August 2026
New crewmember Mark Barrish flew from Seattle WA to San Jose CA on Saturday August 22, 2026 and visited his parents and niece Katie/Adam in Los Gatos before making his way to Bluewater in Monterey. He enjoyed hanging out with Lawrence and friends that first night, including Mark/Kim who happen to be anchored in Monterey Bay this weekend on their 57 foot Catamaran.
Sunday August 23, 2026
Hopefully Lawrence slept in on Sunday and recovered somewhat. Meanwhile, Mark wandered around town and along the beach.
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| The beach scene Sunday morning around 8:45am |
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| Care Package |
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| Monterey Bay Aquarium Sunday around noon |
Mark said he ended up walking further than he meant to. "Blue sky inland with breeze and overcast and fog offshore. The crowd at the aquarium is not as thick as I remember."
Supplies (and maybe a California Fishing License) were purchased and later in the day, Lawrence oversaw refueling details.
Mark texted a description of their overnight journey: "We traded 2-hr watches while motor sailing on one engine under a reefed main through a chill foggy night. Whales and birds are working a gray sea this morning. A light breeze from astern and small north swell are helpful, but a small crossing westerly swell and slight chop made me happy to see daylight. Coffee helps too."
"We did have one other wildlife encounter sometime around 3 AM. I thought at first a pterodactyl or flying fish had attacked the cabin, but it turned out to be a dragonfly. May have been prehistoric in origin; the photograph will need to be analyzed to determine the exact species of this demon beast"
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| Mark on the bow |
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| New crewmember Mark Barrish hard at work 😀 |
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| Arrival at fuel dock about 4pm Sunday |
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| Lawrence at the Fuel Dock |
A nighttime departure is approaching based on weather predictions enroute and the desired arrival time...
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| From Lawrence: 8:49pm Sunday - Wildlife! |
9:09pm Mark texted: "FYI we are checked out of the marina and getting ready to depart soon"
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| Bluewater on the dock at Monterey Municipal Marina 9:10pm Sunday |
Sunday August 23, 2026
Monterey Municipal Marina, Monterey, California
Bluewater Coastal Run - Leg 2
Departure Time: 9:17pm local time
Departure from: Monterey Municipal Marina, Monterey, CA
2 souls aboard
Lawrence Kerver
Mark Barrish
Destination: Morro Bay, CA
Distance to Destination: Somewhere in the vicinity of 95-125nm
Estimated Duration: approx 15-20 hours or so
9:18pm Mark texted: "Just departed in a light breeze with gentle seas. Two souls on board"
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| View looking back toward Monterey and the Marina they just departed (Lawrence looking forward) |
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| Still looking back while heading away from the city lights |
I can see Mark on my iphone tracking and Bluewater on Lawrence's Predict Wind Tracker - and they made good progress through the night!
Monday August 24, 2026
Mark texted a description of their overnight journey: "We traded 2-hr watches while motor sailing on one engine under a reefed main through a chill foggy night. Whales and birds are working a gray sea this morning. A light breeze from astern and small north swell are helpful, but a small crossing westerly swell and slight chop made me happy to see daylight. Coffee helps too."
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| 3am-ish dragonfly in cabin |
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| 9:35am Monday - Whales Spouting! |
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| Whales! You get the idea |
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| 4:44am Monday iphone tracking |
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| 6:20am Monday iphone tracking |
Yes, I have OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) so I track repeatedly (on both iphone AND Bluewater's Predict Wind Tracker)
Lawrence's Predict Wind Tracker Bluewater Tracker is pretty darn cool. You can see Bluewater's location, speed and course (posted hourly). You can also see the current weather including wind speeds and direction. It's a super useful tool. If you play with it (to see future predicted weather) you'll know the kind of info they have at their fingertips to make wise planning decisions.
TIPS:
- Refresh to see new data
- Remember that Bluewater's current track is superimposed on Lawrence's previous track (from 2022)
- Remember they are continuing south from destination to destination
- Wind speeds (or other data) are color coded with the scale along the bottom
- You can touch an area of the map and see specific data for that area
- For advanced users: You can select the weird Layers symbol and select endless data (including Winds, Waves, Current, Air Temp etc etc etc)
Monday morning (approx 10am) tracking:
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| Bluewater's Predict Wind Tracker |
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| iPhone Tracker - They are getting closer to Morro Bay! |
1:20pm phone call from Mark:
He said the sun is coming out and he took off his jacket about an hour ago. They are sailing downwind with a reefed (shortened) main sail and a jib sail out. They are ambling along with a tiny swell running. They've had fishing lines trailing but no luck yet.
It's been a long slog of a passage but it's been working well. Lawrence is having fun playing with all his new electronics. Mark is getting ready to add fuel to the tanks as they are down to a few gallons in each.They already talked to Kevin/Katey who called Lawrence and invited the sailors out to dinner tonight.Lawrence/Mark will be watching the weather closely for a suitable weather window for the next leg. Stay tuned....
3:42pm Mark texted: "Nice news: the Morro Bay Yacht Club tells us they have room at the dock! We are probably an hour and a half out from there now"
Monday August 24, 2026
Arrived! Morro Bay
Bluewater & crew checked in Safe & Sound @ Morro Bay
Departure: 9:17pm Sunday August 23 from Monterey
Arrival: 4:20pm Morro Bay Monday August 24, 2026
Distance: approx 95-125nm
Duration of Leg 2: approx 19 hrs
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| Bluewater at Morro Bay Yacht Club dock |
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