Sailing Encore

We have arrived at our new home in San Francisco Bay. It was a great, rather uneventful journey that began Wednesday morning. We awoke to the sound of the water pump humming and found that, once again, we had a water leak. It was in the familiar spot under our mattress at the exit valve of the hot water maker. It wasn’t just loose, it was broken clear off. Vernon was actually able to MacGyver the thing and repaired it fairly quickly and we left the dock at 9 am!

There was a small (2-3 ft) swell as we headed north out of San Pedro/Long Beach and I was glad I had put on my Scopolamine patch in case the swells grew. I ate saltines for breakfast just in case, but was happy as the day progressed that the seas and wind stayed low. I was able to move about the boat above and below decks without any nausea the whole trip.

We actually were able to put up the sails and moved along briskly up the coast. We saw a great variety of sea life. From our local seals lounging about on the bouy

to whales spouting and surfacing as they head north for the summer. We also crossed paths with some Orca and I was able to capture the last surface of this predator (I heard they are feeding on the new little baby whales traveling north with moms so I don’t have much love).

And of course we traveled through pods and pods and pods of dolphins as they worked on getting their meal. Always, a few would break away from the fish corralling job and come play in the front of the boat. You know me, I have to go forward and smile as they have some fun with our bow wake.

The first day at sea passed fairly quickly and we geared up for the cold night ahead. I wore two pair of socks, two pair of tights, jeans and my foulies jumper; Thermal top, long sleeve shirt, long sleeve sweater, jacket and my foulies jacket; Neck warmer, stocking cap and hoods from my jackets and of course, gloves. And had a pocket warmer in each glove. Thank goodness I remained on the boat as I would have sunk for sure in all that. We wear the life jackets, arm band lights, and safety harnesses at night. And before dark we review the “rules of engagement” should something bad happen. I.E. one of us falls over or we hit something and need to bail. As the sun sets, I sigh and wonder how I got myself into this AGAIN!

We rounded the dreaded Point Conception about 1 am with more anticipated fear than needed, as the seas remained small and actually lessened through the night. The moon set about 2 am and in the pitch black we hit and snared 3 fishing traps on buoy lines. One hit against the hull and bounced away but the other two tangled in the prop strut. To free them we had to come to a stop and back down. Thank goodness they came off on their own as it would have been a cold dark trip into the water for Vernon to free them….

At first light the ocean was flat and foggy and we were tired and relieved. We napped on and off throughout the day and watched as the coastline grew less populated and more rugged along Morro Bay, Cambria and San Simeon.

I was able to text with family sending them pictures and videos of the trip- Had my own little tweeting sessions. Speaking of tweets, we were visited by a tired Western Warbler (my sister looked it up for me) who rested for about 25 minutes on the boat then headed off toward land about 15 miles away.

The sky was gray and the seas stayed calm all day. You could barely distinguish where one stopped and the other started. And soon it was evening. After some warm chili and corn chips we geared up again and took turns napping through the darkness as we passed miles and miles of California coastline.  And when dawn broke on Friday it was drizzling and cloudy but we were just hours away from our destination – tired but happy

And soon there it was—- the Golden Gate Bridge

And on Friday morning at 9:15, exactly 48 hours from leaving Angels’ Gate in Los Angeles, we passed under the Golden Gate! 

Oops – Eyes forward- gotta get past this big tanker

Up ahead our new marina. 

And as the sun starts to shine, we slide into our new slip, check in at the office and slip into bed for naps! Here’s the view from our cockpit back at the city.

Saturday morning we passed our “live aboard inspection” by the harbormaster. And my sister Ann and her husband came to visit and brought champagne picnic to celebrate the passage with us. We have just been taking it easy, taking walks around the new area and getting our bearings on our new home.

There will be lots of new places to explore around the bay. And of course we will have family and the kids and granddaughters nearby to enjoy. I am grateful for this, and mostly for this guy- who did a great job picking our weather window to make the passage. 

Cheers!