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