09/23/2009, Port of San Luis
"Weather is a crapshoot" our friend Lois, of S/V Blind Faith stated17 years ago when we were in Hawaii. Now, even with all the sophisticated new resources, it really still is.
In addition to the traditional NOAA reports (which many refer to as the "liars club") we have grib files, weather faxes and intenet based weather services such as Passage Weather and Buoy Weather. There's so much you can look at all day! And then go away not having a better clue than when you started. There definitly is such a thing as too much information.
The biggest problem is that marine weather can change unexpectedly when a system either slows down or picks up speed throwing the whole forecast off. It's not a problem when you're just doing a day hop, but when you're going to be out over 24 hours it can make a big difference -- like what happened when we were heading to Crescent City and the big winds and seas started developing about 12 hours before the prediction.
Planning to round Point Conception is a difficult one, because it is known for it's high winds and the recommendation is to round it at night (when the winds are generally lowest). And from San Luis, the closest jumping off place, it is 60 miles to round the point to Cojo anchorage and another 40 if you want to make it all the way to Santa Barbara.
Yesterday it was our intention to leave about midnight and go to the Cojo anchorage. That way we would only have a 6 hour night at sea instead of 12. But, the winds were predicted to be strong through this morning so we changed our plans and now will leave later this afternoon and go all the way to Santa Barbara or even Oxnard (another 30 miles) if we're up to it.
One piece of information that has really helped are the buoy reports -- real time data showing what's happening out there. While in San Francisco I found an ap for my iPhone that gives us the buoy reports, so now we're able to check them anytime I have phone service (which is just about all the time now). We checked them last night for the point and were very glad we stayed put!
Now we'll have another long night at sea, but we are well rested -- this is a great anchorage! And only time will tell if we've made the right decision, because it's always a gamble and you get what you get. But I always keep in mind another thing that Lois would say: "and this too, shall pass".
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09/22/2009, San Luis Obispo, California
We left Monterey with hopes of staying out 2 nights and rounding Pt. Conception so we would officially be in Southern California, and hopefully leaving the land of sand and fog behind us.
Anxious to get going, we left Monterey earlier than we should have to time the rounding of the "treacherous" cape for the night hours, so we amended our plan to stop in San Luis for a brief rest -- and check the weather report -- then continue on.
Again we traveled all day with no wind and light fog. At least this fog was high enough we had about 2 mile visibility during the day and we could even see shore for once! This made the traveling so much more interesting and much easier since you could keep a sense of direction just by looking around instead of having to stare at the compass and other instruments.
The highlight of the day was passing a north bound sailboat, because Richard Reppy, the old cruising friend we met up with in Monterey was onboard! He'd driven down to Santa Barbara the day before to help a friend bring his boat back up to Monterey -- so we knew we might happen to pass on the way, but what a delight to actually see the boat (right as night fell) and talk to a friendly voice and get an idea of the weather ahead!
Shortly after that the fog enveloped us and we had a long night of motoring along depending on the instruments to see our way. The sky began lightening up as we approached San Luis and we were able to pick our way in from buoy to buoy and set the anchor at 8 am.
Once situated we took a nice nap and awoke to sunny skies! Now we'll spend the day enjoying the sun and plotting when the best time to leave to round Pt. Conception -- right now the weather reports are leading us towards leaving here around midnight so we round the point just before sunrise.
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Walking down the dock this morning we were talking about how we hadn't seen any otter's here this time -- lots of sea lions and seals, but no otters.
Less than 2 minutes after making the statement, we came across this cutie floating in an empty slip!
Check your local book stores or marine stores for the October issue of Blue Water Sailing! Terry has an article about our adventure of replacing our engine in Tahiti -- another look at the exciting cruising life.
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After pulling into the dock in Monterey last Wednesday I walked up to the Harbormaster's Office to check in. She asked me if we'd ever stayed here before and when I told her 10 years ago she typed our name in the computer, and much to both of our surprise we came up! Then she said the last time we'd checked in was September 16, 1999 -- exactly 10 years to the day!
Then she asked me if the Gig Harbor address was still the same (it was) and another guy in the office said "I grew up in Gig Harbor" -- and we chatted a bit about what a small world it is. He's a fisherman and left Gig Harbor about 15 years ago for Alaska and also comes down here fishing.
While chatting with the Harbormasters one related a story about someone from this marina that had a bee infestation when they left their boat in Mexico and the other one said, "was that the Reppy's?". Well, the Reppy's were in Mexico with us in 1999 -- they had a daughter, Lauren, that Carly spent time with -- and now here they are living in this marina -- on the very dock we're on! It's a different boat than they had then, so had the harbormaster not mentioned the name, we never would have known they were here. It's a small, small world!
We've had a great stay here in Monterey. Spent the day yesterday (Terry's Birthday!) going to the aquarium and then having a nice lunch at Bubba Gumps on Cannery Row. After that we walked a beautiful sandy beach and topped it off with drinks and snacks at the Yacht Club.
Now we're busy getting ready to leave tomorrow. We're planning on being out two nights so we can get around Point Conception when the winds are down. It's a lot like Cape Mendocino -- the winds and seas can get pretty nasty, so you need to time it to round it in the night to early morning. So that's the plan, but if we get out there and the forecast changes, we will go into Morro Bay or San Luis to wait for benign weather to round the point. Next stop: Santa Barbara!
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The weather forecast looked good for leaving Half Moon Bay on Tuesday, September 15th, so we plotted our course for Capitola (just a little past Santa Cruz). We had a friend to meet up with there and they have a seasonal "marina" where they put out about 40 mooring buoys off the town wharf. It looked a little more protected than Santa Cruz, which we remembered from 10 years ago was a pretty rolly anchorage.
We woke to clear skies and began hauling the anchor at 6:15 and by the time we were heading out of the breakwater the fog was rolling in! We spent the next 7 hours motoring in a windless foggy bubble of visibility of about 1/4 mile.
Then about 2 pm the fog lightened giving us nearly a mile of visibility! We still couldn't see land even though we were only 3 miles off shore -- but there was hope! And the wind started coming up gradually -- even more hope!
Finally, at about 2:30 we were sailing along and actually able to see the California Coast for the first time! And we had sun!
We hooked up to our mooring buoy and went to shore and met up with our friend and after visiting his house had a nice dinner on the water at the Paradise Grill. Heading back out to the boat was a bit of a test as the swell had come up and the waves were a bit steep. The worst part was the dinghy dock on the pier -- it was treacherous! It was like walking across the back of a bucking bronco. Once safely back on Cetus we spent a rolly, tho not miserable, night and decided to move on the next day. I just did not want to deal with that dinghy dock again!
So up the next morning to cross the bay to Monterey. Again we had sun! And wind! Hurray! We'll be here in Monterey a few more days -- right now plan to leave on Sunday, Sept. 20th.
Next blog: Stories from the small world department!
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09/11/2009, Half Moon Bay
We had a beautiful morning traveling across San Francisco Bay yesterday -- the city was clearer than we'd ever seen it and it was fun to travel along the waterfront that we'd just walked the lengths of the day before.
There was, however, heavy fog around the Golden Gate Bridge that we were hoping would lift in the hour and a half it would take us to reach it, but no such luck. So armed with our chart plotter and AIS we traveled into the mist and couldn't see the bridge until we were right next to it. We continued to pick our way through the fog all the way to Half Moon Bay. We were just thankful to not have to be traveling in the night -- fog during the day is one thing, but traveling through fog in the night is down right creepy.
The fog lifted just as we entered Half Moon Bay about 3 in the afternoon, and we were happy to drop the hook amongst some other cruising boats in the harbor. It was a beautiful afternoon and evening and a very peaceful night.
Our plan had been to spend the night here and continue on to Capitola in the morning. But the weather forecast has us a bit concerned about the weekend there because a nasty storm in the Gulf of Alaska is sending a bigger than normal NW swell down along the coast. The anchorage off Capitola is open to the sea, so will feel the effects of the increased swell, and since we've never stayed there before (they have mooring buoys available) we weren't sure how rough it might get. So we decided to stay put here where we're protected by a breakwater and know we will be comfortable.
When we looked out at 6 am this morning, we were glad we'd made the decision to stay, as the fog was so thick we couldn't see the breakwater! It is lifting a bit already, but it will be nice to not have to travel through fog again today.
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09/06/2009, Emeryville, CA
Wow! Where does time go?
I thought that once Terry retired and we started out on this cruising life that time would slow back down, but it certainly hasn't! But I must say the quality of life is much better, for even though the hours slip away just as fast, now the hours are filled with doing things we like to do instead of spending way too much time driving I-5 and generally rushing around.
So now we've been in San Francisco Bay -- at the Emery Cove Marina -- nearly 3 weeks! We've had great visits with friends and daughter Carly and we've walked miles upon miles through San Francisco, Berkeley, Oakland, Richmond and Emeryville. We've enjoyed beautiful sunsets and have gotten some nice boat projects done -- and now we're starting to check the weather and plan our next stops. We will leave later this week with our first planned stop a mere 20 miles away: Half Moon Bay.
Then it will be down the coast to Santa Cruz/Capitola and Monterey, then possible stops at Morro Bay, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Oxnard, Marina del Ray and Newport before settling in at Chula Vista for the month of October.
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08/24/2009, Emery Cove Marina, SF Bay
We left Fort Bragg/Noyo River at 9 am Tuesday August 8th and crossed under the Golden Gate bridge at 7 am the next morning!
We had an uneventful rounding of Pt Arena, which is why we waited in Fort Bragg. The last time we came down the coast in Cetus we encountered huge seas and strong winds with gusts to 50 knots in that area and we didn't want to do that again!
Unfortunately, the winds on the coast this year are either feast or famine, and though we took off the first day the gusty winds and "dangerous seas" subsided, the forecast for some 10 - 15 knot winds from the West and Northwest didn't materialize and we headed out into south winds and fog. So once again we motored along in our little bubble of fog and had little visibility that night until we rounded Pt. Reyes and the fog began to lift, making it easier to spot the buoys we needed to follow through the Bonita Channel to reach the Golden Gate. Were excited to see a large killer whale go by on the 1st day, and that was our only sighting of this short passage.
At 6 am it became light and made for very easy transiting of the channel and we could suddenly see all the huge ships going in and out of the bay. The night before they had just been images on our radar and AIS. Even with the top of the bridge shrouded in clouds, it was an awesome sight to round Pt. Bonita and see the Golden Gate -- it's really a great feeling of accomplishment and we celebrated by opening a small bottle of champagne to toast as we passed under the bridge.
One unusual announcement to mariners came over the VHF radio as we were going through the Bonita channel -- they were telling everyone to proceed with caution through the channel because there were to be swimmers crossing the channel at 7 am! We didn't see the swimmers, but had we been even 15 minutes later we probably would have.
We then proceeded across the bay to the Emery Cove Marina -- it had been our home from 1998 -1999 when Terry worked in the Bay area before we headed down to Mexico the last time. It was nice to pull into a familiar place.
We've been enjoying being here and walking all over town. Yesterday we had a big adventure! We took BART to San Francisco where we caught the ferry to Sausalito and met up with our good friends Liz and Tom (they were in the area for a wedding). We had a fantastic day with them, checking out the Bay Model and then going back to Cetus and then out to dinner at Trader Vic's (the home of the original Mai Tai)
Now we have a free week to explore some more, get some boat projects done and plan the rest of our journey south.
Then Carly flies down on the 31st for a short visit!
Life is good.
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08/12/2009, Ft. Bragg/Noyo River
Our passage from Crescent City to Ft. Bragg was only about 180 miles, but was full of unusual sightings.
We travel at an average of 5 - 6 knots -- a slow pace, so we have the opportunity to see a lot on the way. Every day we see dolphin (or porpoise), seals and sea lions, lots of different birds including puffin and now pelicans. We've seen shark and whales and even a couple of sunfish, which are a very strange sight. It always amazes us that on the small path we cut through the big ocean we see so much.
We started out with clear skies for leaving the marina, knowing that the fog would soon roll in, but best to find our way out to sea before that happened. After clearing the last buoy, the fog did surround us, but it was light enough that we could see pretty well -- it was like moving across the ocean inside of a bubble because you could see about a mile all around, but then there was the wall of fog. And within our little bubble the seas were smooth, so it was easy to spot every little thing that passed by. We traveled along this way all day and it was pleasant, but as the sun began to set it got a bit eerie...
Because at that time we were approaching the dreaded Cape Mendocino -- noted for it's high winds and waves -- and we have been through there in tough conditions. That's why we chose a light wind window for this passage -- we would rather motor around this notorious cape. We also planned our passage to round it at night, winds are generally lighter after sunset and before noon, so we timed accordingly.
But our little circle of visibility became no visibility when darkness fell, so we had to depend on our chart plotters and radar. Then, BOTH our depth sounder started reading low low numbers -- 30 feet, 15 feet -- and the charts indicated we were in 400 fathoms! Now depth sounders do this occasionally, but we've never had both doing it at the same time -- at the same numbers. Both chart plotters (that get their GPS info independently) were showing we were in the right spot and plotting our position on the paper charts assured us further, but the shallow depths just kept continuing and it was rather unnerving not being able to see anything to get your bearings. All the while there was a blip on the radar about a mile and a half out from us and then we passed a tall buoy that we thought might be a fishing buoy of some sort -- so maybe there were nets under us? We gave a call to Gallatea who was traveling about 2 miles behind us to give them a heads up, and they had already been experiencing the same thing. We felt like we were in a strange episode of "Lost"!
So we very uneventfully rounded Cape Mendocino about 9:30 shrouded in the thick dark mist and thinking it would be a very long night traveling in these conditions. But when it was time for the moon to rise at a bit after 10 we were delighted to see it's light brightening the sky and within 20 minutes the skies were clear and the moon and stars were lighting up the sky -- it was beautiful! We had better visibility than we'd had all day! A bit of wind came with the clearing and we used our genoa to pull us along for a while and it was another good nights travel. Then the real treat came as we watched hundreds of shooting stars dart across the sky during the meteor shower!
When the sun rose at 6 I watched it peak over the coastal mountains, and I could see the high fog forming, then just as suddenly as it lifted the night before, it settled in around us and we were traveling in our little bubble once again. We would be to our destination, Ft Bragg, in just a few hours.
Once again we had to depend on chart plotters and radar to pick our way from buoy to buoy to enter the harbor, but luckily the fog lifted just as we entered the channel and we were fascinated by the sight of the narrow river that we were winding up to the marina. We thought it looked like a movie set out of Universal and it's been described by others as looking like Cannery Row in the 60's as it's lined with wooden buildings built on pilings. Very colorful and full of character -- I hope to get internet access in a couple days and get some pictures posted.
So, 26 hours after we left Crescent City, we happily tied up to another rustic dock amongst fishing boats and we're content to sit here until the predicted heavy weather passes and we can continue on south. Now to explore the town!
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08/10/2009
We were so happy to have Crescent City to come into last Saturday -- it meant we could get out of the building wind and waves that came up and were forecast to last through today. In our previous trips down the coast we've taken the offshore route and just had to take what came along. Nice change to pull in to a dock and sleep easy with no night watches!
The best part was that it is also an easy entry. No bar conditions to worry about, just a straight shot in after rounding the buoys. We had some pretty gusty winds still, even though it is protected from the nastiness out at sea, but we were also lucky to have friends that had gotten in earlier in the day and could tell us what the conditions were inside and that there were slips available. And, it was the 1st port we've entered without fog since we left Garrison Bay in the San Juans!
It's a fishing boat harbor with lots of character, but the docks are in disrepair following a minor tsunami 4 years ago. It was a 5 foot surge that ripped docks apart and displaced boats. Luckily they just received a FEMA grant to restore the marina. Despite the quality of the docks, we've really enjoyed our stay here. It's also a good price, only $17 a night, including power, for a 35 -37 foot boat. We couldn't use the onshore showers until today when the office opened (M-F 8-4).
It's a short walk to town where there's a couple good grocery stores (including Safeway). There's a real nice park not far from the marina, right near the lighthouse set out on a small island so we've had some great walks.
So once again, I'd highly recommend this as a stop on a trip south.
We've been watching the weather to plan our next passage which originally was going to be to Eureka where we would wait for a good weather window to round Cape Mendocino -- an area noted for it's high winds and steep seas. Right now it looks like it will be good until Thursday when things pick up again -- so now it's "leave eve" and we'll head for Ft. Bragg tomorrow. Fort Bragg is about 1/2 way between Cape Mendocino and Point Arena (another blowy spot) and we can be there by Wednesday to hopefully tuck in before the predicted heavy winds and seas come up. So the plan is to sit there until things calm down again.
Today's been busy getting ready to go -- doing some laundry, preparing food, entering waypoints, studying charts and gathering weather info. It's been nice to have our friends, Jim and Ellen, on Galatea to share info with on all the weather scenarios.
We're ready to go -- just hoping they don't change the forecasts on us again!
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08/09/2009, Crescent City California!
We waited in Newport for the forecast to the south of us to change from the light southerly winds to something north or northwest and that finally happened so we left Newport, OR Friday morning bound for either Crescent City, or if conditions were favorable we'd spend an additional night at sea and go to Eureka.
The first day and night were great, even tho the winds were light so we had to keep the engine on to make much progress. We had smooth seas and a big beautiful moon and enjoyed a restful night getting plenty of sleep. The forecast was for the wind to pick up a little the next day, so we were happy to be sailing in light winds by morning. We were hoping that they would pick up to the forecast 15 knots so we could have a nice sail the rest of the way.
Then the forecast changed. Now they were saying 10 to 20 knots with gusts to 25. That would be fine -- Cetus likes good wind for downwind sailing and we were ready. The thing we didn't like was the "dangerous seas" warning they were issuing for small craft. Now we aren't really considered small craft, so usual small craft warnings aren't bad for us, but the dangerous seas got our attention. We knew that would be a result of the "mixed swell" they had in this area (they get a swell from the South as well as from the Northwest making for some choppy seas) with the added wind waves from the increasing winds.
By noon we were sailing along smartly, and keeping a wary eye on the sea state. We'd put up our storm sail up in the morning so we wouldn't have to worry about accidental jibes or dealing with trying to take the mainsail down in heavy winds. We found in the past that it works well for downwind sailing because it doesn't block the wind to the genoa.
By 2 we were having gusts to 33. Again, it wasn't the wind that was bad, but the sea state. They were big, but not dangerous. The only worry was that it would get worse -- because we've been in bigger seas and winds down off Cape Mendocino and know how quickly they can come up. Terry started hand-steering (instead of using the autopilot) so we could surf the waves without getting broadside to them (they weren't big enough to knock us down at all -- but makes for uncomfortable rocking). I would sit looking back at the approaching seas and tell him when it was necessary to turn. I also kept an eye on the chart plotter and other instruments to ensure that we were still on track.
The most difficult part was when we needed to turn into Crescent City. That meant working through the waves putting them at our beam. By this time we had just the storm sail up with the engine running to give the the most control. Now the worry was what were the conditions in the harbor? If it was blowing 30 out here what would we find inside?
Luckily, another cruising couple had left Newport before us and were already in Crescent City. Over the phone they were able to give us the scoop and we happily pulled into the dock with 20 knot gusts and someone to grab our lines!
It was a good day.
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08/07/2009, 10 miles off the Oregon Coast
We're happy to be out on the ocean again!
So far we are motor sailing as the winds have not filled in yet, and aren't expected to until later today, but it was time to go.
Our last night at the guest dock in Newport was quite different from the rest of the days. For the most part we had the dock to ourselves and one other cruising boat with the occasional boats coming and going. But today marked the 1st day of Halibut fishing and the boats were coming in by the droves! All night and all morning there were lines at the boat launch and they packed themselves in all around the guest dock all evening. Then at sunrise this morning they all set off -- the channel into Newport looked like I5 at rush hour!
We left a bit later, when the crowds had thinned out and after the two other south bound sailboats left. Once outside the harbor, we looked around and wondered where all the fishing was taking place, because we have only seen a few boats all day!
The seas are smooth and the visibility is good with overcast skies. Hoping to get some wind from a good direction later in the day, but content to motor sail for now.
Our next port will be either Crescent City or Eureka, depending on weather and wind. There we'll wait for a good weather window for rounding Cape Mendocino and Pt. Arena -- a couple of spots that can dish out some nasty weather.
For anybody that is planning on heading south, I highly recommend picking up copies of the Pacific Coast Route Planning Maps (there is a north portion and a south portion). They are a great guide showing 3 routes (Bluewater, Express and Inshore) complete with waypoints and harbor charts. We're thankful to Steve Van Slyke for recommending them -- and for recommending harbor hopping down the Oregon Coast!
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08/05/2009, Newport, OR
We're still thoroughly enjoying our stay in Newport -- that's right, we didn't leave yet.
There is a low pressure area moving up from California bringing south winds and we are just waiting for the NW winds to return before heading out -- and it now looks like that should happen about Friday or Saturday -- so that's when we'll leave.
I'm actually glad the weather kept us here because we've had a great time walking the town and beaches and sightseeing. We aren't in any hurry to get anywhere -- roughly we planned to be heading down the California coast in September getting to San Diego in October, but even those dates aren't set in stone. So we're just enjoying where we are for now. The one thing we are looking forward to is a little more sun, however. While everyone we know is dying from the heat back home, we have been shrouded in cold fog for the past week!
Just last night while we were watching a DVD we realized something that always struck us while we were out cruising before -- when we're down below we forget that we're someplace other than Gig Harbor. To us that's the best part of cruising: no matter where we go and how much our "back yard" changes, at the end of the day we are simply at home.
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08/02/2009, Newport, OR
The weather forecast didn't look great this weekend, so we stayed on and enjoyed more sightseeing here in Newport.
They have a great city loop bus that the marina gives free passes for, so you can get anywhere on that. Our marina is located on the south side of the river, and most everything else is on the north side, so the bus is a real blessing because I would not be able to walk across that bridge!!
Yesterday we explored the town and today we went up to the Yaquina Head Lighthouse! That was a great walk with terrific views.
We've met up with some other cruising boats that will be heading south with us -- but the biggest surprise was running into a couple that had lived aboard near us at Murphy's Landing! They left to head south two years ago, ran into some trouble and ended up being towed into Newport and have been happy to call it home ever since.
We're enjoying our stay -- it's a nice town, but we are ready to get out of the fog!
Next stop: Crescent City, CA! We are hoping to leave tomorrow (Monday) morning with a planned arrival late in the day on Tuesday.
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