After a great stop in Monterey, our favorite so far, we are underway again. (By the way the Aquarium is amazing & Lopez Cantina has great Mexican food.) We rounded Point Pinos in dense fog & a 2-4' low NW swell. not a bad ride.... A hundred or so miles south & or 6-8 miles NW of San Luis Obispo we came upon a Minke Whale swimming fast approaching the boat, he swam from one side to the other then started breaching, each time getting closer to the boat. By the fifth breach he landed not 10 ft from our starboard side, covering the entire boat in his spray. I was hollering with joy as Jane thought he was going to hit us & had first thought it was Jaws. Wow, what a rush!
After an overnight in San Luis we were underway at 0430 in calm & low NW swell. As we reached Point Aguello the wind started to build & by the time we reached Point Conception we had 25 knots with gusts in the 30's. good news was it was from the NW blowing us on our way to Santa Barbara. Not a drop of water on deck, just that sloppy roll when you are sailing dead down wind, actually real sloppy. I steared by hand as the wind waves built from 4-6'. But, we cheated death one more time & are secure in Santa Barbara feeling pretty smug as we look across at the palm trees. Hasta.