Santa Cruz - Oct 20 - 23

A bright, sunny morning welcomed us as we prepared to leave Monterey for Santa Cruz which lies 22.7 nautical miles across the bay at the north end. We thought this cruise would be easy. What we didn’t know was that the waters in the bay can be as rough as they are thousands of miles off shore. It was a bumpy, rocky-rolly ride and Tripp stated that he felt like we were a bobbing cork. Two hours and thirty six minutes later we made it to the Santa Cruz fuel dock. Each marina that we stop at charges different prices for mooring and or fuel. The end-tie in Monterey was 70c a foot and in Santa Cruz $1.25 a foot. Diesel fuel in Monterey was $3.04 a gallon and in Santa Cruz $2.65. Go figure? We fueled in Santa Cruz. 133.4 gallons later, every penny counts.

Boardwalk Amusement Park

Opening on wharf to look at sea lions

Santa Cruz is a well-known beach resort community. We got settled on our assigned end tie and decided to walk over to the famous boardwalk amusement park. Unfortunately, it was closed so we carried on down the beach. Arriving at the wharf we found a great selection of restaurants, shops, fish markets and recreational activities. Something for everyone. Woodie’s menu appealed to us and we stopped for lunch. The wharf is a common resting place for the oft noisy sea lions. Five rectangular holes cut into the center of the wharf’s farthest end provides windows to the structure’s underbelly and favorite sea lion haunts. It is the longest pier on the West Coast. After lunch we continued our walk heading to downtown Santa Cruz. Pacific Ave houses a variety of storefronts and businesses and serves as an outlet for the artistic and unique culture of Santa Cruz. It is an interesting area.

A city of 'NO'

Thursday night we were kept awake by the barking of a male bull seal lion. He happened to be perched on the dock right outside my stateroom port hole. Not a restful night and not so cute anymore. In addition to the noise he sprayed I Sea Blues with a disgusting mess of poop. Tripp had a hard time cleaning it off. Sticks like glue… gross!

The Santa Cruz Yacht Club offers dinner on Friday evenings so we ventured up to check things out. A group from Sacramento Yacht Club were there on a cruise out and we met four lovely couples. Connections are everything and we had a great exchange of stories and ideas for repairs and traveling north.

Saturday was spent cleaning the boat and moving it to an end tie on the other side of the harbor, away from the pesky sea lion and closer to the harbor office and several restaurants. Upon waking Sunday morning and looking at the weather for the coming week we decided to leave right away. Monday and the following few days were bringing high winds and seas. It was the right decision.

 You can’t cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water.
-Rabindranath Tagore

Click the link below to see where we are located.
 http://fms.ws/cNgaa/36.96586N/122.00269W

Monterey - Oct 13 - 20

The cacophony of the gulls, seals and sea lions and the stench of the bird poop and kelp beds is what greets us each morning. Wharf #2 rises above I Sea Blues and the vehicles rattle down the pier from the wee hours of the morning heading to the fish markets at the end or one of the restaurants to empty the garbage bins. The Sand Bar restaurant patrons have a bird’s eye view of us and we feel their gaze. The crane whirs to life and the clang of the block and tackle is constant. This is boat living – this is Monterey. 

I Sea Blues & Wharf 2

The city has a vibrant past. Famous people and colorful characters, extremely diverse. Cannery Row was the one-time center of the sardine packing industry and was immortalized in John Steinbeck’s novel. Today, you can still see the remnants of those times but the converted factories are now gift shops, seafood restaurants and bars. The aquarium at the end of the strip is a filled with marine mammals and plants on display in underwater and interactive exhibits. This is Monterey. 

   

Aquarium and Cannery Row

Six days in the area and we have well-worn shoes and a new appreciation of all things local. Fisherman’s wharf was once an active wholesale fish market and is now full of lively restaurants and hawkers trying to get one to sample their clam chowder. Each place touts theirs as the best. Sardines and king crab legs from the Time Bandit, of Deadliest Catch fame, at Delmonico’s was high on our list of favorites. The touristy gift shops all carry the same kitschy merchandise and fortunately for living small we are not easily tempted to purchase anything. This is Monterey. 

Fisherman's Wharf

Our cute dock neighbor

Carmel was easily accessed via the convenient MST transit system. An afternoon of walking thru the high end shops, wine tasting rooms and wealthy community was enjoyable but we were happy to return to Cannery Row, Fisherman’s Wharf and I Sea Blues. This is Monterey.  

The Sardine Factory

Steinbeck Monument

“The tide goes out imperceptibly. The boulders show and seem to rise up and the ocean recedes leaving little pools, leaving wet weed and moss and sponge, iridescence and brown and blue and China red. On the bottoms lie the incredible refuse of the sea, shells broken and chipped and bits of skeleton, claws, the whole sea bottom a fantastic cemetery on which the living scamper and scramble.”
- John Steinbeck, Cannery Row  

San Simeon - Oct 13

Preparing food, the night before we left Morro Bay was on the to-do list as we would be at anchor in San Simeon overnight. I have become the master at one pot meals thanks to Pinterest. This was a chili mac and cheese, reminiscent of Hamburger Helper. Come on, who didn’t like that in the day? 

Making chili mac & cheese

Driving out of the harbor was easy while Tripp worked on the port engine and I avoided paddle boarders and watched the sea otters. The seas were smooth and rolling and it was a bright sunny day. San Simeon was 24.1 nautical miles and we traveled at a comfortable cruising speed of 8 kts. We dropped 125’ of anchor just after noon in about 20 feet of water and settled in to have some lunch. The wind was blowing at about 6 knots but we felt comfortable.

A key feature of the locale is Hearst Castle  a hilltop mansion built by William Randolph Hurst in the early 20th century that is now a tourist attraction. The area is also home to a large northern elephant seal rookery, known as the Piedras Blancas rookery. Taking our dinghy to see the elephant seals was going to be a highlight of staying in the cove.  

Hearst Castle

View from I Sea Blues

       

After checking ‘Sail Flow’ again and another app called ‘Windyty’ we thought it best to pull anchor and head for Monterey immediately. It was 4:12 PM when we got underway. Winds were at about 15 knots and the seas were choppy, but forecast was for low winds and seas until about 2 AM. Tripp was concerned about our dinghy as it was bouncing around and he thought we might lose it. As the sun was setting we saw three whales which is always a wonderful sight.

Once darkness settled the fog rolled in and we couldn’t see twenty yards in front of us. The moon was almost full so when the fog cleared for a brief time around 9:30 PM we could see the mainland and the lights of cars driving HWY 1. Being able to see something gives one some form of comfort. Unfortunately, it did not last long and the fog rolled back in and stayed with us until we rounded the point toward Monterey. It was hard seeing the red light marker buoys in the channel and I realized that my night vision sucks! I stood on the bow of the boat and Tripp read the radar as we entered the harbor. We figured it out and he navigated toward the marina opening, which is very narrow, and headed to the dock at Monterey Peninsula Yacht Club. Harbor Control spied us coming through and called I Sea Blues on channel 16 asking us to identify ourselves. They gave us a heads up that we were going in the right direction and we carried on for another couple of minutes until we found the 20’ of dock that was available in front of the club. Hhmmm… our boat is probably 42’ overall and try as we might there was no way we could stay on that dock. Harbor Control to the rescue again and we were assigned an end tie across from the yacht club dock. All’s well that ends well and we finally tapped out about 3:30 AM just ahead of some foul weather and after a 115 nautical mile day. 

Click the link below to see where we are located
 http://fms.ws/cADq1/36.60256N/121.89008W

To put meaning in one's life may end in madness, but life without meaning is the torture of restlessness and vague desire - It is a boat longing for the sea and yet afraid. Edgar Lee Masters

Morro Bay - October 08 - 13

Leaving Port San Luis in sunshine and having smooth seas and a short cruise made for a great day. It was a total of 22.2 nautical miles to Morro Bay and two and half hours.

Morro Rock

Coho Anchorage to Morro 

 Morro Bay is about half way between San Francisco and Los Angeles near Hearst Castle and the Big Sur Coast. It is a working fishing village. Morro Rock, its famous landmark, was named by Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo when he first charted this coast during his 16th Century voyage of discovery. Morro Rock is the best known of the Nine Sisters of San Luis Obispo County, a series of ancient volcanic plugs that line the Los Osos Valley between the cities of Morro Bay and San Luis Obispo.

            When we arrived there was no space on the Morro Bay Yacht Club dock and the mooring buoys had no lines, wand or float attached. Tripp had to attach our own lines via the dinghy and made a bridle after picking up the mooring lines with a boat hook. A little challenging but he got it done and we stayed on the buoy for three nights. The port captain reserved us space on their dock for our last two nights. We managed to be 'unplugged' for 14 days in a row and only ran our generator for eight hours total and we were still at 95% power. The solar panels and generator keep us going!

Finally on the dock

Our time in Morro Bay was quiet and we enjoyed walking around the town poking through little shops and finding restaurants with good food. The best was 75c happy hour oysters at Windows on the Water. 

75c oysters

Fisherman capturing mermaid

The frolicking sea otters were adorable and I enjoyed spotting them when we were out and about.

Sea Otters love crab

Tripp worked hard at installing a new 110 volt plug on our fly bridge and a USB plug. Yeah, we can now power our devices while underway and plug in a heater when needed. A new propeller arrived at the yacht club on Monday and Tripp swapped that out with the one that he'd put on in Port San Luis. This new one was the right size and pitch. We'll keep the other as a spare. 

Tripp working on 12V USB

Starboard engine issues haunted us this time with a bad connection on the starter. Tripp cleaned the connections up and got it working again. As we pulled away from the dock on the morning of departure the port engine died again. Tripp bled the air out of the line and it started again. He can't figure out what the issues are with that engine.

Click the link below to see where we are located.

 http://fms.ws/b-cNc/35.36217N/120.85335W

Port San Luis / Avila Beach - Sept 29 - Oct 08

Transiting in the darkness is not my favorite thing to do especially when one knows you’re going around a well documented, ‘dangerous’ point. In addition, losing the port engine for a time did not sit well but I kept my panic assuaged and my eyes fixed on the radar. Seas were bumpy with 10 kt winds and daylight didn’t come for another two and a half hours. Life seems better when the sun rises; however, before long the fog rolled in and we we were in the thick of it. On a positive note, the seas are calmer when you’re covered in a blanket of fog. 

Fog finally clearing

The journey was six and a half hours, our longest to date. Arrival into Port San Luis was challenging as we could not see 20 yards in front of us. Tripp had our fog horn blasting every two minutes and we knew that several boats passed us within 300 yards but we didn’t see them except on radar. The veil lifted slightly and we were able to see some boats moored to bouys. I had the boat hook at the ready and grabbed a line to secure I Sea Blues.  

Port San Luis is a commercial area. The pier is not user friendly! They have one loading dock but you can’t tie up there. One has to secure their dinghy forward and aft and then climb up a 20’ vertical rebar ladder to the pier. Er… thanks but not for this girl! Tripp was a gentleman and dropped me off at the loading dock and then had to secure 

the dinghy forward and aft and climb the ladder.  

     

Thursday found us hoofing it into town, we were told it was only a mile but it was actually two. Lunch at Custom House and wine tasting rooms were an afternoon well spent. Our friends, Melissa and Jason, from Seal and Pismo Beach met us and we enjoyed a fab dinner at Ocean Grill. We didn’t expect to be out so late and hadn’t left lights on the boat. Not only was it hard to find the dinghy, it had gone under the pier, but we were challenged in finding ISB. It is laughable after the fact but when it’s pitch black and foggy, you can’t see a thing in front of you. We went to two other boats before we finally found ours. We are a mile off shore and on one of the last moorings by the breakwater. We learned to turn our cockpit lights on before leaving the boat for the day.

A week doesn’t go by without boating issues and Friday night found us driving our dinghy home and having issues with the propeller. (it ‘spun out’) Tripp says that means that the rubber bushing inside the propeller is slipping and it won’t turn any faster than idle speed no matter how fast you rev the engine. A new prop was ordered. <<sigh>>   

Working on propeller

Donna, from Victoria, was in the area and met us for lunch in Pismo and we spent a lovely afternoon back in Avila. Always wonderful to meet up with friends from near and far.  

Jim and Dena from Seal Beach, own a timeshare in Avila Beach and were generous in giving us four of their nights. Wahoo! Real showers and the ability to do laundry had me very excited. We thoroughly enjoyed our nights at San Luis Bay Inn and all of the amenities that it offered. Thank you so much J & D!
Also, Jason and Melissa lent us their jeep for several days. We loaded it up to bring stuff, (ie: a month’s worth of laundry) to the Inn. Moreover, it allowed us the opportunity to reprovision at the Costco in San Luis Obispo and to explore the delightful town enjoying a lunch at SLO Brew. Our second to last day in Avila found us on another wine tasting adventure in the Edna Valley. We managed to leave a dent in the supply at Sextant, Baileyana (which includes Tangent & Truth Myth), Kynsi and last but not least, Saucelito Canyon. We DO love our wine tasting and so appreciated our tour guides, Jason & Melissa, that day. So many vineyards… so little time!  

Pismo Beach - Jason, Melissa & Darla

Having fun at Baileyana

 As we get ready to leave for Morro Bay we had to refill with water and refuel ISB so that we can make the long hike around Big Sur to Monterey. That’s a few days off yet though. Did I mention earlier that the pier in Port San Luis is not user friendly?? Not only the dock for getting water but the fuel pier is a menace to one’s boat.

Being refueled from above      

Click the link below to see where we are located.

 http://fms.ws/bzLai/35.15948N/120.74919W