Leg 14 was a push north with a small crew in 5 segments:
1) San Diego to Mission Bay (Marilyn joined us)
2) Mission Bay to Dana Point
3) Dana Point to Catalina Island
4) Catalina Island to Santa Cruz Island
5) Santa Cruz Island to Santa Barbara
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Bluewater's Leg 14 route north from San Diego to Santa Barbara
via Mission Bay, Dana Point, Catalina Island and Santa Cruz Island
Crew = Mark, Liz, Amanda (and Marilyn for the initial trip from San Diego to Mission Bay) |
Sunday August 16, 2015
After hanging with Marilyn and Michael in San Diego for a colorful and enjoyable 5 days, we were ready to head North toward home in San Francisco Bay. Marilyn joined us as we headed out fishing and to check out anchoring opportunities in Mission Bay (SeaWorld area). Michael drove separately and picked up Marilyn in their rental car.
We started out motoring in extremely calm conditions into a thick marine layer (down to a half mile visibility at one point). Here is a video of
our initial conditions in the fog. Thankfully, the fog burned off, we got some wind (8-14 knots), saw a few dolphins, caught a mackerel. We initially sailed south toward the Coronado Islands for some trolling (we had been warned to remain in US waters as we didn't have all our documents for fishing in Mexico). As we didn't find the tuna we were hoping for, we turned north in a nice steady breeze, making good time past San Diego before in. Despite it being somewhat crowded, conditions in the harbor were warm and calm and we had fun anchoring in Mariner's Basin with 50-100 other boats. It seemed like a particularly sociable spot--a couple of dingy's from the nearby boats came by to say hello, and Liz gave at least one tour of Bluewater. Mark and Amanda dove the anchor, and Liz prepped and swam to the beach. Most of the boats left before dark (it being Sunday night). Marilyn relaxed and dinghy'd to shore where Michael picked her up.
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Marilyn rousing the port cabin occupants
Shelter Island Marina, San Diego |
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| Amanda just waking up |
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| Liz is sleepy too |
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| Amanda getting some quality time with Aunt Marilyn |
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| Breakfast Burritos - Thanks Mike! |
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| Amanda with crazy eyeballs rolling |
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| Amanda and Marilyn before departure from Shelter Island Marina, San Diego |
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Goodbye Michael, see you at Mission Bay!
Mark/Liz/Amanda/Marilyn departed by boat
Michael departed by car |
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Amanda and Marilyn in their respective pulpits at departure time
Notice the clear skies |
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| Marilyn lounging on the bow - you can see the marine layer (low fog) coming over the hills |
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| Liz and Marilyn on the bow |
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Marilyn and Amanda departing San Diego Bay
You can see the marine layer over the Pacific Ocean |
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| We're in a bit of fog now |
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| Amanda eating pasta, Marilyn enjoying the view, Mark skippering, Liz capturing the moment |
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| Marilyn, you're on duty now |
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| Time to raise the mainsail |
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| Marilyn raising the mainsail unassisted (no winch) |
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Marilyn at the ready with the
winch handle |
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| Marilyn Raising the Mainsail with the winch, Captain Bligh checking her work |
See it here:
Marilyn raising the Mainsail
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| Amanda photo bombing |
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| Mark and Marilyn on duty |
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Marilyn at work positioning the jib car with Mark
Amanda is crafting and listening to an audio book |
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| Marilyn trimming the jib sheet |
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| Amanda and Marilyn lounging on the bow |
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| Amanda and Liz (sneaking a tortilla) |
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| Our lone mackerel |
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| Amanda reeling in the lone mackerel on the port swimstep |
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| We have arrived and anchored! We are in Mariner's Basin, Mission Bay |
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| Bluewater's route from Shelter Island Marina, San Diego to Mariner's Basin, Mission Bay |
Shelter Island Marina, San Diego to Mariner's Basin, Mission Bay
Crew: Mark, Liz, Amanda, Marilyn
Departure Time: approx 10 am Sunday August 16, 2015
Distance: approx 24 nm
Arrival Time: approx 2:40 pm Sunday August 16, 2015
Time enroute: approx 4 hours 40 minutes
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Here we are in Mission Bay!
Thanks for joining us Marilyn!!!
Love, Liz and Mark and Amanda |
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| Marilyn, Amanda, Mark, Liz |
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| Liz prepping to swim to the beach |
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| Amanda prepping to dive the anchor (with Mark) |
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| Marilyn photographed lots of palm trees |
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| Various Palm visuals |
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| More palm trees |
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| Palm nuts |
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Mark, Liz (with the selfie-stick), Amanda, Michael, Marilyn on the beach in Mission Bay
Bluewater is anchored in the distance (on the left) in Mission Bay
This is our last group shot before saying goodbye to Marilyn and Michael
Nice to see you... THANKS for making the journey - it was fun!!! |
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| Michael with enthusiasm! |
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Here we are anchored overnight in Mission Bay after saying goodbye to Marilyn & Michael.
Amanda is preparing the lone mackerel we caught earlier for dinner. |
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| Sunset in Mariner's Basin, Mission Bay |
Monday August 17, 2015
The fun continued...
We (Mark, Liz, Amanda) departed from Mission Bay at 7:30am heading west under overcast skies with winds 11-17 knots, a little lumpy with wind chop from the south. Planned destination was Dana Point. With a relatively short-handed crew (only 3 of us!) and some of the fastest sailing speeds we saw on the entire trip, we all did our fair share.
We caught 1 mackerel and were itching for more but only got the one. We trolled (feathers, plugs, and repallas) past a ton of fishing boats (most with fishing gear deep in the water) and actually saw several sets of two fins very close to the boat which we think were marlin. Liz was the champion at marlin spotting; we all helped spotting whales and dolphins. Here is a video (squint and use your imagination) showing 3 different fin sightings that we think were
possible marlin sightings. They were easier to see in person (and on a big screen computer). We also saw some huge whales, backs and
flukes! And here we are in
cruise mode. We had a great, fast (over 10 knots at times) downwind run with 12-20 knots of wind but the wind was only blowing 6+ miles offshore so we had to motor the last hour into port through the glassy afternoon calm.
We anchored in the west basin at Dana Point, safe and sound. Dana Point is cool.
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| Amanda at the helm for departure from Mission Bay |
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| Liz pulling the bow anchor |
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Mark at the helm
and Amanda at the throttles |
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| Another day with a lone mackerel but it fed 3 of us sufficiently |
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| Liz is on watch, my crewmembers are resting |
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| Amanda found a great spot to recline |
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| Mark, Liz and Amanda |
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I'm pretty sure this is "The Spirit of Dana Point" docked near the Ocean Institute
West Basin, Dana Point |
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| Time to anchor |
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| Amanda assisting Mark |
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| Amanda and Mark getting out the bridle for the anchor line |
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| Liz snorkeling, Amanda paddling on a surfboard |
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Wildlife: a baby heron
In the distance, you can see a dock: Watch The Plunge |
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| Dana Point was a very nice anchorage with lots of watersport activities |
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| Bluewater's route from Mission Bay to Dana Point |
Mission Bay to Dana Point
Crew: Mark, Liz, Amanda
Departure Time: approx 7:30 am Monday August 17, 2015
Arrival Time: approx 5:30 pm Monday August 17, 2015
Distance: approx 58 nm
Time enroute: approx 10 hours
Tuesday August 18, 2015
Ah, the fresh smell of gasoline in the morning....
We departed our comfortable Dana Point anchorage this morning (Tue Aug 18) at approx 8:15am.
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| Morning view from our West Basin anchorage in Dana Point, looking east |
We then departed the fuel dock at approx 8:45am. A busy young man (who looked about 15 years old) fueled our spare fuel tanks. We commented on the lineup we waited in and the lineup waiting behind us and he was marveling that the huge Catalina Express pulled up ahead of us on his 5th day on the job and he was working alone! Fantastic efficient kid. Funny that I spent hours (seemingly) yesterday searching for the business hours of the Dana Point fuel dock. Turns out they open at 8am midweek but I didn't figure it out until 7:30am.
Our planned destination is Two Harbors, Catalina Island. Winds were light so we motor-sailed. We saw numerous whales (spouting and backs).
Amanda sewed a hat (thanks for the supplies Marilyn!!!!) She used her new favorite hat as a mold/pattern.
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| The beginning: making a hat |
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| Adding on |
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| Adding more material |
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| Forming the dome |
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| Amanda's hat progress underway |
Mark heard a unique request on channel 16 from a fishing vessel to a container ship near Santa Barbara Island (well outside the crowded shipping channel). The request was for the container ship to alter course because the fishing vessel had a "large" marlin on!!! Good luck to them!
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| A ship crossing |
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| Amanda and Mark relaxing on the bow |
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| Catalina Island is in full view! |
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| Approaching Catalina Island |
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| We kept on fishing but came up empty-handed this Leg! |
Though we were hopeful, we got skunked (no fish) but we had a whale of a time fishing. We saw tons of whales and dolphins and dragged our boat lines through some extremely active fish boils (jumping fish/birds/dolphins). Great time. Here is a 2 minute view of our
dolphin encounters.
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Bird Rock is the white rock visible on the left and a helicopter is overhead.
The entrance to Isthmus Cove is around to the right and in from Bird Rock. |
We moored safely on mooring ball K3, Two Harbors, Isthmus Cove, Catalina Island.
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| Bluewater's route from Dana Point to Isthmus Cove, Two Harbors, Catalina Island |
Dana Point to Isthmus Cove, Two Harbors, Catalina Island
Crew: Mark, Liz, Amanda
Departure Time: approx 8:45 am Tuesday August 18, 2015
Arrival Time: approx 4:37 pm Tuesday August 18, 2015
Distance: approx 67 nm
Time enroute: about 8 hours
Having arrived at Catalina, we took the dinghy to shore and proceeded to show Amanda some of our favorite places from long ago.
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| Two Harbors Catalina Island |
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| A great swing in Two Harbors (between Isthmus Cove and Cat Harbor) |
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| Liz and Mark overlooking Cat Harbor where we met in 1988 on Tony Velleca's boat |
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| Mark, Liz, Amanda near Cat Harbor |
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A bluff overlooking pin rock near Cat Harbor
Amanda is eating candy |
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| Amanda and Cat Harbor |
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| Amanda is one happy kid! |
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Liz on the left, Mark and Amanda on the right
Cat Harbor, Catalina Island |
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| Cat Harbor |
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| This Bison appears to be behind a fence |
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| We wanted a photo of the bison but luckily we stayed far enough away |
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Bluewater is on the left in Isthmus Cove
Catalina Island |
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| View of Isthmus Cove from Two Harbors Catalina Island |
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Mark and Amanda in Doug's Bar with an old photo (circa 1950) of a crowded Isthmus Cove (before mooring balls)
It's actually called, "Doug's Harbor Reef Restaurant & Bar" but we know it as just Doug's Bar |
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Here we are fueling up at 9pm
Lawrence perfectly described this (relatively) nearby self serve gas station that (I think) was open 24 hours a day |
Wednesday August 19, 2015
Liz/Mark spent our morning managing our cell phone data plan and registering Amanda for the upcoming schoolyear. Amanda spent the morning completing her hat design. In anticipation of an upcoming Leg without cell service, Liz/Mark busied ourselves by emailing Lawrence Kerver and Paul Barrish with details of our crazy future overnight sailing plans. It was a Wednesday and we anticipated that no one would hear from us until Saturday or Sunday at the latest.
Then we departed from Isthmus Cove, Catalina Island (Two Harbors) around 10:45am and sailed a very short distance to Emerald Bay, Catalina Island.
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Amanda always has a plan
for her crafts |
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She envisioned and carried out her plan to piecemeal
the hat with specific panels |
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| Meanwhile..... |
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| ...Mark whipped up a French Toast breakfast. MMmmmm..... |
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| ...and Amanda finished her hat.... |
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| ...and it is a masterpiece! |
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| Here is Amanda modeling her new hand made hat! |
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| Mark departing from Isthmus Cove, Catalina Island |
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| We departed from Isthmus Cove around 10:45am on Wednesday August 19, 2015 |
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| Looking back....Goodbye Isthmus Cove! |
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| Bluewater's short route from Isthmus Cove, Two Harbors Northwest to Emerald Bay |
Isthmus Cove to Emerald Bay, Catalina Island
Crew: Mark, Liz, Amanda
Departure Time: approx 10:45 am Wednesday August 19, 2015
Arrival Time: approx 11:15 am Wednesday August 19, 2015
Distance: less than 3 nm
Time enroute: about 30 minutes
Wednesday August 19, 2015
Our afternoon in Emerald Bay was as good as it gets. The Harbor Patrol was super nice and as soon as we picked our favorite among the open mooring balls, we were greeted by some kids on a nearby sailboat. Siblings Nathan and Katie plus Amanda spent hours together swimming, snorkeling, paddleboarding, jumping off the boat, etc.
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Kids!!!! Fun!!!
Nathan, Amanda and Katie |
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Nathan & Katie's Dad Ray on paddleboard with Katie snorkeling back to their boat
Bluewater is on the right |
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| Amanda and Nathan continued playing on the beach |
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| Amanda Nathan Katie... |
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| ...discussing jumping options |
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| Amanda Nathan Katie - seeking time away from adults |
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Amanda Nathan Katie - paddle boarding
Emerald Bay, Catalina Island |
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Nathan enjoying a peanut butter & marshmallow sandwich
on Bluewater |
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| It was fun to have a friend onboard! |
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| Amanda and Nathan playing a fishing game in the starboard cabin |
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| Nathan and Katie's boat was very close to ours (the one with the sun shade) |
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| Before long, Nathan had to leave |
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| Amanda and Nathan... |
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| ...high fiving |
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| Nathan's Mother Alison came to get him.... |
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| ...and they dinghy'd back to their own sailboat |
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It was sad when they sailed away but it was a super fun afternoon!
There they go! |
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| Mark grilling - Emerald Bay, Catalina Island |
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| Amanda working on Mom's hair |
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| Hair is done! |
While the kids played, Mark caught up on email trying to entice crewmembers (Lawrence, Michael Sevy, Geoff Wiggs) to join him on Bluewater for the remaining Legs back to San Francisco By. In the end, he was successful!
Then we departed from Emerald Bay at 10:30 pm (nighttime) for an overnight crossing between Catalina Island and Santa Cruz Island. It was a slog and we ripped a batten pocket on the jib as we were pulling in the sails but we arrived safely and anchored in Prisoner's Harbor.
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| After the long overnight crossing (from Catalina Island), Santa Cruz Island is in sight |
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| Cloudy weather |
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| Morning sunshine |
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| Anacapa Island |
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Mar after the long crossing (no sleep)
Rounding the east end of Santa Cruz Island |
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| Santa Cruz Island and its many interesting features |
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| Mark pulling in a mackerel |
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| Santa Cruz Island - we are still heading toward an anchorage |
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| Liz |
Thursday August 20, 2015
But as we were recovering from our 12 hour tedious/lumpy/upwind slog of an overnight crossing from Catalina Island to Santa Cruz Island, a stiff 25+ knot breeze blew in at 10am. Prisoner's Harbor was seeing 20 knots right in the anchorage.
As we were admiring our stable 2nd anchoring attempt, we alternated resting and were prepping to dive the anchor. In the interim, the wind shifted east and died down to 2 knots and the herding sheep (white caps) just outside the harbor disappeared. Around 2pm, the wind blew back up and shifted back toward the north and we started to drag our anchor (with 120 feet of scope in 17 foot deep water).
Anticipating more anchoring attempts and potentially another sleepless night, we pulled anchor and headed out by 3pm. Initially, we were in search of another anchorage with better protection from the northwest wind (we briefly looked at Pelican Bay) but the appeal of a true safe harbor drew us across the Santa Barbara channel in 4-5 foot seas, triple-reefed, main only. The crossing was only about 4 hours and with 20-25 knots of wind and seas on our beam, and was more comfortable than expected.
Here are videos of the improving conditions across the channel. Here we are
Halfway across Santa Barbara Channel. And a little closer to Santa Barbara, conditions were gorgeous and we saw
some dolphins.
Emerald Bay, Catalina Island to Prisoner's Harbor, Santa Cruz Island to Santa Barbara
Crew: Mark, Liz, Amanda
Departure Time: approx 10:30 pm Wednesday August 19, 2015
Arrival Time: approx 11:00 am Thursday August 20, 2015
Distance: 60-70 nm
Time enroute: approx 12-1/2 hours
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Bluewater's route from Catalina Island to Santa Cruz Island to Santa Barbara
including an overnight crossing between the islands |
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| Liz at the helm almost to Santa Barbara |
Leg 14 concluded in Santa Barbara. The Santa Barbara Harbor Master was really nice--they seemed willing to go the extra mile to find space for us. We were happy to be safe and sound and snug as a bug in a rug, in Santa Barbara Harbor tied up to dock 2B end tie.
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| Santa Barbara Marina - calm and relaxing |
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| Mark and Amanda having breakfast at the Original Sambo's |
