Name Change

Hi everyone, We have decided to change the name of our blog to a more generic, "Our Sailing Adventure". Since leaving it has become clear that you can't always get to where you want to be in a sailboat. One reoccuring statement we hear from local boaters is "gee, it's not usually this bad here this time of year." We're in Ventura Harbour right now and met a fellow Canadian family who bought a sailboat in San Diego and are sailing it home to Richmond BC. There are 5 of them, the youngest looks to be about 8. They are doing it for the experience. They have no plans on keeping the boat and they will sell it when they get home. That's an adventure! I can't imagine heading back INTO the wind and waves that we sailed down on let alone with three kids and in a boat I only just bought.

Channel Islands

We said goodbye to Santa Barbara after a two week visit. By normal holiday standards that would have been a long vacation and I doubt I would ever budget that much time into a visit to Santa Barbara. Somehow time seems to go by quicker while cruising. There are all the usual domestic chores that need to be done plus because we have no car and rely on walking or public transit everything takes a little bit longer. No complaints though we all feel much healthier for it. In short we saw the butterfly exhibit, took in the Grossology exhibit at the Natural History Museum (yes you can smell armpit odor or learn how people vomit), rented a surrey (four wheeled covered pedal car), went to public library, went snorkeling and swimming, music festival, Harry Potter party, had a new windlass pump mount made, had new glasses made (lost them while dinghying in Morro Bay).

We headed for Santa Rosa Island on the west side of the northern group of Channel Islands. Unfortunately it was too windy to launch or land a dinghy. The island looked very interesting and everyone was disappointed. It blew fairly hard through the night and with no let up seen in the forecast we departed for a more sheltered anchorage on Santa Cruz. It was one of those nights sailors hate, having to wake every couple of hours and check the anchor hoping you won't need to do a midnight departure because of a dragging anchor (30kt + winds). The sail past the west side of Santa Cruz is very scenic. The island has steep sides and was shrouded in fog. Pictures to follow. Nadia and I are going fishing this morning, always an adventure.

Nadia's Notes: To Grandma, when you put lipstick on your lips your are really putting algae on your lips. I saw a sunfish on our trip to Santa Cruz Island.

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Starry Days

Nadia wrestles in a big star fish.

Anemone

The enemy of my anemone is my friend??

Santa Barbara Beach

With our boaters friends, Steve and Kathy.

Butterflly Exhibit

Our trip to the Natural History Museum

Hello From Santa Barbara

It's happening, you now hear us complaining about the heat. Not the worst thing that's happened to us so far. Today we spent several hours playing in the surf. Nadia loved it. I suspect it won't be our last time. I've been catching up with the boat maintenance. Oil changes, dinghy repair, paint touch-up etc. It's a lot of work keeping these things floating.

Nadia's Notes: I saw five octopi, one sting ray, five starfish, three crabs (probably more), lots of mussels, limpets and nudibranch and their eggs, they had blue bodies and orange sticks, sticking out of their blue bodies (all in the wild). At a butterfly exhibit I saw, monarchs, zebra longwings, morning cloaks and lots more. I saw 4 great blue herons, one with a wound on it's wing that I named Heather Jean.