Six pm and we are off. The swell is gentle and the wind is quiet. We will be motoring tonight. As we head off into a glorious sunset of crimson red and orange a large pod of dolphins whizz past us. A few alter course to say hello and others leapt out of the water to show off their glistening bodies silhouetted against the setting sun. Does it get any more spectacular than this?
As the sun sinks into the ocean and darkness settles in we start to pick up some heavy rain ahead of us on the radar, followed by flashes of lightening. We have never been on the water with lightening like this, and it is certainly nerve racking. Most of the flashes are over the hill ahead of us, but we watch one fork that hits the water. Spooky. Putting Fynn to bed I had to control my fear as I watched the sky light up through the portlights. It was scarier inside as I couldn’t tell where the lightening was, making it seem directly above us and causing my imagination to run wild. I thought of how scary it would be to be hit and what I would do. In the end there isn’t much to be done, so I stuck the iPad in the oven and hoped for the best.
I had the 8-10pm shift and I watched us pass through the storm and finally disappear behind us. After that the night was quiet and uneventful. We arrived in San Simeon by at 6:45 am, just as the sun was rising.
San Simeon was gorgeous. The water was clear and emerald green, Heart Castle was lit up and glowing in the dawn light and the smell of eucalyptus was wafting down from shore. Sadly this was only to be a very short pit stop. As the sun came up it quickly became apparent that there was no way to land the dinghy in the swell. The waves were crashing onto the beach incessantly. So we took it all in one more time then hauled anchor and continued south to Saint Louis Obisco, or SLO for short.
Little Marine Biologist
Not so still. I guess it gets this name from the calm waters of the summer. We continued to have swell after swell. Fynn is now a pro at balancing with the rocking and timing her movements with the calm. Kyber is less than pleased. We tucked Asunto in behind Pescardo Rocks just as the sun was setting. The bay is getting choked with winter kelp already but we found a hole and stuck well. Lining the shore is a world class gold course and the Pebble Beach Yacht Club and Resort. The Yacht club has a dinghy dock and the moorings in the bay are privately owned. Unfortunately the dinghy dock is raised during the winter (after Labor Day) so it was another beach landing for us. Although scattered with marine debris, the sand was luxuriously soft between my toes. Kolby went off for a dive in the afternoon, which was momentarily suspended when his BCD and tank rig fell off the back transom and sunk to the bottom of the sea. Fortunately he found it in the murk and had a great dive, finding abalone, lingcod and other rockfish. Returning to the boat with his loot we proceeded to learn how to process an abalone (more complicated than you might think; thanks YouTube!) and feasted on abalone chowder and fresh baked bread. We had a flash thunderstorm and discussed boats being struck by lightening. Tonight will be our first overnight passage since arriving in San Francisco as we head some 80 nm to San Simeon Bay and the base of Hearst Castle.
There is no place to anchor in Monterey. Full stop. The protected bay behind the breakwater is so full of mooring balls it is hard to even navigate through the boats. The moorings have even begun to spill outside the breakwater. We considered anchoring out here, but it is directly open to the weather, so we decided to head to the public dock where we could finish a few more projects. We spent two nights at the Marina ($0.80/foot) and were surprised how much swell there still was. The lines creak and groaned as the boat pulled away then bounced back into the dock. Monterey is a pretty good place to hang out and get stuff done. There was everything we needed within walking distance – dog park, grocery store, marine store, dive store and an awesome playground. We had a pretty busy day of chores our first day. The new inverter was installed, the satellite phone antenna was removed from the mast (where is was getting too much interference from the rigging) and the wifi booster was installed on the spreader instead. The next day we visited the totally amazing Monterey Bay aquarium. At $40 a ticket admission isn’t cheap, but it is worth it. They have three amazing ‘big tanks’ that were unlike anything we have seen before. One tank had tuna that looked to weight several hundred pounds. They also have some really unique displays that merge art with science.
Great playground – she didn’t stop moving
Monterey Bay Aquarium
We took our leave of the Bay late in the afternoon and headed off for Stillwater Cove.
Oh right the rollers…. I would love to hear a foghorn all night if it would mean these rollers would stop. We are anchored to the west of the pier at Santa Cruz. What a neat spot. Just a few kilometers towards shore we can watch the surfers from the boat. But oh the pitching and rolling….
Trying to take the dinghy to shore turned out to be quiet the story. We brought it into the beach on the east side of the pier, and the pier was dampening a lot of the waves. The beach landing worked great- we raced the dinghy up the shore on the wheels. But we couldn’t get it far enough up to get out of the waves. It was quickly clear that we could leave it here. Turning around we battled the surf to get back floating, not an easy feat. Once Kolby was puttering away- heading back to the boat to pick us up later- a lifeguard swam out to him. “You can’t use your motor within the white markers!” “What white markers?” Kolby asks. The lifeguard looks around “Oh, I guess they just removed them! Do you have a paddle?” “Yes but… I would rather not paddle this beast of a dinghy.” “Ok I will tow you!” replies the lifeguard as he grabs a line and starts swimming. Kolby of course can do nothing but grab a paddle and help. The two lifeguards on the pier see what is happening and figure Kolby is having engine problems. They run down to the public access dock, which is covered with sea lions, and start to (unsuccessfully) clear the beasts off. “Umm I can just drive away now …” Kolby calls out between roars of protesting sea lions.
We did in the end use the public access dock for loading and unloading at the pier, stepping around the sea lions. There is a sign the reads “Dock is for public use. Please prod sea lions off the dock as needed.” It also says 20-minute maximum stay. I don’t think it would be a good idea to leave a boat here anyway, unless you are cool with a sea lion party in the dinghy. The only safe place to leave the dinghy is in the yacht basin. This place is worth checking out, just to watch the boats surf into the harbor. The huge breakwater stops the surf from breaking at the entrance but the waves can still be pretty big. It is definitely a timing game, waiting for a lull then gunning it. On our first trip in we had four dolphins mucking about at the entrance, which was really fun. There is one dinghy dock here, just behind the fuel dock and the ramp leads to the Market. You could leave your dinghy here for the day and visit the beach or the roller coasters at the boardwalk. There were also a few restaurants at the basin serving up some pretty tasty looking breakfasts. There is a free barge that will take you form one side of the harbor to the other and a dog friendly beach by the breakwater. On the way out of the harbor we actually were airborne as we came off the top of a particularly large wave. Fun!
At this time I didn’t realize what a gem the anchorage is at Halfmoon Bay. Tucked into the calm waters behind the huge breakwater, we watch an amazing sunset just after dropping the hook. As darkness fell I cursed the incessant fog horn, wishing for quiet. It was reaching me through my sleep morphing into all sorts of strangeness that only occur in dreams. The next morning was a boat job morning. Kolby finished the water maker membrane install and I replaced another panel on the dodger with new Lexan. The town itself is a ways back from the water but the marina has a two hour public dinghy dock, which has become a YIPPEE. The rocks protecting the marina were covered with thousands of pelicans. I thought sea lions smelt bad- these birdies win hands down. There is a nice beach just outside the breakwater where you can enjoy the sand and watch the surfers catch a wave. Looking west you will see the large dome shaped antenna, just on the other side of the cliff is where the Mavericks occur, attracting surfers from around the world to challenge the walls of water (and the great whites). Something to keep in mind before heading out of the protected breakwaters! We heard of one sailboat who tucked their nose out, got whacked by a wave, smashed their dishes and promptly turn back into the bay!
For the Northern Sailor heading south, San Francisco marks the first ‘made it’ point. Some choose to sail non-stop to the Golden Bridge while others ‘bar hop’ their way down the coast; either way this is the first real destination.
So you made it, you’re here – Congrats! Now what?
On Asunto we headed up to 100 miles offshore to make for a great sail down the coast to San Francisco, doing the trip from Vancouver in 6.5 days, including a half day stop in Port Angeles to clear customs. For Asunto and her crew, we decided we wanted to spend the first few nights in the city itself. This was a great way to feel connected to San Fran and for the crew to check out the city before flying home. The marina at Pier 39 offers transient moorage for $60 (for boats between 40-70 feet) and you cannot be more in the heart of the chaos than here. The infamous sea lion dock was directly astern (and happily downwind) of Asunto. They also have showers/ laundry and wifi in the lounge. (Want to stay in the city for free? Apply for a permit at the Aquatic Park, see bottom for details). After a few nights in the city we headed to Oyster Point Marina, which is only a 10-minute drive to the airport and offered moorage at $0.70/foot. The marina also had showers and amazing wifi, which we made good use of. Here we sent our crew on their way and Kristine, Fynn and Kyber arrived home. After a night to settle in, it was time to go.
We are, by nature, not ‘dockers’. So immediately we started looking for places to anchor in the Bay area. Admittedly we were surprised at the lack of options. The Bay really is a day sail area. We found a great resource at www.boatingsf.com, which had heaps of info on marinas, places to anchor overnight and lunch stops. Using this as a guide we headed for Clipper Cove on Treasure Island. Clipper Cove is a large bay with a shoaling entrance right at the Bay Bridge. It is shallow enough that were restricted to coming and going with high tide (our draft is 5.5”) as we saw 7.8” at high tide. The Bay itself is moderately exposed to a westerly wind and would probably get a bit rough in winds over 30 knots. San Fran Bay consistently has winds around 20 knots in the afternoon, starting around 1pm and dying off during the night. The mornings are calm and occasionally foggy. Clipper Cove was a mud/sand bottom with good holding. There is a sand beach at the head of the bay where we could anchor the dinghy off the beach, tied to a log. We were unable to get our (big heavy) dinghy up the beach with the wheels due to the steepness of the beach. There are stairs up to the road and you can walk towards the man made island of Yerba Buena, built in the early 1900s. Note that there have been reports of dinghy theft here, so it isn’t recommended to leave your dinghy for extended periods of time. The walk is a great way to see the San Francisco skyline on a clear day or night. We didn’t find much else here to do, but the beach was nice.
From Clipper Cove we headed to Angel Island, which is a park. The main bay is Ayala Cove and is a mooring field. We were completely unfamiliar with this style of mooring, which is to grab a mooring buoy off the bow and stern. We watched a few local boats who made it look much more feasible than what we were doing. After about 40 minutes of maneuvering with the dinghy we were finally tied up, only to realize we were in 9 feet of water and the tide was dropping 5 feet over night. The bay itself was getting quite full and was still wavy/rolling from passing boats. We piled into the dinghy and were about to hop on the public dock (not for overnight stays) when we saw the big NO DOGS sign. Well that was the end of Angel Island for us. There are two other bays to anchor in on Angel Island but they both looked very exposed and the waves were crashing on shore, making a beach landing tricky.
From our failed attempt at Angel Island, we headed to Richardson Bay off of Sausalito. This was another rolly anchorage but good holding in mud. It is also a busy one with a mix of locals, derelicts and cruisers. There are two dinghy docks on shore, the public one at the boat ramp at the bottom of Pine Street, which is very busy; and a quieter one that is provided by a Liveaboard marina at the bottom of Napa street (near the Sausalito Cruising Club) a 10 minute walk away. This dock was mostly empty, but the gate is locked at night.
After anchoring all around the bay, it was time to head back to the city for some tourism. This time we opted for the free anchorage at the Aquatic Park. The park is open to sailboats only as there is technically no motoring in the Park (with the exception of motoring to anchor and using your dinghy motor to access shore). The Park is a very busy swimming hub with two ocean swim clubs operating off the shore. Apparently the two clubs are differentiated by attire; one club the swimmers wear wetsuits, the other is bathers only. There are a few mooring buoys, but these are for park use only, so find a spot to drop the hook. In the summer months this busy is hopping but in the offseason (we were here early October) it was quiet enough. The anchorage is protected by a pier/breakwater, but at certain tides the breakwater is submerged and the place gets quite rolly. Of course all free things come with the price. This price was nowhere to put the dinghy. After exploring every inch we found three options: 1) On the main public beach, which is very visible and has lots of kids around (who may climb on your dinghy) 2) on the small public access beach to the east of the Dolphin Swim Club. This is less public but the waves were bigger 3) on the west side of the white building tucked into the west side of the park. This is a youth marine training building. We opted for this location. On the west side the breakwater has a level platforms that you can step onto from the dinghy. This is easy enough for loading and unloading people, kids and groceries. The spot is also less visible for the public so you are less likely to get unwelcome guests on your dinghy. After unloading we tossed the stern anchor (attached to a long bungee) to keep the dinghy off the bottom and tied a long line to shore, such that the dinghy was floating 15 feet off the breakwater. We left the dinghy here for 6 plus hours as we explored the city without incident.
Of course there are other places to go and visit while in the Bay, but hopefully this information will prove helpful for at least one fellow cruiser!
As the choas of the last few weeks begins to calm, and Asunto looks less like it was smacked by a stuff tornado and more like an ocean going vessel, it hits me. We are leaving. Really going. Sailing away.
I am a bit of a mess. Nervous, excited, perhaps in shock. Work is finished. Time to go! HOLY SHIT!
I think the hardest part is the unknown. Of course this is true of any change, the known is comfortable and familiar. The unknown is scary. But it is facing this fear and moving forward that shapes our lives and builds our character. So change, adventure and unknown, here we come!
And head south! And we mean south, south, south – to Mexico! Follow our adventures as we take year to sail to Mexico, Hawaii and Alaska as a family. We will be leaving within the next few weeks, and it has been pretty crazy around here finishing up all the projects so that we can feel ready and safe to travel. So many emotions right now, but we are super excited!
No the Straight of Georgia is not the open sea. But she meanders her way around and through our little islands and her fingers stretch towards to Pacific. She remembers the sea, she knows her roots.
The PredictWind forecast didn’t see it coming. The Environment Canada forecast did, but even they didn’t know how fickle she would become.
We left Cortes in a light northly, even flew the Spinnaker for a bit before the winds died and the sea turned to glass. We anchored in Tribune Bay on the southern tip of Hornby Island in 10-15 knots of southerly breeze. Tribune Bay is shaped such that it appears to be hugging the Straight, the long arms reaching to the south, effectively funnelling the waves and wind towards the shore.
We knew Tribune is not the place to be in a southerly. However we have wanted to see this beach for years, and Fynn and Kyber were itching for a chance to run. We piled into the dinghy, and Kolby dropped us off in knee high water and went to anchor Otto a little deeper. As soon as Fynn could touch off came her clothes and she and Kyber raced along the sand. Yes, we needed this.
We were on shore about one hour, during which we did not feel an increase in the wind. We did notice Asunto dancing and bobbing on her chain, but weren’t too alarmed. Otto was also bouncing in the waves but because of the long shoaling of the bay the waves did not seem any bigger from our prespective.
Suddenly we both looked at each other: ‘time to go’ we thought simultaneously. Kolby went to bring Otto in while I loaded the backpack. Getting everyone into the dinghy was when we first realized just how much the sea had changed. The ripples and chop had morphed into 6 foot monsters, stacked up on each other without rest. The waves were breaking on our faces, we were drenched in moments and starting to shiver.
I’m not even sure how we managed to get aboard. Asunto was all but leaping, and a relentlessly moving target. I had to get on first, and with the ladder out of the water my target was a 2′ by 3′ rectangle with one hand hold. ‘1,2,3 go’ and Kolby zoomed Otto towards the stern. I lept, made it, then slipped off. Hanging by the backstay as Asunto attempted to buck me off, I remember telling myself there was no way I was letting go, no way I was not getting on this boat. Once I was up and the ladder down, I grabbed the dingy painter and then it was Kyber off, and Fynn off. I tied Otto to the cleat while Kolby started bailing. Once I had Fynn settled below and dry clothes on to stop the shaking, Kolby and I quickly realized there was no way we were getting Otto on the davits. She would have to be towed. ‘What if we loose the dighy? Do we just let it go?’ ‘I could swim after it’ Neither option was a happy one and all we could do was hope for the best.
Bringing up the anchor was another challenge. The bow would cut into the waves, and the wind, now up to 20+ knots, was determined to spin us broad side. Otto was also struggling. Without a taught tow line the wind would sweep her sideways… There was one moment where Kolby was certain she would flip.. I remembered wondering if leaving was the best choice, or if we should stay and wait it out.
Once we were underway things improved, slightly. But we still had one major problem; our decktop hatches had many cracked and broken latches. It was on the ‘to fix list’ but hadn’t been an issue so far. As wave after wave crashed across the bow and sprayed against the dodger, I was running around belowing, tightening the latches, moping water off the floor and placing strategical towels. Thinking I had the situation under control, I went up top to see how Kolby was. It wasn’t too long when we watched Asunto dive bow first into a Goliath of a wave. With the bow already low from the pitch of the last wave, this one was blue water on the dodger. A first for us. It was not a good scene down below. Hatches that were leaking let in buckets of water. Bedding was wet, carpets wet, everything soaked. Again I mopped it up using the last of our towels. Then, thankfully we turned, ran broadside then finally downwind as we fled towards Ford Cove. As we pitched downwind my stomach started doing flips with every roll. Kyber was also less than enthusiastic, but Otto loved it, surfing down the waves in our wake, her tow line mostly slack. ‘Otto is having the time of his life’ Kolby yelled to me. Fynn was also unaffected, sitting bundled on the couch watching her shows and munching down dinner. She didn’t say boo.
Anchored in Ford Cove the effect of the wind and waves was dampened. Again I wondered if leaving was the right choice. As nothing serious had happened, it seemed to be. We know other boats who rode it out in Tribune but we also learnt that night that a boat had washed ashore. In the end the decision is personal, and for us and our boat, the desicion to go was the right one.
That night as the wind faded with the sun, the sea refused to let go. She had tasted the tempest and loved it. With no wind to turn us into the waves we rocked and rolled for hours until finally the sea wore herself out and settled into the night.
I have been having an affair. And it’s getting serious. I may even be in love.
Her name is Comox. It started last year and lasted a weeked, but we recently rekindled the romance this weekend. She has beauty equivalent to yours, Vancouver, but she wins hands down for cruising. She is big enough to have what is needed but not too big. Perhaps we should stay.
Recent Comments