Making progress south

We are now in Santa Cruz which is warmer than San Francisco but still cool and foggy in the morning.  I now have a better appreciation of summers in Vancouver.  

After a few days at the fishermen / hippy dock in Berkeley, we sailed back under the Golden Gate bridge in 15 - 25 knots.   This time I had the honours at the helm.    It was an 7 hour trip to Pillar Point with a wicked few hours of tacking into the wind as we got closer.   It was very good that our first sail with just the 2 of us was uneventful and without drama.   We were lucky to see 5-6 humpback whales on the way.  Pillar Point is a serious fishing community which gets inundated with tourists on the weekends.  Three playful sea lions in the harbour were getting lots of attention.

Our next sail was 55 miles to Santa Cruz.   There was not much wind and a bit of fog.  It was great to see the coastline and the cars on Highway 1 as there was nothing else to do for 8 hours.  We still find it too uncomfortable to really read on the boat.   We sailed close to a pod of 10 smallish whales.   We started passing what we thought was plastic garbage floating just under the surface, and then realized it was sun fish.   They would just lie there on their sides and lazily flip upright as we passed.   If we had a net we could have scooped them out of the water.

Santa Cruz is a great place for wait for a UPS shipment of more boat parts.   The weather is slightly better though we still bring a jacket everywhere.  The beaches, bars, shops are in walking distance.  Greg is starting to relax a little and did a little sketching for the first time since I have known him. The Santa Cruz Yacht Club has welcomed us as guests so we will join them today for the Wednesday Night Race BBQ.   Life is good!

Berkeley Marina.

Met 4 young Aussie lads on Out of Africa sailing their Grandpa's boat from Canada to Australia.

Fishermen, fish, and sea gulls.

Met a lovely old lady who lived aboard her boat at Berkeley Marina for the past 19 years.  This is her boat garden.

Berkeley Kite Festival.

Leaving San Francisco.

At the helm going under the Golden Gate Bridge. Hanging on tight!

Pillar Point Harbour

Sea lions.

Finally, in shorts and a T-shirt.

Sea lions on the gas dock at Pillar Point.

Whale photos never turn out.

She is keeping me away at night with barking every 30 minutes.

 Greg took a short break from boat chores to do this sketch.

Boat Martinis

I emailed my dear friend, Mer, yesterday, to say I was enjoying a boat martini while Greg was doing boat stuff.  She asked what a boat martini was so here goes:

First, walk 3 kilometres and get a Zip car in Berkeley.  BTW, there are no Car 2 Go in San Fran so you have to walk all the way to a Zip Car location.  Pay $35 for 3 hours and hunt for boat parts (Reliable Parts, Raymarine dealer, electronics store) and finally reach the true destination, a delight for every Canadian homemaker, chef, or cook over 30 - Trader Joes!!!   Buy limes and gin and other really cool food you cannot get in Canada.   Return to boat and splash a bunch of gin in a glass.  No measuring as there is no room for shot glasses on a boat.  Also, no room to store a cocktail shaker.   Squeeze half a lime in each glass.   Add 3 ice cubes from an Igloo cooler that has been converted into a freezer.   If it is a bit cold outside put on Gord's nighttime glow-in-the-dark gloves.  Sip and enjoy the perfect boat martini!!!!

Chores and Relaxation in San Fran

I feel almost normal again with my land legs back, clean clothes, tidy boat, and our crew now departed.  We enjoyed a few nights at South Beach Yacht Club and St Francis Yacht Club.  We've had to replace a few parts on the boat but very little wear and tear overall.   The old auto helm is flaky so Greg ordered another.   San Fran is a windy, cold, foggy place and today we will move the boat to Berkekey.   Maybe it is warmer there.  

Alice

Morning Coffee spot.

Finally, fine dining on the boat.   Gord's Thai chicken curry!

Segway tours!!!

Museum of Fine Arts.

Anduril at St Francis YC.

6 Day Passage from Vancouver to San Francisco

We have now been in San Francisco for almost a week and I am finally updating the blog.  I am sitting at the computer station in St Francis Yacht Club and Greg is out searching for a zip car and boat parts.   We had a fast 6 day passage with fair to good wind conditions.  We had 3 extra crew - Gord (Greg's brother), Yian (one of our racing crew), and Emili (Yian's girlfriend).  We managed a watch schedule of 4 hours on and 6 hours off.  Even though conditions were relatively good, most of us suffered from a bit of sea sickness and little food was eaten the first few days.

The first 2 days we motored and were beginning to think we needed to fuel up along the Oregon coast.  The boat motion was unsteady and off watch time was spent in bunks.

On days 3 and 4, the wind improved and we were able to sail a steady 6 knots with the jib up.  The Hydrovane autohelm did a great job of steering in these conditions and it was nice not being tied to the helm.  We were more than 50 miles off the coast and passed many fish boats.  There was lots of wild life - whales, otters, sea birds, and a personal visit from a bird that landed on Greg's shoulder.   Greg caught a tuna almost immediately after throwing out the line.  He put up a good fight and we still have blood splats on the main sail.  The next day we fired up the BBQ and enjoyed tuna steaks.  As we were 50 miles off the coast of California we had a motor boat approach us at top speed.   Pirates?   Drug smugglers?   No, just the US Coast Guard checking us out.

On days 5 and 6 the wind shifted and built and we flew the spinnaker.  With the winds steady over 15 knots and gusting up to 30 knots we double reefed the main and were hand steering.   After an unfortunate wind gust we ended up with the spinnaker tightly wrapped around the roller furling jib.  It was an unpleasant 90 minutes and we hoisted Greg to the mast head and lowered him down the furled jib to release the mess.   An ugly job completed just as the sun set.

After an exhausting night we sailed under the Golden Gate bridge July 22nd at about 9:00 AM.  The fog lifted, the sun was shining, and we popped the champagne.

1 day counting down

After 3 years of racing we finally have the cushions back on the boat and things are looking ship shape.    However, the weather does not look like it will cooperate.    We might be motoring all the way to Victoria when we leave tomorrow.    Even worse, we will be beating into the wind on Monday when we leave the Juan de Fuca and hit the open Ocean.   Checkout https://earth.nullschool.net

Leaving July 16 2016 for San Fran

4 sleeps and we head to San Francisco with the boat and 3 crew.    We finally got all the mess you see in this photo stowed, plus the engine fixed and back in the boat.    Now, Greg and I need to provision, bone up on Expedition, and pray for favourable winds.

Maui at Last

Nothing goes to weather like a 747!    With Anduril on the hard at the KKMI ship yard in San Fran, the crew (minus Guy who had to return to work) flew to Maui to meet up with our families.  Thanks to Steve Taylor and Sherian Bender from Lahaina Yacht Club who hosted a fun Mai Tai party for us at the Club.  We were super pleased to be awarded the "First Boat to Finish / San Francisco" trophy at the Banquet.