Santa Cruz

A foggy hello from Santa Cruz !! I'm anchored about 200 yds off the beach here, the famous old amusement park with wood-framed roller coaster spread out from east to west with the 1/2 mile long pier providing a backdrop on the left. The fog hangs in here till mid-morning and lifts to provide a sunny, warm day that stays clear past midnight.

I left Sausalito 2 days ago, sailing through the night in 15 kt winds to arrive around 0800. The swell is diminished here, but there's still some regular motion that I didn't have during the past four weeks at anchor in Richardson Bay. I'm planning to hook up with an old high school friend who lives nearby and spend a few days sight-seeing before moving across the bay 20 miles to Monterey.

I'll give you all a short re-cap from Astoria south, since the computer problems that occurred on that passage caused some interruption in correspondence. I left Astoria in fair weather and enjoyed fair to good sailing conditions to the CA border. From N of Cape Blanco to S of Crescent City it blew 25-35 kts making for an exciting downwind run. Of course, it was during that night that the laptop hit the deck and trashed the display (Thank you State Farm Ins for providing the new one).

The following day the winds were very light and I decided to make for the town of Trinidad for a break and wait for improving winds. Unfortunately, as I arrived to within a mile of the harbor, pea soup fog prevented an entrance, so I retreated 6 miles offshore and lay to the sea anchor all night before making it successfully in the morning.

After spending an enjoyable 2 days seeing the sights there, I left on a forecast (once again) of N/Westerlies 15-20 kts, which never materialized, causing me to motor about half the distance to Point Reyes, where, while rounding the tip at midnight, the winds finally picked up to 30 kts and I ran into Drakes Bay to find some quiet and a few hours of needed sleep before entering the Golden Gate in the light of morning.

The weather throughout the past couple days could only be described as "cold", with cockpit temperature hovering around 50 and a dull overcast making it feel even colder. Passing under the bridge, however, the skies cleared and the temperature jumped 25 degrees !!

I anchored in several spots off the shore of Sausalito over the next 4 weeks, visiting with a couple of old San Diego sailing buddies, other cruisers, family and friends. During this time Tammy flew down for 6 days, and in the last week I took Amtrak east to visit my brother and family at Lake Wildwood for 5 days.

While I was in Sausalito the "la nina" weather provided everything from warm, sunny days to the "1st recorded rainfall in the Bay area in August for the past 60 years". But usually, the days started with views of a fog-shrouded Alcatraz Island to the south, and warming sunshine where I was anchored; views of Mt Tamalpias obscured by the constant fog bank laying along the ridgeline. By noon or so, the wind would kick up to 25 kts with gusts to 30 and wind chop of 3-4' in SF Bay. This would last untill 7 or 8 in the evening when, once again, the fog would roll over the ridges and through the "Gate" and the wind would die till tomorrow.

I enjoyed several good sailing days in the bay, with trips south as well as a night on the hook at Treasure Island and another in China Cove at Angel Island. For those of you yet to sail south, Sausalito is a great place to anchor, with provisions and suppliers close by and great sailing only 10 minutes away. I've seen a number of N/W boats and I'm sure more will pass me on the way to San Diego.

Well, I think the fog is lifting here, so I'd better go enjoy the day. Already the early-birds are staking out their spots on the beach and some of the rides have started. More later, as I continue southward.

Fair winds on you all - Terry