Sailing to Santa Cruz
07 August 2022
• Santa Cruz
by Tamiko Suzuki • Sunny
Last month i posted about my first experience in rough sailing conditions at night and my being sea sick and scared. Dave N commented that he thought big swells in a following sea sounded like fun. Dave is an experienced sea captain and so I took his remarks as from a Jedi Master chiding a young Paduan trainee who needed toughening up (sorry for the Star Wars nerdiness)
Well, I'm not sure I'm any 'tougher' now but after our most recent leg sailing from Half-moon Bay to Santa Cruz, I finally understood the fun aspect of downwind sailing. Before, I had been focused on wind speed and direction but what makes all the difference in comfortable cruising is swell (wave) direction and interval.
On this leg the swells were consistently coming from the north west (behind us) with a long interval of 12 seconds. Because they were so regular and predictable, it didn't matter that they were 2-3 meters high. Makena rose up on each wave and then surfed down the back with no bashing into cross waves, or rolling sideways. To add to the rush, the winds were also at our back 15-20 knots with occasional gusts to 25 and it was (finally) a warm sunny day with no fog so we could enjoy the scenery! The pole was up and we sailed wing on wing. Makena seemed to almost steer herself so I turned off the autopilot and hand steered, enjoying the experience of being 'one' with the boat and the water.
We spent almost a week in Santa Cruz waiting for a part to be delivered. We had time to walk on the beach and explore the town which had a mellow Kits vibe -- if you don't count the frenetic Board Walk with its roller coaster rides and carnival atmosphere.
We are on our way south again and today's leg was the short hop across Monterey Bay to Carmel. We anchored in sight of the famed Pebble Beach golf course, where the PGA championships are held annually, but I was more interested in watching the birdlife on the rocks at the entrance to the cove and keeping a eye on the huge mats of kelp that were everywhere.
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