convenient and such good food we ate there 3 days in a row! Calamari, so good.  Later that night Don and his wife Terry came by and we had a great time reconnecting with friends.

Feeling a bit like settlers heading across the plains as we start to divest ourselves of things we are already finding we don't need.  Sold a 50 watt solar panel as we found the 100 watt we just installed keeps up with our needs nicely so far. 

Ann and Jeff will be coming by today to help with a few things around the boat, and we should be heading out for San Simeon this afternoon. Lots to do!

Yesterday I was a bit anxious about our departure, but I think once we get past Point Conception, I'll feel much better.  Unfortunatly I don't accomplish much when I'm like that, frozen is the best way I can describe it.  Today is better, probably because I realize how much I have to do and how little time I have to do it!

First day here we just cleaned the boat and sorted ourselves out a bit.  Pretty tired so it we mostly took it easy.   Purchased some sand dabs fresh off the boat and pan fried them on the BBQ, they were delicious.  Still haven’t become comfortable working in the galley.  I need to figure out how best to utilize the available space, and, as you can see I have a lot of organizing to do.

Thursday, our friends Ann and Jeff came and took us to breakfast.  Lulu’s right here on wharf #2, the commercial fishing wharf.  SO YUMMY.  Then Marcus and Jeff worked on the boat a bit and Ann drove me around to pick up a few things we needed.  It was nice to see them again.  They cruised Mexico in their Islander 41 with their family 2003-2005. They have done so much for us, and they always say, that is just what cruisers do!

We have been a little concerned that we could not find the title to our boat, which we need to check into Mexico.  Yesterday was rainy and so we worked on organizing the cabin and securing the various toolboxes etc. that slid around during our last passage.

Still couldn’t find the paperwork and started to think in the rush to leave we had packed it.  We were getting pretty agitated about this when Marcus suggested we contact the company that had processed our documentation paperwork when we purchased the boat.  Within 10 minutes she had emailed a copy of our papers to us!!  What a huge relief!  And of course, we found the original paperwork shortly thereafter.

Rained like crazy last night, so this morning we will caulk the leak that developed over the v-berth.  “Raindrops falling on my head.

Looks like it is going to be a beautiful day, we probably will not leave until tomorrow afternoon for another overnight passage to San Simeon.  That will be our final staging area for the infamous Point Conception.

Where are Marcus and Cyndi?

We have a SPOT, a device I can use to let people know where we are, even if we have no internet connection.  I think it is reasurring for family to see the email come in and where we are.
As well as and "OK" button there is a "HELP" and "911" button it it really gets ugly.  Hope to never use those features!  When the 911 button is activated the  GEOS International Emergency Response Center is contacted and our GPS coordinates are supplied to send help.  The "HELP" button contact my emergency contacts are emailed. 

So far I am unable to share our previous locations, but from here on, you should be able to see where we are if you are interested.  Click on the above link.

 

Here we are under the Golden Gate

Left San Francisco around 3:45 pm for an overnight trip to Monterey.  Seventeen hours later, 8:30am on Wednesday morning.  Sea started nice and quiet, but then developed an occasional beam on roll, tossing cabin contents about with vigor.  I know better, and thought I packed well enough, but will be reassessing our packing procedures.

Tired, but happy to be back in Monterey.  We will have visitors, yippee. Love this town.

At this point, weather is closing in and will not be able to leave before Sat or maybe Sunday.  Will not be taking any chances, we are not out to prove how tough our boat is or how much abuse we can take.  Will head out when the weather is benign.

After enjoying a sunny Benicia day, we headed out around 9am on Monday for Angel Island in the San Francisco Bay.  Arrived at Raccoon Straights, and the mouth of Ayala Cove around 1pm; quick trip on a flood tide.

Marcus has fond memories of taking our kids on the ferry with their bikes and biking all over the island and having a picnic lunch. Although it was $30 per night for a mooring, we are pretty sure we will not pass this way again, well by boat anyway!  We made a pass to see how the mooring field was laid out and to watch how another boater was picking up a mooring.  A mooring is a big ball or something like that that floats and is anchored to the ocean floor.  Some have a big eye that you hook with a boat hook and tie your boat to; sometimes you are to tie bow and stern to separate moorings.  This particular configuration was bow and stern, and you had to “lasso” it and work your stern around tie to the opposite mooring ball. 

The initial catch was good, and we deployed the dinghy to secure the stern, however, with the current Marcus, rowing the dinghy, couldn’t pull the boat over to the stern buoy.   A friendly neighbor hopped in his dinghy, and helped us secure it, thank you new friend Jim!  We settled in for a nice late lunch.

Later we rowed in to pay our mooring fee and explored the island a bit.  Very nice, green and as it was late afternoon, the deer were out feeding.  Having no natural predators on the island, they were practically fearless.  There are great hiking and biking trails and the view of San Francisco from the top of Mt. Livermore is great.  Still nursing bad knees right now, will have to save that hike for another day.

Dinner of left over Chinese food from Benicia, and we settled in for the night. The bilge pump started running, which means there is water in the lowest part of the boat, so Marcus works at trying to find out why.  His attention to detail, especially about little things like that are why I am comfortable sailing with him. 

Tomorrow we will prep the boat for our trip out the gate.   We will leave on the outgoing tide around 3:30pm and should arrive in Monterey Wed afternoon, a 20 hour trip.   I am excited and ready to slowly head south.

Left Isleton about 9am and Bruno's Island gave us a proper send off with horns and cheers, shouting final goodbys. 
Had a pleasant motor to Benicia Marina, where we had stopped in 2009 on Quiet Moon.  It was a pretty good hike to Safeway and we were tired, so we treated ourselves to a delicious Chinese dinner at Szechwan Kitchen.

We had plenty to do to finish up preparing the boat, so our list included:

• find out why the alternator quit charging suddenly
• install the roller furling headsail
• finish installing dodger (harder than it sounds)
• fuel
• fill water tank
• continued to stow equipment etc.
• sorted out boat system manuals
• grocery store
• weather check

Seems like the list should be longer, but it is incredibly stressfull heading out, and we have always found it is just nice to have a day without pressure to finish up some larger/small tasks.

I don't think you are ever "ready" to leave, so you just leave, and take care of final details as you go.

We should be at Angel Island tonight (Monday) and prepare the boat (and us) for a Tues. afternoon departure out the gate.  Think it will be about 20 hours to Monterey where it looks like we may stay for a couple of days waiting for a weather window.  We have friends in Monterey and it will be a nice place to wait, since we know the area so well.  We were sidelined on our first attempt at Mexico in 2009 and spent 2 months living at the Marina.

We had a great send off down seven mile slough with horns and people waving and shouting final goodbys!  It was just the kind of send off you would hope for at the begining of a grand adventure.
I started to push the button on our SPOT satelite messenger, but it would not work.  Battery problem.  Oh well, better to find out now.  I'm sure Marcus is sick of me saying that, but it is true, just happens more often than we would like.

Tucked into Benicia for the night, maybe longer as we may have an alternator problem.  Oh well, better to find out now . . .