Tsunami Watch 2009
30 September 2009 | Off the Southern California Coast
safe at sea
We left Marina del Rey with a bit of unease Tuesday morning because of some somewhat disturbing and conflicting weather reports. The area we would be traveling thru starts in one of NOAA's districts, but before the day was over we'd be in a new area with a different forecast. Near Marina del Rey the weather would be getting rougher as the day went on (with the worst of it by point Conception: 40 knot gusts and 12 foot seas!), but the forecast for the San Diego area looked pretty benign. Then there was the inland report of the strong gusty Santa Ana winds piping up -- would that effect us?
So we gambled that the weather wouldn't move south faster than predicted and this time we won!
Then a strange turn of events. It started with a message from some cruising friends in the Cook Islands sending out a note that they were fine despite the earthquake and tsunami that hit the Samoan islands. Then as I checked a weather report I saw a tsunami advisory for the California Coast!
I knew we were safe out deep as we were -- they aren't even felt. So we were VERY glad we'd left the marina that morning after all!
We were also very concerned for anyone that might be waiting in Port San Luis for weather to round Pt. Conception (as we had), because San Luis was one of the Bays they mentioned as a possible threat. If we were anchored in San Luis and heard there "might be" a tsunami type surge coming in would we go out to sea when the winds were gusting to 40 and the seas were 12 feet high? That would be a tough gamble to make.
So we listened to the updates on the advisories and I searched the internet looking for more info on the Samoan tsunami and word on the California prediction. I never did hear if any areas had any problem on our coast and am assuming there wasn't. But it's very sad how much destruction occurred on those islands.
Other than that it was a very uneventful passage with very light winds that forced us to keep the engine on the whole time -- we were afraid if we didn't move fast enough that weather system might catch us before we got far enough south. We did have great visibility well lit by a 3/4 moon -- it was the 1st passage since leaving the San Juans that we didn't have ANY fog! And we were treated to some outstanding shows by traveling dolphin, too.
We pulled into the dock here in Chula Vista exactly 24 hours after leaving the dock in Marina del Rey, and since we plan to stay here a month (we don't want to go into Mexico until November -- the "official" end of hurricane season) we're at home now.