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November 22, 2004
As we write this we're sitting in Monterey Bay following an 8-day trip up the coast from Ventura. Moving north toward our winter destination of San Francisco Bay required going around Pt. Conception, Pt Arguello and Pt. Sur, as well as along the coastline of "Big Sur Country", all known for their difficulty of navigation due to weather & wave conditions. Pt. Conception is sometimes called the "Cape Horn of the Pacific" because it is where southern California reaches westward and is often associated with high winds and unsettled seas. We both felt some trepidation as we approached this part of our trip, but with the use of www.buoyweather.com, - a website which provides real-time wave, wind, & weather conditions as well as 7-day forecasts - we were able to pick a time to move north when conditions were good.
 We left Ventura on Halloween in calm seas with 5 knot winds - a beautiful day for the four hour trip to Santa Barbara, our first stop. Before leaving the harbor, we topped off the fuel tanks and were pleasantly surprised to find that we had only used 68 gallons of diesel since leaving Dana Point on June 7 th . As we headed west, the winds strengthened and we put two reefs in the mainsail as the winds had increased to 25-30 knots! After arriving in Santa Barbara and determining where our slip was, it was a real challenge to put the boat in the slip with the wind blowing that hard! We were fortunate that some folks on the docks helped with the dock lines and with Gary's expert docking skills, we were safely tied up for the evening. The next day the weather was not good for heading around Pt. Conception so we enjoyed a day in Santa Barbara. Election Day brought us excellent conditions and we headed out of the harbor at 8:30 a.m. with beautiful blue skies and flat seas! Our tentative plan was to go as far as Cojo Anchorage, just east of Pt. Conception and about four hours from Santa Barbara to reassess the conditions before rounding the point. We were pleased that conditions matched the forecas t and we proceeded around Pt. Conception & Pt. Arguello making the run for Morro Bay..a total distance of 103 miles and 16.5 hours. It was so calm moving north that we could see reflections in the water as we passed the Pt. Conception Lighthouse; we felt very fortunate! An observation we made while passing numerous Resource Recovery Structures (aka - offshore drilling platforms) was the amount of oil we saw on the ocean's surface. The more time we spend on the water, the more fragile and endangered we  realize our oceans are; they seem vast, but humankind is definitely having a negative impact on them through very conscious decisions. We continued north to Morro Bay and entered the bay at 11:30 p.m. This was the first time we had entered a harbor and anchored in the dark - it was a little disconcerting. The channel markers were not lit, so Dorothy stood on the bow with a flashlight to find and illuminate the markers as we made our way to the anchor area. We were grateful to have had such a good passage, to be safely anchored and to go to bed! The next morning we moved to the dock at the Morro Bay Yacht Club as we expected the weather to worsen by mid-day. Shortly after tying up at the dock the winds increased to 25  knots and there were white caps on the bay! It was the worst weather we had seen since leaving Ventura and we felt very fortunate to be securely tied. We watched with amazement as an instructor and student soon left the dock in a sailing dinghy, given the current weather. After watching them struggle to control the small boat for several minutes, the boat flipped, dumping both occupants into the cold water. The Harbor Patrol was quickly notified of the situation and got the student out of the water while the instructor tried to right the boat. Eventually the Harbor Patrol also got the instructor aboard and towed the dinghy back to shore. We have  been very impressed with all our interactions with the Harbor Patrols in various locations; they provide valuable services to boaters and the folks are always professional and courteous. The Morro Bay Yacht Club warmly welcomes cruisers and we were invited to their Friday Night Happy Hour. What a treat - wonderful food, good conversation and cheap drinks! We invited a group of folks back to see the boat as they had been admiring  her; it was a great ending to our visit in Morro Bay.
Saturday morning we set sail for San Simeon (site of the Hearst Castle) and our last stop before heading up the Big Sur coast to Monterey. We were entertained by seals on our way and experienced some swells, but still had a comfortable trip. While anchored in San Simeon we could see the lights from the Hearst Castle up the hillside, but it was a short night as we awoke at 4 a.m. to begin the long day north (85 miles/12.5 hours!); deciding that it was better to start out in the dark and arrive in Monterey Bay in daylight. The trip along the coast was beautiful, even though we had some swells that caused the boat to roll quite a bit at the end of the trip. We saw dolphins, seals, and pilot whales along the way! We were lucky and were able to get a slip in the municipal marina in Monterey before sunset.
 When I got up the next morning for my 6:30 a.m. walk and discovered 3 bakeries (with chocolate croissants!) open at that time, I quickly suggested to Gary that maybe we should stay longer than the planned 3-4 days! After seeing how delightful & "walk-able" Monterey and the surrounding towns of Pacific Grove and Carmel are, we've adjusted our plans.one of the joys of this life! We also met Carol Anne & Robert, friends of my Uncle Larry, who have a boat here & live in the area. They graciously hosted us for lunch at th e Monterey Peninsula Yacht Club and have been very helpful with information about the town and surrounding area. We've already spent a night at the Centrella Inn in Pacific Grove (enjoying the bathtub!) and visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium, becoming members so we can visit it often during our stay. The aquarium is excellent and is doing much to help revitalize the population of sea otters in the Monterey National Marine Sanctuary. Last weekend found us driving down the coast toward Big Sur; it was interesting to look out  to ocean and realize that we had seen the same area from our boat! Our third week in Monterey brought visitors from Michigan as Norma & George along with their daughter-in-law and grandson drove down from the Bay area. It's always fun to see familiar faces and meet new folks.
A wonder of this life continues to be the opportunity to see wildlife in a natural setting. Gary has already taken some great pictures of sea otters and we can see starfish, jellyfish, and seals from our slip! For sea otter information check out Otternet.
We hope to head up to San Francisco after Thanksgiving and already have a slip in Emeryville for the next few months. We're looking forward to exploring the San Francisco Bay area and being part of a marina community again.
Quotes for this month:
(We discovered this quote while exploring an art gallery in Pacific Grove and definitely think it has merit.)
May you enjoy the blessing of Thanksgiving! We look forward to hearing from you via email.
Dorothy, Gary & Murray the Cat
© Copyright 2004
Last updated on
January 15, 2005
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