A lot has happened since we left Point Roberts and I thought I would put pen to paper and share some of our thoughts.

We used Commanders weather router, the gribs and weather reports to determine our route south which ended up being about 50 - 60 miles out rather than farther out as originally planned. We had originally planned to follow 126 but the weather router suggested we should stay in farther as the weather would be better. We stayed around 124 for the most part and at one point were at 125. When we approached Crescent City the weather router indicated we were best to stay about 10 miles offshore.

It was great having Ryan & Kris onboard, our experienced crew, with their guidance and encouragement we were able to build confidence as we managed the heavier winds and seas. Ryan had great suggestions and techniques which he shared with us. NautiMoments rode the waves with confidence, we are extremely pleased with the way she handles the seas.

We learned how to interpret the AIS targets, on screen they look really close but when you realize your screen is on a 48 nautical mile scale or more they are actually far away.

This was a great confidence builder for both of us, we have prepared for this for a long time and now realize we can do this! We were concerned with the unknown but never afraid when the seas and winds were higher. It was great to have 6 of us onboard for the watches as we were all able to get a reasonable amount of rest. We had lots of laughs and had a great time together.