Friday, 27 April 2018
We finally break the shackles of Monterey harbour. It’s 4 a.m as we cast off for the final time and with baited breath pass various landmarks that had confounded our progress in the past. The greatest sigh of relief comes when we make it beyond our furthest point, just south of the bay of Carmel, a couple of weeks ago.
We are now down to three people and three dogs (crew mate Bo has left the boat to return home to Montana) and we motor-sail most of the time. The wind is coming from the northwest but only at about 12 to 14 knots. Captain Dan is eager to put as much distance as quickly as possible between us and our previous port.
After a while the wind dies down to about seven knots. We furl the flapping foresail but keep up the main and settle down to the familiar hum of the engine. During my afternoon watch the wind increases again and I notice small whitecaps appearing on the crests of waves.
By the time the captain takes over, the wind has increased substantially. The weather forecast now announces a small craft warning and possibly gale force winds. Landfall at Santa Barbara is becoming unlikely. One third of the crew is beginning to feel the effects of mal de mer, and the captain decides to seek shelter in Morro Bay. We are able to secure moorage at the local yacht club, find their unlit dock in the dark thanks to a live webcam image our computer wiz, Linda, downloaded, and tie up around 10 p.m.
Saturday, 28 April 2018
I wake up to the sight of dozens of boats of all sizes and in various stages of (dis)repair bobbing at their mooring buoys in the quiet bay. A three-mile-long, hilly sand spit protects the harbour from the open ocean. However, it’s the proverbial calm before the storm, and by noon whitecaps appear even in the sheltered anchorage.
This weekend is the annual Morro Bay Kite Festival, and I walk to the dunes north of town where young and old enjoy the sunny beach, show off their colourful kites, while kite surfers, too, seem to find the strong wind and waves to their liking.
Sunday, 29 April 2018
The weather forecast calls for gale force winds until Wednesday. So the captain decides that the yacht will remain in port for a week or longer while he returns by rental car to Washington to look after a few business issues. Obviously, we won’t make it to southern California, let alone Mexico, within the anticipated time. As I have already booked my flight to Victoria for May 5th, I now begin to scramble for alternate transportation and accommodation to San Diego. Sure, I could accept the captain’s offer of dropping me off in San Francisco the following day, but that would mean hotel and airplane ticket expenses on short notice. No, I’d rather begin doing things on my terms. I’ll take the train — my favourite kind of land transportation — for a look-see around San Diego before returning home.
Photos: 1.) A family watches a romp of sea otters; in the background is Morro Bay’s decommissioned power plant; 2.) Morro Bay Kite Festival against the background of Morro Rock.
