We spent an extra day in Santa Cruz getting the alternator bolt repaired. The old bolt head had sheared off and left the body of the bolt threaded into the mount that is also part of the engine’s thermostat. I tried an “easy out” that was designed to remove screws and could not remove the old bolt—so we contacted the local boatyard when they opened and they got us right in. Amazing what a machine shop with all the right tools can accomplish. In about ten minutes, they were able to remove the bolt. This was the ideal time to replace the thermostat, since the yard had to remove the thermostat. Lots of words to say, “this became a maintenance day.”
The next day we planned to go to Monterey. However, the “weather guessers” were calling for 25-30 knot winds from the NW, so we figured that the last half of the trip would likely be boisterous, along with beam seas that come with 30 knot winds. So off we went expecting some excitement. Instead the trip was beautiful, 12-15 knots of beam reaching. The winds actually got lighter as we passed the half way point on Monterey Bay. We clearly have much to learn about weather forecasting and making our own estimates of likely conditions.
We are spending the day restocking the boat. By the way, Monterey has an amazing Farmer’s Market each Tuesday afternoon. It was two city blocks of merchants, just a few blocks from the marina, and is the place to get your fresh produce. Jill also managed to find a music store, from which I had to drag her after an hour.
We will take off early in the morning for San Simeon. This is an amazing little anchorage just below the Hearst Castle and we plan to spend a day or two before continuing South.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
San Luis Obispo - Leg 6
The off day in San Simeon was a bit of a disappointment.
The fog continued most of the day, but we did get a few glimpses of Hearst Castle on the nearby hilltop. (Jill’s note: with binoculars ;-)
However, we were second guessing our decision to stay for the extra day since the weather service was calling for a gale warning for the next day, between Piedras Blancas and Pt. Arguello—right where we were located.
Fortunately, the winds were not expected to increase until the afternoon.
Our options were to remain in a foggy San Simeon for three more days, dash to an equally foggy Morro Bay and wait out the two days of gale winds, or proceed to Port San Luis and wait out the gale.
We chose the latter since we could always divert into Morro Bay if the winds (and seas) built earlier than forecast.
I think we made a good decision as we got to Port San Luis (PSL) about 4pm on August 30th, just as the winds were starting to build.
PSL is a large, open harbor with a long seawall that blocks the predominant West and Northwest winds and seas. However, PSL is a working harbor and we got our first taste of refueling from a pier with nothing but the pier pilings to use for tieing-off. I had been telling Jill we needed fender boards for Mexico and had planned to make them in San Diego. We must have generated “Tourist” comments from the local fishermen as we tried to hold our precious painted and waxed surfaces away from the barnacle encrusted telephone poles that hold up the pier. The fuel “dock” operator lowered the hose to us from ten feet above our heads, complaining all the while that it was time to “close up shop,” “I’m not supposed to be working this late” (it was 4pm), “why was our fuel tank so far forward?” etc.,etc.
After we finished fueling, he kindly pointed out a couple of rocks that lie awash near the fuel “dock.” If you don’t really need fuel and visit PSL, you may want to skip this experience.
We anchored in the East end of the harbor, in 30 feet of relatively flat water with good holding, while watching the effects of gale winds outside the harbor. A good way to experience gale winds, in my opinion.
A peaceful night of good sleep ensued and today we will get some boat chores accomplished. (Jill’s note: which means Steve is changing fuel filters and diving the boat in 58 degree water while I’m reading a book and playing the mandolin ;-)
The gale conditions have potentially been extended another day. We will likely leave on this upcoming Tuesday or Wednesday once we know the worst of the wind and 13’ seas is over. The next leg is the rounding of Pt. Conception (sometimes called the “Cape Horn of the Pacific”) after which we plan (there’s that word again) to anchor in Cojo to savor our re-entry into Southern California. We have stayed in Cojo several times and never cease to be amazed at the difference in weather in this anchorage, located just a mile East of Pt. Conception.
The fog continued most of the day, but we did get a few glimpses of Hearst Castle on the nearby hilltop. (Jill’s note: with binoculars ;-)
However, we were second guessing our decision to stay for the extra day since the weather service was calling for a gale warning for the next day, between Piedras Blancas and Pt. Arguello—right where we were located.
Fortunately, the winds were not expected to increase until the afternoon.
Our options were to remain in a foggy San Simeon for three more days, dash to an equally foggy Morro Bay and wait out the two days of gale winds, or proceed to Port San Luis and wait out the gale.
We chose the latter since we could always divert into Morro Bay if the winds (and seas) built earlier than forecast.
I think we made a good decision as we got to Port San Luis (PSL) about 4pm on August 30th, just as the winds were starting to build.
PSL is a large, open harbor with a long seawall that blocks the predominant West and Northwest winds and seas. However, PSL is a working harbor and we got our first taste of refueling from a pier with nothing but the pier pilings to use for tieing-off. I had been telling Jill we needed fender boards for Mexico and had planned to make them in San Diego. We must have generated “Tourist” comments from the local fishermen as we tried to hold our precious painted and waxed surfaces away from the barnacle encrusted telephone poles that hold up the pier. The fuel “dock” operator lowered the hose to us from ten feet above our heads, complaining all the while that it was time to “close up shop,” “I’m not supposed to be working this late” (it was 4pm), “why was our fuel tank so far forward?” etc.,etc.
After we finished fueling, he kindly pointed out a couple of rocks that lie awash near the fuel “dock.” If you don’t really need fuel and visit PSL, you may want to skip this experience.
We anchored in the East end of the harbor, in 30 feet of relatively flat water with good holding, while watching the effects of gale winds outside the harbor. A good way to experience gale winds, in my opinion.
A peaceful night of good sleep ensued and today we will get some boat chores accomplished. (Jill’s note: which means Steve is changing fuel filters and diving the boat in 58 degree water while I’m reading a book and playing the mandolin ;-)
The gale conditions have potentially been extended another day. We will likely leave on this upcoming Tuesday or Wednesday once we know the worst of the wind and 13’ seas is over. The next leg is the rounding of Pt. Conception (sometimes called the “Cape Horn of the Pacific”) after which we plan (there’s that word again) to anchor in Cojo to savor our re-entry into Southern California. We have stayed in Cojo several times and never cease to be amazed at the difference in weather in this anchorage, located just a mile East of Pt. Conception.
San Simeon - Leg 5
Another good example of needing to be flexible with your boat plans.
The Plan was to depart Monterey at 5am and be around Pt Pinos at daylight.
Then we would have a beautiful daylight run past some of the most incredible scenery in California—Carmel, 17 Mile Drive with all the mansions, Pt Sur, and the ocean perspective of miles of Highway 101.
The Reality is that we left (almost on time) under starry skies and got to Pt Pinos and promptly encountered the fog. We proceeded down the coast about four miles offshore in visibility that ranged from 150 yards to a half mile, and did not see land at all—ever once—for the whole day. I had planned the trip of approximately 85 miles so that we would get to San Simeon Bay before dark. However, the Plan assumed some wind for motor sailing. The Reality is that we had no wind and our speed across the bottom was approximately 5 knots. Reality said there was no way to make landfall before dark.
Remember, the fog I mentioned earlier? Well it was still with us as we approached San Simeon. Running a nice slow entrance with the radar and chart plotter for guidance, we put the anchor down in this really wonderful place about 9pm.
We are taking the next day to enjoy the view (hopefully) of Hearst Castle.
We plan to proceed to San Luis Obispo the day after that.
The Plan was to depart Monterey at 5am and be around Pt Pinos at daylight.
Then we would have a beautiful daylight run past some of the most incredible scenery in California—Carmel, 17 Mile Drive with all the mansions, Pt Sur, and the ocean perspective of miles of Highway 101.
The Reality is that we left (almost on time) under starry skies and got to Pt Pinos and promptly encountered the fog. We proceeded down the coast about four miles offshore in visibility that ranged from 150 yards to a half mile, and did not see land at all—ever once—for the whole day. I had planned the trip of approximately 85 miles so that we would get to San Simeon Bay before dark. However, the Plan assumed some wind for motor sailing. The Reality is that we had no wind and our speed across the bottom was approximately 5 knots. Reality said there was no way to make landfall before dark.
Remember, the fog I mentioned earlier? Well it was still with us as we approached San Simeon. Running a nice slow entrance with the radar and chart plotter for guidance, we put the anchor down in this really wonderful place about 9pm.
We are taking the next day to enjoy the view (hopefully) of Hearst Castle.
We plan to proceed to San Luis Obispo the day after that.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Santa Cruz
Today is Monday, August 25th which makes this our third day as cruisers. With a tear-filled sendoff by our friends and neighbors in Alameda on Friday the 22nd, we sailed (and motored) about 30nm and arrived at a lovely, large anchorage at Half Moon Bay, south of San Francisco, and situated along the California coast. The sailing was easy and nice – the skies mostly cloudy with cool temperatures. Staying at anchor all day Saturday – giving my back a rest and just enjoying the freedom of being unplugged – we decided we’d weigh anchor Sunday morning and head for Santa Cruz Harbor, about 50nm ‘down the road.’ As is typical for this time of year, the winds were light in the morning then picked up in the afternoon. Boy, did they!
The majority of our sailing over the years has been on oceans, which means wind, swell and wind waves. Having said that, these past two years our sailing has largely been in the San Francisco Bay with high winds but mostly flat (sometimes choppy) water, but no swells. As the seas and swell built yesterday out in the Pacific Ocean, our ride was one worth paying for! Always interesting to be surfing in a boat…. My general rule of thumb is to just not look behind us, thus I won’t be freaked out by large seas. And that rule works well I might add. I only started looking behind us when Providence was reaching flying speeds (!), at which time I mentioned to Steve “okay, DO something.” Steve wants me to mention that he calmly reduced sail and headed for the harbor. (We intended to put in at Santa Cruz anyway, so I was happy to have it in sight.)
When we arrived at the harbor entrance Steve noticed our engine tach wasn’t working. No big deal. After tying up at the guest dock it was determined one of our alternator’s mounting bolts had sheared off and the alternator was intending to go for a walk-about in the engine compartment. So, now we’re living the REAL cruising dream which is the privilege of doing maintenance in exotic locations ;-) The bolt that sheared can only be removed by a machine shop. Cool thing is that there just happens to be a Westerbeke dealer here in Santa Cruz and they are taking good care of us. Talk about Providence, eh?
Tomorrow's plan is to sail to Monterey.
The majority of our sailing over the years has been on oceans, which means wind, swell and wind waves. Having said that, these past two years our sailing has largely been in the San Francisco Bay with high winds but mostly flat (sometimes choppy) water, but no swells. As the seas and swell built yesterday out in the Pacific Ocean, our ride was one worth paying for! Always interesting to be surfing in a boat…. My general rule of thumb is to just not look behind us, thus I won’t be freaked out by large seas. And that rule works well I might add. I only started looking behind us when Providence was reaching flying speeds (!), at which time I mentioned to Steve “okay, DO something.” Steve wants me to mention that he calmly reduced sail and headed for the harbor. (We intended to put in at Santa Cruz anyway, so I was happy to have it in sight.)
When we arrived at the harbor entrance Steve noticed our engine tach wasn’t working. No big deal. After tying up at the guest dock it was determined one of our alternator’s mounting bolts had sheared off and the alternator was intending to go for a walk-about in the engine compartment. So, now we’re living the REAL cruising dream which is the privilege of doing maintenance in exotic locations ;-) The bolt that sheared can only be removed by a machine shop. Cool thing is that there just happens to be a Westerbeke dealer here in Santa Cruz and they are taking good care of us. Talk about Providence, eh?
Tomorrow's plan is to sail to Monterey.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Ready to go
August 19, 2008
Well, we're ready to leave! Except for one tiny problem. I've had a recurring upper back spasm - and no clue what triggers it - so I'm laid up which means we're still tied to the dock at our Marina in Alameda. Frustrating (and somewhat embarrassing to be 'yelping' in pain all the time), but God's delays are not necessarily denials. I learned that many years ago!
Steve has added our Monitor windvane steering, the Winslow liferaft, the Single Sideband radio, a new CD/ipod stereo (that was the most important thing to me ;-), the watermaker, purchased the spinnaker.... well, you get the idea! So his retirement has been a bit crazy, and busy, but he's loving it (and I am, too!) We've spent a bit of the last month in Arizona as well as San Diego with family and friends, but we're back on our "let's leave!" track. Once my back agrees, we'll be off!
Our first stop will be Sausalito, which is still in the Bay. It's near the Golden Gate bridge, so when the weather and currents are right we'll then slip on out and head toward Half Moon Bay (about 30nm) to anchor, awaiting the next weather window. Ultimately we'll take our time and figure on arriving in San Diego about the first of October. We're entered in a Cruisers' Rally appropriately titled the Baja Ha-Ha which departs San Diego on 27 October. With 150+ yachts "racing" it promises to be a thrill.
More soon. We'll check in once we're near the internet again.
Blessings,
Jill
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