A week in Santa Barbara

We are starting to feel a bit indulgent spending a whole week in Santa Barbara.   But why not?    The marina is nice and close to restaurants, shopping, sights, and West Marine.   Mexican food, wine tasting, a bike tour of the wine country, and sightseeing have been a pleasure.    Yesterday, Greg had a long 13 hour work day installing the new auto helm.   I avoided the chaos of boat tool hell by finding a Barre 3 class, which is a mix of yoga, bar, and strengthening exercises.

We are still having issues with storing everything on the boat.   The starboard quarter berth is filled with the freezer, food bins and Greg's golf clubs.    The port quarter berth usually contains sails and loose clothes, and other misc items that Greg chucks in there.    There isn't enough room for my clothes in the cabinets that Greg built so I have a few bags with more clothes, toiletries, yoga mat, computer, and magazines laying in the port upper berth.   When at anchor or at a dock we sleep in the fore peak.   If we sail overnight, we would sleep in the salon settees for more comfort and fast easy access to the cockpit.  Under every berth or settee is a storage locker filled with Greg's tools.  We have 2 inflatable kayaks tucked under the fore peak berth.   The dingy has been living on deck the past few weeks but on longer passages it would be deflated and dumped in the fore peak (our sleeping quarters.. Ugh!).     Sounds like chaos but when we are underway everything is held snug in its spot and nothing crashes about.   Well, we once did neglect to stow the coffee french press and that was the end of it.

Trimming, grinding, and keeping a good eye on the spinnaker.

Yeah!    Santa Barbara!!!

Santa Barbara Marina.

Area 5.1 Wine tasting and catching a bit of Rio 2016.

Los Agaves Mexican Restaurant.   

Santa Barbara Courthouse.

Santa Barbara Courthouse.

Santa Barbara Courthouse.

Watching the Wednesday Night races from the Yacht Club.

 Santa Barbara Marina.

Bike tour of the Santa Barbara Wine Country with William's bike tour.

Things get a bit messy when Greg is doing boat chores.

More Motoring and Sailing

The last 5 days has been a mix of motoring and sailing with 3 interesting stops.    Morro Bay is a small town with a bit of everything - fishing industry, tourism, shutdown Power Plant, Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant, bird and marine sanctuary.    We signed in as guests at the Yacht Club and were the 5th visiting boat since May.   Greg and I are surprised how few pleasure boats travel the coast of California.  It is not a sailing mecca like BC with the Gulf Islands, Sunshine Coast, and Desolation Sound.   Morro Bay was super friendly as well as warmer.   A kind gentleman from the Yacht Club drove me up to the grocery store and back so I could provision.

We left the birds and sea otters of Morro Bay and motored 3-4 hours to Port San Luis (Avila Beach).  It was another overcast day with lots of fog.   I hear that Vancouver is having awesome warm days now.   Stay there and don't come to California until the summer is over!   We had no wind until coming into the anchorage at Port San Luis.  Then the wind swept down off the hills and poured through the anchorage at over 20 knots.   We found a better spot near the beach and anchored.   When the wind dropped we took the dingy ashore to attend the Friday Night Beach Festival.   It was alive with lots of upper middle class white folks, yummy food stalls served by the non-white folks, and a live band.   It is surprising what a tiny bit of beach surf can do to a dingy.   Leaving the beach Greg was rowing and I was pushing.   A wave, a foot slip, and I was under completely.   Now, 50% of my clothes are wet and salty.   I am looking forward to finding a laundry.

The next day we passed the first of large offshore oil rigs.   We also passed close to the Pacific Missile Test Area so that was a bit creepy.   Apparently they can launch 3 miles out and we were 2.5 miles out.   Greg spotted 2 groups of humpbacks on his watch.  We finally rounded Point Conception (Cape Horn of the Pacific).  The waves and wind built quickly.   Greg got excited and setup the spinnaker but luckily he relented and decided not to hoist as the winds topped 20 knots and the waves were getting larger.  As it was, I was having great difficulty driving with a furled jib and double reefed main.   We rounded the corner and anchored at Cojo Anchorage.  It was still blowing 20 knots and we re-positioned to escape the chop but not the wind.  It is the most desolate wild spot.   No boats, no people, no road.    Just a railroad track and train passing by every few hours.  The wind died during the night and I had a great view of stars and the milky way when I woke to pee during the night.

Approaching Morro Bay Harbour.

Morro Bay Power Plant

Finally in short sleeves.

Morro Rock

Interesting Gas Dock - Luckily no current or wind.

Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant.

Avila Beach - Greg gets wet beaching the dingy.

Isolated Cojo Anchorage.

Cojo Anchorage.

Sea Lions at Cojo Anchorage.

Oil Rigs

Sea Otters.

San Simeon and the Hearst Castle

We finally escaped the cold and fog and anchored at beautiful San Simeon.   We deployed the dingy to get ashore, walked 10 minutes, and had a tour of the Hearst Castle.   My sister and I wanted to visit this castle 30 years ago but the Big Sur highway was wiped out by storms that year.   It was a great tour!  

We had a bit of an issue crossing a bit of surf on the way back out to Anduril.   Now I have an entire outfit encrusted in salt water with no laundry until Santa Barbara.   It was our first time beaching the dingy and obviously we have a few things to learn.

San Simeon anchorage.

Wet clothes and purse!    

Indoor pool.

Ocean Swells and Dolphins

We left Monterey for a quick trip around the corner to Stillwater Cove.    After enduring huge swells, avoiding breaking surf, kelp around the prop, and a tangled anchor chain with spray hose, we were nicely settled in a rolly polly anchorage with a view of Pebble Beach Golf Course.    Greg thought it was definitely worth it!

The next day was a long 80 mile passage to San Simeon.   We did 90 minute watches to break up the trip.   The dolphins repeated came to visit our boat and surf around the bow.   They come racing across the water heading straight for our boat, swim up one side, cross the bow, and disappear again on the other side of the boat.

Here is a video of ocean swells appearing to swallow up a sailboat that we chanced upon 5 miles offshore.

Pebble Beach Golf Course.