Cojo Anchorage - Sept 28

The cruise to Cojo Anchorage was very smooth. Aside from a disappointing and awful, stinky oil slick that went for a few miles we were delighted to see quite a few pods of dolphins.  

Cojo a little cove that is a convenient spot for resting before going around Point Conception… known as the “Cape Horn of the Pacific.”  It seems to be a point of extremes; either there is little or no wind or there is a great deal of it.

Cojo Anchorage / Pt Conception

Using our Sail flow app we determined the best time to arrive and when our departure would be. Our journey was just over four hours.  Tripp switched from auto pilot to manual steering and alas, no steering. Thankfully I managed to drop the anchor and got ISB situated. Tripp fixed the steering and we settled in for the night.

We pulled up anchor at 0400!! 150’ of chain in about 30’ of water. Relatively easy except that it was dark. We lost the port engine for awhile on the way out. Not fun! Left straight to the south to clear the point by about 3 miles before heading NW. We got the port engine back on line before we started a 17 mile track to get around Pt Arguello. The seas were the worst that we'd had thus far, about 10 kts of wind going straight into it. Turning north on the next leg we faced heavy fog and rolling seas.

Click the link below to see where I am located.
 http://fms.ws/bg-Cu/34.44596N/120.44601W

Santa Barbara - Sept 21 - 28

It had been our intention to stay an exta night in Oxnard but having looked at our app “Sail Flow” we saw that the winds were going to be whipping up on Thursday so we decided to leave on Wednesday at 05:00 AM. If any of you know me then you are well aware that I am not a morning girl! Not only that, we are pulling off a dock and I can’t see a thing in front of us… Tripp was calm and relaxed. Oh me of little faith… I should trust my Navy, sea-going, ship driving man of 32 years! Just after 0600 the sun started to peak above the horizon and I was able to chill and enjoy what was in front of us. Seas were calm and although it was a bit bumpy to start it remained smooth. Santa Barbara was 29.3 NM and it took us 3 ½ hours.

Art Walk

View of Santa Barbara

Mountains meet the sea

The Pier

We were assigned a slip in the harbor and squeezed ourselves in with barely an inch to spare. Santa Barbara is a beautiful city where the Santa Ynez mountains come down to meet the sea, spectacular! They call this area the American Riviera and we could well understand why.

There is so much to see and do in Santa Barbara and we tried to fit it all in.  State St was on our to-do list so we headed their our first afternoon. We ended up at a wine tasting bar on the pier, relaxing and taking in the view.

Mission Santa Barbara, known as "the Queen of the Missions," was founded in 1786. The Chumash Indians helped to build the mission and were an integral part of the history. The architecture and the grounds are beautiful, and the museum/tour are interesting and educational. This is a "must see."

The County Courthouse is located downtown. The Spanish Colonial Revival style building was designed by William Mooser and completed in 1929. Architect Charles Willard Moore called it the "grandest Spanish Colonial Revival structure ever built," and the prime example of Santa Barbara's adoption of Spanish Colonial as its civic style. Gorgeous!

Santa Barbara Courthouse

Our friend Mardele arrived on Friday and we headed off to The Hitching Post, of Sideways fame, for a fabulous dinner of prime rib steak and a bottle, or two, of Pinot Noir. Saturday found us sampling wines at several vineyards and a couple of our favorites were 'Roblar' and 'Fess Parker'. Thankfully we had hired a driver so could partake without the worry and so we did! 

Another good winery

Daniel Boone - Fess Parker

Engine issues seem to haunt us and our port engine died when we moved slips. Thankfully, Tripp is a whiz at replacing the first stage filter and had it swapped out in no time. He spent another day installing a new seawater pump on the generator. I fear our boat issues are never ending.

Anyways, I can’t say enough good things about Santa Barbara and the fun things that we were able to enjoy… the Urban Wine Trail, the trolley tour and so much more! We will have to come back at some time.

Click the link below to see where I am located.
 http://fms.ws/bgAk3/34.40633N/119.68939W

   

Oxnard - Sept 19 - 21

Oxnard took us 5 hours / 44.3 NM at a speed of approx 8.7 Kts. It was a sunny morning departure with calm seas but the fog rolled in thick around Malibu and hung in for a couple of hours.

PCYC

the canals

 We spent two nights in Oxnard on the guest dock of Pacific Corinthian Yacht Club. A full afternoon of wandering led us to ‘Sea Fresh’ for a relaxing happy hour and then back to the yacht club to hang out with some of their members.  The following day we took a dinghy cruise through the canals. Beautiful homes and a lovely area. 

Marina del Rey - Sept 12 - 19

Our early Monday morning departure from Two Harbors found us with calm seas and the kind of crossing that I like, smooth and easy. Sail Flow has been a great app for our phones and our new AIS has been wonderful in helping us to plan our timing and to see other ships. Our average cruise speed is about 8.5 knots. The trip was just under 4 hours with a total travel distance of 33.1 nautical miles.

The Marina, the world's largest man-made small craft harbor with eight basins, is home port to approximately 6,500 boats. Prior to its development, the land occupied by Marina del Rey was a saltmarsh fed by fresh water from Ballona Creek. Marina del Rey falls within unincorporated Los Angeles County and is southeast of the L.A. City community of Venice and north of the L.A. City community of Playa del Rey. It is located four miles north of Los Angeles International Airport.

California Yacht Club had a slip available to us so we enjoyed all the amenities of the club and surrounding area. Tripp and I spent one day exploring Venice Beach… an eclectic energy, to say the least.  Another day we took our dinghy around the harbor and found his former sailboat, Siesta. He recognized the mast amongst a myriad of others. We loved looking at all the boats. He’d secretly like to own a Lagoon 450 Catamaran. Sea Lions seem to be an issue for boaters here, as well as other harbors along the coast. Most boats have buckets full of water on their swim steps or parking cones to keep the mammals off.

We were blessed with several friends visiting from Long Beach, Mardele on Thursday and Friday. Bob, Donna, Sparky & Terry on Saturday. We love you all and enjoyed our time very much! Local friends, Alex & Marlene, were kind enough to tour us around and took us for lunch at Paradise Cove Café in Malibu. The food portions were over the top but also delicious! Our week in Marina del Rey flew by and it was time to head to the next port of call.

Venice Beach

Paradise Cove

Marlene and Alex

Siesta

Mardele

Donna & Sparky

Bob & Terry

Avalon and Two Harbors - Aug 31 - Sept 12

Our time in Avalon flew by so fast. We had the first couple of days to ourselves and took advantage of the quiet to decompress from the business of Change of Command, our farewell party, stocking and reorganizing the boat for our journey.

Unfortunately, the long weekend brought many of the mooring’s owners to the island and we were moved four times. If you ever had to watch someone pick up a mooring let me tell you that it is free entertainment. Two of our moves were quite tricky as the wind had picked up and was blowing off our beam. Of course the Captain is at the helm and the first mate is struggling to grab the sand line. One has to keep their language in check! Stressful and not fun!

Friday came with the birthday girl, boy and entourage arriving around noon. Let the games begin! A full weekend of activity and frivolity ensued. Happy Birthday to Lisa Meier & Bob Green. We were thrilled to be a part of your celebrations!

Mini Golf Competition

Happy Birthday!

Avalon Grill with friends of the birthday duo

Two Harbors is one of our favorite destinations… an easy 80 minute cruise from Avalon. Talk about laid-back from way-back! Not much to do but relax and enjoy… buffalo milk… sand & sea, the Star Wars bar and Harbor Reef Restaurant.

NYCLB friends arrived for a cruise-out on Friday the 09^th. Saturday found us in a float-a-palooza behind I Sea Blues and a grilling steak aboard ISB in the evening.                              

Buffalo Milk - Yum!

This is relaxing! 

Float-A-Palooza

The Guys

The Girls

 Click the link below to see where I am located. 

http://fms.ws/b5NQJ/33.44392N/118.49858W