Bluewater Coastal Cruising

Thursday, June 11, 2015

Leg 5, Monterey to Morro Bay

Crew: Mark, Lawrence, Michael, Geoff
Departure Time: Friday June 5, 2015, approx 8:01pm

Monterey, a nice marina

Geoff, pre-departure

Mark, pre-departure checking weather again

The plan called for an after-dinner departure on Friday night June 5, 2015 from Monterey to ensure good weather along the Big Sur Coast and to avoid impacting the work week more than necessary. Weather in Monterey saw wind at 7 knots from West Southwest, broken clouds and fog/overcast.

Bluewater's route from Monterey to Morro Bay with an overnight anchorage in San Simeon Cove

Geoff and Mark took the first watch from 9pm to midnight. Mark reported, "Wind was on the nose but changed direction close to land. We sailed while it stayed above 7 knots but started the port motor just before waking Lo (Lawrence) at 12 (midnight)."

Geoff on the phone

Michael at the helm, Lawrence taking a bearing with a hand bearing compass

"Michael took over at 3 (am) and when I (Mark) got up at 6 (am) he had a nice heading of about 160 with 9 knots of wind, motor sailing at 6-7 knots. Geoff and I (Mark) are back on watch, lo made coffee and Geoff served the cinnamon rolls. Still mostly gray with a mix of hints of blue and drizzle patches. I saw one whale and I heard a couple of dolphins came to say hello to Michael on his watch. Big rafts of sailor jellies in some spots."

Saturday June 6, 1:00pm
Mark says "The sun is coming out! 12 miles from land and about 20 miles from San Simeon. We should be getting to the area at about 5pm."

Lawrence, 20 miles from San Simeon, owning his Detroit roots

Saturday June 6, 3:12pm
Mark says "Screeching to the finish!"

Lawrence on the bow.
The blue sail is our Screecher (light wind head sail)

Saturday June 6, 5:09pm
Mark says "We passed the lighthouse at Piedros Blancos and should arrive soon at San Simeon cove."

Saturday June 6, 6:13pm arrival
Leg 5 has checked in Safe and sound from San Simeon cove!
They reported their arrival but busied themselves anchoring and the anchor landed on kelp twice before finding good sand in the center of the cove.
Time enroute: 21-3/4 hours
Distance: 106.1nm

Summary from Mark: It was a beautiful day on the boat with some challenging up-wind sailing in the night and early morning drizzle, a fair amount of swell (luckily going the same direction we were headed so we did a bit of surfing) and some awesome views of the sun breaking through on the mountains of the Big Sur coast. We were again visited by whales but no fish. Everyone really pitched in along the way. Lawrence not only cooked dinner when we arrived (rotini pasta with pesto) but also insisted on doing the dishes. San Simeon cove is gorgeous. It took a couple tries to get the anchor to hold but all seems good now. We are tuckered out and will try to get a somewhat early start tomorrow (Michael is already asleep, Lawrence is nearly there now, I am soon to follow and Geoff will have to turn the lights out when he's ready).

San Simeon Cove with a view of Hearst Castle on the ridge

Departure Sunday June 7, 2015 approx 7:05am from San Simeon Cove.
Route: San Simeon to Morro Bay
Weather: Calm, glassy, low overcast
As Mark said, "Another beautiful morning in paradise!"
ETA: 2 or 3 this afternoon, or earlier if possible.

Michael at the helm departing San Simeon Cove

Sunday June 7, 7:48am
"We had a pancake breakfast and coffee and just pulled anchor. Glassy calm and a low overcast as we depart from San Simeon enroute to Morro Bay. We hope to arrive about 2-3."

Cambria in the fog

Sunday June 7, 9:24am
"FYI it is now looking like arrival in Morro Bay should be by about 12. Sun is just starting to break through."

Michael in his "Kevin" hat, and Geoff

Sunday June 7, 10:17am: Someone stole Morro Rock!

From Liz
"I am in Kevin's hospital room. Everyone says hi: Kevin, Katey, Dave, Teri. Kevin can't wait to see you. He is planning to draw you a sketch of a proper salmon rig."

Sunday June 7, 11:00am
Destination Made!
Total Distance: Monterey to San Simeon to Morro Bay: 131.5 nm
Elapsed Time: 25 hours 40 minutes

Morro Bay Yacht Club dock: Lawrence, Geoff, Liz (transportation support crew), Michael, Mark

Thursday, June 4, 2015

Leg 4, Santa Cruz to Monterey

Bluewater set sail yet again!
Crew: Lawrence, Mark, Katie, Harry, Lutz
Departure Time: Saturday May 30, 10:03am

Bluewater's Route from Santa Cruz to Monterey

The sail plan for Leg 4 was somewhat more "fluid" than some of the earlier legs. The full crew list only really became clear after we woke up on the boat the morning of the trip. We are starting to get more experience with the pre-positioning of cars and the like. Katie watched Amanda so Liz and Mark were able to caravan and leave a car with a parking pass (thanks Harry!) in Monterey where we picked up our last crew member.

Variety is the spice of life and we are loving the change in crew!
Pre-Departure: Lutz, Harry, Katie, Mark, Lawrence

Lutz awaiting departure from Santa Cruz

Mark and Lawrence coordinating departure

Santa Cruz Weather: Gray, light winds, 56 degrees, overcast, calm seas

See a brief departure video of Bluewater departing "M" dock end tie in South Harbor and heading out the channel: Santa Cruz Departure

We originally planned to sail from Santa Cruz at 9, but delayed till 10 to give the wind a chance to build. A call to Monterey Harbor indicated the end-tie on Delta dock would be waiting for us, and we slipped out of the harbor after several fishing boats had motored into the fog. Visibility gradually improved and enough breeze was up for us to set sail, start dragging some salmon gear, and cut the motors.

Bluewater departing after exiting the Channel, Santa Cruz

We were soon making too much speed to keep the salmon gear happy, and Lawrence quickly accepted the challenge of trying to keep our sailing speed below 5 knots. The wind remained below 12 knots or so, but varied in strength and direction enough to keep Lawrence and the rest of us busy reefing, furling, unfurling, etc. We managed to drag salmon gear for a good part of the trip, but the drag of the diving planes and flashers under our somewhat "fast" speed, kept us from checking gear as often as we would have liked.

We had been snacking on some of the fresh pastries, fruit, and croissaunts that Katie and Lutz had provided since we left the dock, and Lawrence offered a steady stream of caffein. We gradually shifted to a fruit and cold-cut sandwich lunch. No salmon were jumping into the boat, but our lack of fishing success didn't really have much of a chance of becoming a survival situation.

Harry, Mark, Katie in fog

Katie

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

Even before the sun started peaking through the clouds, we began seeing whale spouts. They were scattered and at some distance for much of the trip, but we changed course when we saw a sizable group off our starboard bow. We were eventually close enough to hear them, and again saw flukes in the air as they dove. As the day warmed up and we pulled in the salmon gear, we saw a number of dolphins, seals, and eventually otters.

Dolphins along the way!

Approaching Monterey

We approached Monterey from the west, and sailed along Pacific Grove and the Aquarium in scattered sunlight before we started the motors, dropped sail, and found our way to the Dock. An otter and a kayak dashed in front of us as Lawrence drove us into the surprisingly narrow entry to the marina, and we had an interesting exchange with a boat temporarily using our spot as we prepared to dock (luckily, the skipper's wife was able to speak at a volume much loader than the skipper's mumble).

Monterey Bay Aquarium waterfront

Destination Made! Monterey
Fog moved in soon after arrival
Click here to see a video and listen to the onboard entertainment: Music!

Harry entertained us as Katie and Lutz swabbed the decks and Mark drank a beer. We took a roundabout walk to Hula's (great spot) for dinner, and started planning our next leg.

Arrival Time: Saturday May 30, 3:17pm

Monterey Weather: Beautiful, scattered clouds, nice breeze

Total Distance: 24.4 nautical miles

Time Enroute: 5-1/4 hours

After arrival, Liz/Amanda/Zoe drove from Belmont to Monterey to meet the crew who had spent the night on Bluewater. We spent the day (Sunday May 31st) enjoying Monterey before shuttling the crew back to Belmont and San Francisco. Here is a video of some wildlife and kayaking: Monterey Wildlife

Saturday, May 30, 2015

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.