Where to start
18 July 2012 | Somewhere past the Farralones
Bill
I guess I'll start with the start, which was great fun for us buoy racers. It sounds like there was some excitement toward the other end of the starting line--must have been good viewing from the St. Francis YC deck. Thanks again Laurie and Dad and Vince for all the help getting us ready at Coyote Point YC. Once we all got outside the Golden Gate, it was an upwind chess game as the wind lightened. I think we sailed near all eight other boats at some point, but not at the same time. We felt pretty good about ourselves as it got dark, but we struggled a bit during the night and pulled a looong clump of kelp off the rudder this morning. Later in the morning Brad contemplated going for a swim to check the keel for kelp before we remembered we had a waterproof camera (and a boathook and some tape). Geek squad 1--divers 0. And yes, there was kelp on the keel. We backed the sails to push the boat backward to get the kelp off. No excuses though, our competitors are quite worthy and have proven it so.
I've seen enough of the Farralones for a while. I saw them during my 6-9pm shift, then sailed toward the beacon during my 1-5am shift, and we were parked next to them when I started my 10am-1pm shift. And they're only 25 miles out...They're finally behind us now.
Special note to Margaret, Lee, Caroline, Thai, Willie, Henry, Spencer, and Libby (sorry I know I'm probably missing a name or two): In the quiet and calm conditions we were surrounded by sea life last night--the ocean was very much alive. There were birds squawking, whales breaching, dolphins, a seal came up to the boat for a chat (and thankfully not for a visit in the cockpit), and many small creatures glowing green in the phosphorescent water. This morning we saw more whales, a large sunfish, and another seal came for a visit. I got some good video of him. We were regretting that we took the kelp-cam off of the boathook or we might have had underwater video of him too. Thanks to all of you kiddos again for making our Austin send off party something to remember.
Everyone is in good spirits and enjoying the company.
Nap time--then dinner and back on watch at 6pm.