It's time to go. The temptation to remain here in San Francisco is very high. Dock space is only $24 per night, there is lots to see and do. The food is great, transportation is easy. It's safe. On the 12N line off Mexico tropical storm Alvin has been degraded to a tropical depression. Behind it is a much more formidable hurricane Barbara brewing at about 12N off Mexico. Neither one will likely continue to the 135W mark we would like to pass but it makes one a wee bit nervous never the less. The area reminds me of a bowling alley where these spinning storms keep rolling off the Mexico coast. So, we have decided to continue on our planned path with a possible detour through Hawaii. We can sail about 600 nm out of SF before having to decide to continue on to French Polynesia or do the detour through Hawaii. If we do that we will likely continue on south from Hawaii through the Line Islands to the Cooks, not what I wanted to do but some very interesting cruising can be had through that area. It's beautiful night in San Francisco, the first night the winds haven't been howling. The Golden Gate Bridge is about 2 miles away and looks very nice. Time for bed, gotta catch the tide tomorrow morning.
Pete
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Monday, May 28, 2007
San Francisco Holiday
Hi all, We are enjoying ourselves on our San Francisco mini hoilday. Although I have spent some time doing repairs we are still getting time to go out and see many of the cities attractions. We've been on the cable cars (Nadia thgought they were fun but too noisy), Pier 39, the SF Zoo, had lunch in Chinatown, taken in the Exploritorium and had many nice walks throught the cities neighbourhoods. Nadia has really gotten involved in sewing crafts, she is working on a patch work blanket, doing beadwork, and reading her usual 5 books a day. Her and Brenda are working their way through Harry Potter and are now on book 2.
Dale and I put the repaired windlass mount back in place yesterday. It wasn't welded quite right (what else is new) but after some thought and a few modifications I think it is more likely to last than before. For you non boaters the windlass is used to raise the main anchor, without it we would have to use a much smaller anchor which can be hand hauled. Dale left us yesterday after a full month on board. I told him we would be about 2 weeks total, ha ha, that was a good one. He will be missed but I'm sure he is happy to get back to Suelaine and his regular life. I wish him all the best in all of his adventures.
We will get busy studying all the pilot charts of the Pacific and decide on the best route south of here.
Many thanks to everyone reading our blog and to all those who leave comments, we love reading them,
Pete
Thursday, May 24, 2007
San Francisco
We arrived yesterday (Wednesday) to much fanfare (on the boat) and hoopla. Sunshine, no fog and calm winds. We are staying at a marina in The Marina district. A short walk or bus ride from all the sights. There is a lot of activity all around us. Lasers and larger boats sailing in the bay, wind surfers, kite flyers, joggers etc. I spent my first full day doing maintenance. A few things have broken and need attention. I met a fellow on the docks who does a host of repair work and he helped me out
with getting a part welded. I still have a few things to do but have managed to complete most of the important work. Brenda and Nadia went to the Exploratorium, science center.
It's a pleasure to be here. I feel we really deserve it. There is a great deal of satisfaction in doing a trip like this all on your own. Making all the decisions and taking responsibility for the outcome. It has been a long trip, much much longer than I would have expected. Everyone learned a great deal. Now it's time to relax and get ready for the next leg. Whatever that may be.
with getting a part welded. I still have a few things to do but have managed to complete most of the important work. Brenda and Nadia went to the Exploratorium, science center.
It's a pleasure to be here. I feel we really deserve it. There is a great deal of satisfaction in doing a trip like this all on your own. Making all the decisions and taking responsibility for the outcome. It has been a long trip, much much longer than I would have expected. Everyone learned a great deal. Now it's time to relax and get ready for the next leg. Whatever that may be.
Peter
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Turning 50 in Bodega Bay
Pat mentioned in an email that Hitchcock filmed The Birds here at Bodega Bay. Seems like a good place as any to turn 50 in. I had a very nice day, the weather was sunny and fairly warm. We made omelets and biscuits for breakfast, went out for a great lunch (courtesy of Dale) and had Thai curry with spinach salad and key lime pie to put the candles in. Nadia's idea and creation. Mercifully there are only 5 small candles on board for celebrations, we only used four of them. It was a small but fabulous
party. I'm now the proud owner of an underwater camera system. I can't wait to get to someplace where the water is a little bit warmer. The water outside Pt, Reyes is 49F. Also many thanks to Pat and John for the magazines and $$. Nadia, Brenda and I went for a walk and flew kites. Kite and other wind sports are a big deal here. The wind never seems to stop. The Bodega Bay buoy was reporting 29G41 kts at 7 pm and we hope it will subside so we can make the final run to San Francisco.
party. I'm now the proud owner of an underwater camera system. I can't wait to get to someplace where the water is a little bit warmer. The water outside Pt, Reyes is 49F. Also many thanks to Pat and John for the magazines and $$. Nadia, Brenda and I went for a walk and flew kites. Kite and other wind sports are a big deal here. The wind never seems to stop. The Bodega Bay buoy was reporting 29G41 kts at 7 pm and we hope it will subside so we can make the final run to San Francisco.
An apology to Suelaine for dragging Dale along on such a long outing. He's been very good to us and Nadia has grown quite attached to him.
Pete
Monday, May 21, 2007
Sea Lions on our dock
These are sea lions on our dock by a catamaran named Blue Persuasion.
Photo by Nadia.
The Jelly Fish
One man says that they are stinging jelly fish, dad has not gotten stung yet,
Photo by Nadia
Hiking
Hi Everyone,
Thanks to Jayden and Ingrid for sending us a comment and to Mika and his family for posting comments. No worries, your dreams of waterfalls etc probably foreshadow some of the great things we are going to see. Peter is about to post a bunch of photos. These show sunny, calm conditions. Don't be fooled, this represents less than 5% of the time of the trip. Peter is paid the big bucks to put a rosy shine on all things he takes pictures of. That being said, when I saw all the photos, I realized that we have actually done quite a few things while at the various locations we have pulled into. Here are some of the highlights according to Nadia:
1) We have seen hundreds of pelicans, hundreds of sea lions (check out Nadia's photos of them), puffins, egrets, sandpipers, terns, and lots of jellyfish (see Nadia's photo of a purple bucketfull), dolphins and porpoises. Nadia had a giant mussel close on her net such that we had to wait 15 minutes or so until he let go.
2) Learning how to do a headstand on the grass and backrolls if I am going down a hill.
3) Gymnastics on the sail halyard and jibstay.
4) There is lots of kite flying here and kite waterskiing and windsurfing. I didn't know windsurfers could move that fast. There is a kite and candy store in the village of Bodega Bay. They have really beautiful kites there. Dad bought me two books of tattoos.
5) Fishing off the dock, catching jellyfish, and a couple of small fish.
6) I found 4 empty snail shells. They are very big. They like to live on what Mom thinks are Cana Lilies. I call them canvas lilies.
7) Nadia says it is taking so long to get to San Francisco and we are not there yet.
8) I made a ladybug, dragonfly and oyster out of Fimo clay. Also, I have done a lot of painting. We make lots of paper airplanes. After finishing a whole book of mazes, called MazeCraze, we tear out the pages, fold them into paper airplanes which we throw off the back of boat. Nadia has become an expert paper airplane folder.
Hopefully the next post will be from San Fran.
Brenda and Nadia.
Thanks to Jayden and Ingrid for sending us a comment and to Mika and his family for posting comments. No worries, your dreams of waterfalls etc probably foreshadow some of the great things we are going to see. Peter is about to post a bunch of photos. These show sunny, calm conditions. Don't be fooled, this represents less than 5% of the time of the trip. Peter is paid the big bucks to put a rosy shine on all things he takes pictures of. That being said, when I saw all the photos, I realized that we have actually done quite a few things while at the various locations we have pulled into. Here are some of the highlights according to Nadia:
1) We have seen hundreds of pelicans, hundreds of sea lions (check out Nadia's photos of them), puffins, egrets, sandpipers, terns, and lots of jellyfish (see Nadia's photo of a purple bucketfull), dolphins and porpoises. Nadia had a giant mussel close on her net such that we had to wait 15 minutes or so until he let go.
2) Learning how to do a headstand on the grass and backrolls if I am going down a hill.
3) Gymnastics on the sail halyard and jibstay.
4) There is lots of kite flying here and kite waterskiing and windsurfing. I didn't know windsurfers could move that fast. There is a kite and candy store in the village of Bodega Bay. They have really beautiful kites there. Dad bought me two books of tattoos.
5) Fishing off the dock, catching jellyfish, and a couple of small fish.
6) I found 4 empty snail shells. They are very big. They like to live on what Mom thinks are Cana Lilies. I call them canvas lilies.
7) Nadia says it is taking so long to get to San Francisco and we are not there yet.
8) I made a ladybug, dragonfly and oyster out of Fimo clay. Also, I have done a lot of painting. We make lots of paper airplanes. After finishing a whole book of mazes, called MazeCraze, we tear out the pages, fold them into paper airplanes which we throw off the back of boat. Nadia has become an expert paper airplane folder.
Hopefully the next post will be from San Fran.
Brenda and Nadia.
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Bodega Bay
We are in Bodega Bay California just 60 sailing miles from the Golden Gate Bridge. What a nice feeling. We left Eureka after a slight delay waiting for the tide to lift us off the bottom. The conditions were very calm and we ended up motoring for most of the way. After all we experienced, Cape Mendocino was placid and calm. Exactly what it wasn't supposed to be. No complaints though. I was on the first shift for the night watch and had a very pleasant evening. I woke Dale at 12:30 who too had a good
shift. Just prior to turning it over to Brenda at 4:00 am the fog rolled in. She had a more entertaining time. The fog besides making it obviously more difficult to see other boats also deposits a fine mist on everything. Dale took over again at 7:00 am for Brenda, poor thing, who was very cold.
The wind here is very strong right now, we entered the skinny little channel that takes us to the marina in 30 kt head winds. First chance though we will make the final run to San Francisco. There are many interesting birds both in the bays we have been in and on route out at sea.
shift. Just prior to turning it over to Brenda at 4:00 am the fog rolled in. She had a more entertaining time. The fog besides making it obviously more difficult to see other boats also deposits a fine mist on everything. Dale took over again at 7:00 am for Brenda, poor thing, who was very cold.
The wind here is very strong right now, we entered the skinny little channel that takes us to the marina in 30 kt head winds. First chance though we will make the final run to San Francisco. There are many interesting birds both in the bays we have been in and on route out at sea.
Peter
Thursday, May 17, 2007
One of those days
"By the way" our liveaboard neighbour at Eureka Public Marina tells me "the reason no one has this slip is because they couldn't dredge it properly and the water gets a little bit low at times". We'd been in and out a couple times since arriving and the sounder indicated enough water below us. There are two large boats either side of us, so what's the problem? Nothing really unless you want to leave during a below normal low at 5:30 am and find the boat happily sitting on it's keel. It's a solid
boat but if can't even make it rock back and forth, well...
The weather is frustrating to say it mildly. It is nothing but a twisting swirl of isobars in this area. We will head for Fort Bragg/Noyo Basin about 100 miles down the coast. That will be Friday and Saturday forecasts more gales for the area.
boat but if can't even make it rock back and forth, well...
The weather is frustrating to say it mildly. It is nothing but a twisting swirl of isobars in this area. We will head for Fort Bragg/Noyo Basin about 100 miles down the coast. That will be Friday and Saturday forecasts more gales for the area.
Peter
Monday, May 14, 2007
Waiting in Crescent City
Well, 3 nights in Crescent City and we just got the bouy report just off of here - 10 foot waves at 7 seconds. So it looks like we are here for another night. This waiting is frustrating since we are already late in leaving from San Francisco in order miss the tropical storms off of Mexico. We may have to alter our course to Hawaii or directly to Tahiti, bypassing the Marqueses since we may not be able to sail safely south near the Mexican coast. The other option would be to head down the coast to
Costa Rica and then offshore from there to the Marqueses. Nadia is the best crew member in dealing with this. She is happy wherever we are, in fact her vote is to stay in Crescent City. There is a public pool for swimming, a beach, a good Thai restaurant, and yesterday a visit to Ocean World. This was a bit on the hokey side but Nadia loved the sea lion show and she got to pet a leopard shark. People continue to be very generous to us. We have been given crab to eat and been offered rides all over
town. Hopefully we will be underway again tomorrow.
Brenda.
Costa Rica and then offshore from there to the Marqueses. Nadia is the best crew member in dealing with this. She is happy wherever we are, in fact her vote is to stay in Crescent City. There is a public pool for swimming, a beach, a good Thai restaurant, and yesterday a visit to Ocean World. This was a bit on the hokey side but Nadia loved the sea lion show and she got to pet a leopard shark. People continue to be very generous to us. We have been given crab to eat and been offered rides all over
town. Hopefully we will be underway again tomorrow.
Brenda.
Friday, May 11, 2007
24 hours
I'm sitting on the cockpit bench watching the waves build. Dale is at the helm and mumbles something about placing the second entry way slat into position. Dales eyes widen and someone empties a bathtub full of water right behind and around me. The water flows around me and I watch the cockpit fill then quickly empty. Nadia and Brenda were having a nap in the aft cabin when this happened. Unfortunately we forgot to close the vent and they had a couple liters of cold ocean water dumped on their heads
into their shoes and clothes. We'd been sailing for about 4 hours at this point.
We'd quickly left Coos Bay once the bar restriction was lifted for vessels 30 feet and greater. The Coast Guard closely monitors the wave conditions on the bar and issues restrictions for vessel size depending on the size of the waves. We found the Coast Guard to be very generous with their evaluation of the bar because even though Songline is 36 feet it was a pretty rough go getting over the bar. After about an hour of bashing waves we came to the edge of the bar where the sea bottom drops away.
In a matter of just a minute or two the conditions completely change for the better. Until they get worse that is.
The weather report was good. 15-25 N winds lessening after midnight. It should have been a very nice run to San Francisco. Initially the sailing was perfect, we were doing a solid 7.5 kts under double reefed main and working jib. The winds kept increasing. I kept thinking, no worry we only have to keep things together until midnight when they will ease. So why is it 3:00 am with winds at 30 kts gusting to 40? Brenda couldn't sleep so checked the weather; gale warnings and a worsening overall report.
Time to hide yet again. We were abeam to Crescent City making it the obvious choice. The boat (and crew) handled the situation very well. Down below the motion was not too bad, above it was totally eye popping. We were running under stay sail only with average speeds of 6 to 7 knots and as high as 9+ during the heavy gusts. All this in total darkness. Dale referred to the boat as a bucking bronco. We needed to stay closer (15 to 20 miles) inshore to avoid even stronger winds further out so would
gybe the staysail every half hour or so to keep us on the required track. What a night. No one slept. Every now and then a big gust would come by at the same time as a large wave rolled through, the boat would dig one side in and scoop out a few hundred pounds of water to help chill our already numb bodies. The wind vane steered the boat through most of this. I'd have to reset it after each gybe but it's ability to hold track in those conditions was really remarkable.
into their shoes and clothes. We'd been sailing for about 4 hours at this point.
We'd quickly left Coos Bay once the bar restriction was lifted for vessels 30 feet and greater. The Coast Guard closely monitors the wave conditions on the bar and issues restrictions for vessel size depending on the size of the waves. We found the Coast Guard to be very generous with their evaluation of the bar because even though Songline is 36 feet it was a pretty rough go getting over the bar. After about an hour of bashing waves we came to the edge of the bar where the sea bottom drops away.
In a matter of just a minute or two the conditions completely change for the better. Until they get worse that is.
The weather report was good. 15-25 N winds lessening after midnight. It should have been a very nice run to San Francisco. Initially the sailing was perfect, we were doing a solid 7.5 kts under double reefed main and working jib. The winds kept increasing. I kept thinking, no worry we only have to keep things together until midnight when they will ease. So why is it 3:00 am with winds at 30 kts gusting to 40? Brenda couldn't sleep so checked the weather; gale warnings and a worsening overall report.
Time to hide yet again. We were abeam to Crescent City making it the obvious choice. The boat (and crew) handled the situation very well. Down below the motion was not too bad, above it was totally eye popping. We were running under stay sail only with average speeds of 6 to 7 knots and as high as 9+ during the heavy gusts. All this in total darkness. Dale referred to the boat as a bucking bronco. We needed to stay closer (15 to 20 miles) inshore to avoid even stronger winds further out so would
gybe the staysail every half hour or so to keep us on the required track. What a night. No one slept. Every now and then a big gust would come by at the same time as a large wave rolled through, the boat would dig one side in and scoop out a few hundred pounds of water to help chill our already numb bodies. The wind vane steered the boat through most of this. I'd have to reset it after each gybe but it's ability to hold track in those conditions was really remarkable.
Peter
Fishing
Dear Blog,
We and dad went fishing. We had a game where who ever caught the most fish in one batch won, I did. Mom fell asleep five times in the laundermat. I saw six ladybugs and two chipmunks. We are in Crescent City California.
Nadia,
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Dale's Parallel Blog
Check out Dale's blog on the trip as well, more photos etc.
http://www.daleisanders.blogspot.com/
http://www.daleisanders.blogspot.com/
Monday, May 7, 2007
Sunday, May 6, 2007
spiral gilled Tube worm.
we saw a spiral gilled tube worm. we also saw 5 sea lions up on the dock. I spotted the fuel dock before anyone else did. (Ed. This is all happening in Coos Bay Oregon). I spotted the bottom by using a aluminum tube connected to a piece of rope.
lots of love, Nadia.
lots of love, Nadia.
Saturday, May 5, 2007
Hurry Up and Wait
I've heard many stories of the conditions down the west coast of the US. Everyone different. I was sure we were going to get the 10-20 kt north winds the whole way down. Not quite. We've had a couple of days of excellent sailing but are motoring in zero winds as I write this. Fact is I couldn't write this if we weren't in zero winds. My tummy would not allow it. Oh well, it'll settle down soon. We're heading into Coos Bay to wait out some rough weather coming up around Cape Mandocina. The estimate is for 9-11 foot windwaves. No thanks. Miss you all.
Pete
----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see:
Thursday, May 3, 2007
Nadia and Brenda in Victoria
Nadia and Brenda with Songline in front of the Empress Hotel, Victoria.
Flying Across Georgia Strait
Dale and I enjoying a fantastic sail across Georgia Strait with full sails up.
Update from Westport
It is Thursday, May 3 rd and we are waiting for the tail end of the southerly winds to pass. We expect to leave tomorrow morning. Having learned what it is possible to eat on the way here, saltines, baby cookies, and cans of fruit have been moved into the most accessible cupboard. Nadia had dinner of 20 or so baby cookies one night at sea! Yesterday was Peter and I's wedding anniversary, Nadia wrote us two lovely cards and we opened the gift that my mom and dad had stowed on board. An infusion of
cash (your kids never stop costing you!) and a great pair of shorts and t-shirts for both of us. Thanks! So far we have been dressed in heavy weather gear most of the time (I slept in my foul weather gear for 2 nights and Nadia wears her snow pants while in the cockpit). I keep telling her it really is going to get warmer. People here have been really friendly to us, Nadia so far has been given an inner tube (from the Billings Montana family), a necklace, and 4 postcards (two of which people have
addressed to themselves and want posted in New Zealand). Perhaps they don't think we are going to make it? Westport, Grays Harbour, is a commercial fishing port (that stinks! says Nadia) that is moving towards tourism including sport fishing, surfing and kite flying. When the sport fishermen come in, they throw the guts of the fish into the water, triggering fights between the sea gulls and the sea lions over the skins and carcasses. There are also loons in the bay and, in the state park just south
of here, we saw brown pelicans, sandpipers and deer. Nadia got a certificate for climbing to the top of the highest lighthouse in Washington state (135 steps). I thought the volunteer guide was going to have a heart attack and Nadia and I were going to have to carry him down. Nadia zooms around on the pavement using her Razor. Peter discovered that it is very upsetting to try and use the computer (he was getting weather info) when the seas are large (we had a 12 foot swell and 4 foot wind waves on
the way here with about 20 to 25 knot NW winds. We sailed under double reefed main and staysail the whole time averaging about 5.5 knots). Dale was brilliant off the start, I had to lie down for 4 or 5 hours after rounding Cape Flattery and he helmed until Peter and I recovered in the early evening. The forecast is for better conditions as we leave here but I don't expect there to be much communication until San Francisco. Finally, thanks to everyone who has posted comments to our blog and sent us
email. We enjoy hearing from you.
Brenda.
cash (your kids never stop costing you!) and a great pair of shorts and t-shirts for both of us. Thanks! So far we have been dressed in heavy weather gear most of the time (I slept in my foul weather gear for 2 nights and Nadia wears her snow pants while in the cockpit). I keep telling her it really is going to get warmer. People here have been really friendly to us, Nadia so far has been given an inner tube (from the Billings Montana family), a necklace, and 4 postcards (two of which people have
addressed to themselves and want posted in New Zealand). Perhaps they don't think we are going to make it? Westport, Grays Harbour, is a commercial fishing port (that stinks! says Nadia) that is moving towards tourism including sport fishing, surfing and kite flying. When the sport fishermen come in, they throw the guts of the fish into the water, triggering fights between the sea gulls and the sea lions over the skins and carcasses. There are also loons in the bay and, in the state park just south
of here, we saw brown pelicans, sandpipers and deer. Nadia got a certificate for climbing to the top of the highest lighthouse in Washington state (135 steps). I thought the volunteer guide was going to have a heart attack and Nadia and I were going to have to carry him down. Nadia zooms around on the pavement using her Razor. Peter discovered that it is very upsetting to try and use the computer (he was getting weather info) when the seas are large (we had a 12 foot swell and 4 foot wind waves on
the way here with about 20 to 25 knot NW winds. We sailed under double reefed main and staysail the whole time averaging about 5.5 knots). Dale was brilliant off the start, I had to lie down for 4 or 5 hours after rounding Cape Flattery and he helmed until Peter and I recovered in the early evening. The forecast is for better conditions as we leave here but I don't expect there to be much communication until San Francisco. Finally, thanks to everyone who has posted comments to our blog and sent us
email. We enjoy hearing from you.
Brenda.
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Plan to change your plans
Try as we may it's the weather that has the final say on where we end up. Tucked away in calm harbour certainly has it's appeal. Grays Harbour has plenty of things to do keep us occupied. However we are not making any miles. Looks like Thursday or Friday until we get moving again. I'm finding it a challenge to get out on Winlink, our Sailmail account on the other hand is working well.
Peter
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)