Leg 3, Santa Cruz to Santa Cruz

Mark, Lawrence, Liz, Amanda

Amanda and Liz testing our newly varnished seats!
Thanks Lawrence/Martha/Basil!!

Amanda & Liz enroute to the Boardwalk

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk (where's Waldo?)

We immensely enjoyed our visit to Santa Cruz! So much so that we cancelled our intended destinations to Capitola and Moss Landing and instead kept Bluewater in South Harbor Santa Cruz for a week.

Amanda's Favorite: The Swings

Bebe trying an old Favorite: The Bazooka

Birthday Time:  Liz, Mark, Amanda, Grandpa Paul, Grandma Carole, Lawrence

Liz, Amanda, Lawrence, Mark - Dinghy ride!

Amanda and Mark heading out to surf at Cowell's

Amanda, Mark, Geoff, Bebe

Bebe and Amanda

Good friends visiting:  Nancy, Bebe, Geoff, Rocky

Dinghy run for coffee: Amanda and Mark

A fun Dad/Daughter event: Standup Paddle Boarding

Amanda and Mark heading south toward Bluewater in Santa Cruz South Harbor

Fun in the water: Amanda and Mark

A new dinghy motor! We are all thrilled.

Amanda and Lawrence trying out the new motor!

Leg 2, Half Moon Bay to Santa Cruz

It was very exciting to continue our trip south with new crew! We departed Half Moon Bay in fog, mist, low visibility, a very light breeze and calm seas with a crew of four:  Mark, Liz, Marshall, Peter.

Departure Time:  8:35am Thursday May 21, 2015
Pillar Point Harbor, Half Moon Bay, CA

Our route from Half Moon Bay to Santa Cruz
The zig-zag shows the location of our sailing section where we were treated to a spectacular whale show!

Early Departure in glassy calm conditions. Thanks to Marshall for this photo!

Looking back toward Pillar Point Harbor after departure

Foggy calm weather

We saw a few fishing boats out but literally hundreds of crab pots along our route (3-5 miles off the coast) that we had to maneuver around. Due to light winds and a fair distance to cover, we did a lot of motoring to make time. Thus we motored then motor-sailed then sailed then motor-sailed and ended up motoring at the end.We saw a lot of wildlife including: dolphins, mola mola sunfish (solo and in family groups, waving fins in the air), seals, possibly a sea otter, huge concentrations of small blue sailor jellyfish, and LOTS of whales.

Peter at the helm

Pigeon Point Lighthouse

Natural Bridges State Beach from the sea

Peter and Marshall on lookout (for crab pots and other obstacles)

Bluewater heading south

Mark and Marshall in calm seas

Mark, Peter, Marshall in the salon

Liz and Mark

The highlight was a spectacular whale show where we saw dozens and dozens of whales (possibly gray whales mixed with a larger species, humpback maybe? we don't know for sure). Marshall's eagle eyes spotted them on the horizon a mile or so away. We watched them spouting and rising from a distance for a long time. An hour later they were still entertaining us and getting closer to us. The grand finale was when they surrounded our boat and one was super close to us, about 15 feet away.

Thanks to Marshall for these GREAT shots of the whales including the framing display!!!

Here is a video of our whale encounter. Surrounded by Whales!You can hear the whales spouting but also making other rumbling noises that, in the video anyway, sound like static or wind noise but its not - its the whales! We were thrilled with the show!

Marshall lowering the main sail, and Mark

The weather changed from foggy and calm to partial clearing with a light breeze to gray and drizzly, back to foggy again, and ended with warmer weather with the sun peaking through.

Clearing Skies

Marshall in warmer weather, no more foul weather gear

Thanks to our crew!  Marshall, Peter, Mark, Liz - Santa Cruz South Harbor, "M" dock end tie

Here is a longer video of our trip (including a repeat of the whale show) if you have time/interest:  HMB to Santa Cruz

Arrival Time:  5:52pm Thursday 5-21-15 South Harbor Santa Cruz M Dock end tie
Total Distance:  52nm from HMB to Santa Cruz
Time Enroute:  9-1/4 hrs

Leg 1, Coyote Point to Half Moon Bay

Our trip has begun! We are again taking Bluewater South, destination Southern California.

Leg 1, Coyote Point Marina to Half Moon Bay

Crew: Liz, Mark, Michael Sevy, Lawrence

Michael - happy to depart

Departure Time: 5:30 pm Friday May 15, 2015 Coyote Point Marina.

Our route from Coyote Point Marina to Pillar Point Harbor with an overnight anchorage at Aquatic Park, SF

Evening departure from Coyote Point Marina in sustained high winds (22 kts, gusting to 32kts) and a strong flood current. Headed North in typical chilly (50's F) weather with mild wind chop.

Partly cloudy departure from Coyote Point Marina

Winds shown at 31.5 kts, Boat Speed shown at 10.4 kts

Here is a link to a video of our sailing conditions:   Sailing north in strong winds and mild wind chop

Beautiful view of San Francisco as the sun went down. Looked for relief along the shore North of the Bay Bridge. Had to head out to Alcatraz to make way to Aquatic Park. Set back by the current and eventually motored the last bit along the break wall to Aquatic Park. Lots of buoy's, boats, and boards to steer around. Starboard engine took a break to make sure we were still awake. Anchored with Ghirardelli sign in sight.

Anchored in Aquatic Park, San Francisco

Arrival Time: 10:00pm Friday 5-15-15 Aquatic Park, SF
Anchored overnight in Aquatic Park


Though it was glassy calm in the middle of the night, the breeze picked up again before dawn. Departure Time: 6:09am Saturday 5-16-15 from Aquatic Park, SF

As we departed Aquatic Park, Mark had a sharp eye out and spotted 4 swimmers in the channel. Soon after departure, the winds picked up to 18kts right off the get go. Conditions were good to exit the Bay through the Golden Gate. The weather was overcast with a mixture of light and dark clouds with the sun shining through occasional. Our goal was to reach the Golden Gate for a 7am slack tide. Our actual time crossing under the bridge was about 6:45am.

Approaching the Golden Gate Bridge

The Crew under the Golden Gate:  Mark, Michael, Lawrence, Liz

 See the video here of our departure conditions, crossing under the Golden Gate Bridge, heading out into confused seas, downwind sailing, and whale sightings:  Heading out the Gate

Looking back toward San Francisco after crossing under the Golden Gate Bridge

Liz

Lawrence

Michael and Mark

For safety, we motor-sailed under the bridge and cut the engines when we reached the south channel. Just outside the gate, the seas were a bit confused which struck us all with a bit of queeziness at different times. We tried to fish for salmon but got skunked. Tying the knots was close-up work that magnified the rocking sloshing motion of the boat. We saw lots of wildlife including dolphins, shearwaters, terns, pelicans, brandts, cormorants, sea lions and whales.

Highlight:  Dozens of whale sightings, spoutings, heads, backs, and full flukes.

Destination made: Liz, Lawrence, Mark, Michael

Bluewater, Dock D end tie, Pillar Point Harbor, Half Moon Bay

Arrival Time: 12:02pm Saturday 5-16-15 Pillar Point Harbor, Half Moon Bay
Total Distance:  46.8nm from Coyote Point to Half Moon Bay
Time enroute: 4-1/2 hrs (Coyote Pt to Aquatic Park) + 6 hrs (Aquatic Park to HMB) = 10-1/2hrs