Cruising to San Francisco

In September I had a nice cruise north to visit San Francisco Bay. The trip covered 535 miles and we went as far as the Napa Valley Marina, 10 miles up the Napa River, where Evening Tide was hauled out so I could paint the bottom. Bottom paint must be redone every two years.
We had great sailing across San Pablo Bay and then went out the Gate to visit Drake's Bay, 35 miles north. I'll let the photos tell more of the story.







It was foggy as we sailed north from Pillar Point Harbor at Half Moon Bay. The fog began to clear as we approached the Golden Gate at 1 PM.

I can see that its sunny inside the Bay.



















It was Saturday and there were lots of nice boats racing.

Clouds and sun make a pretty scene.

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We anchored at Drake's Bay for a day of rest.

The wind eventually reached 25 knots.

The rocks are at the east tip of Point Reyes.

We visited the Farallones, then headed back to Pillar Point.

Sailing south towards Monterey Bay the wind reached 22 knots and the second reef was in the mainsail.

It says we are making 6.5 knots but you know we must be surfing because Evening Tide won't go this fast. Strong wind is fine if you're going downwind!

Early August Trip

I had another great trip up to San Simeon. Here are a few photos.

It was overcast on Saturday as we sailed up to San Simeon. By 10 AM the next day it was beautifully clear. As we sailed south of Point Piedras Blancas I took this photo of the rock. Doesn't it look like a dragon?

As we continued north along the coast north of the point the fishing boat "Admiral" went by. They had been on a two day trip fishing north of Piedras Blancas. Behind them is La Cruz Rock.

At 4:45 PM we were offshore from Salmon Creek Canyon. Here's the view of the mountains to the north just before we turned back. It was perfect weather all day long. This is unusual for summer when haze or even fog is common.

Next morning the fog cleared at 8:30 AM. Later the fog tried to come back and reached as far as the pier but it stayed sunny and bright where we were anchored.

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Things were perfect as we headed back to Morro Bay. We are making 5 knots with just the staysail and mainsail. The water is smooth; no swells and hardly any whitecaps. Far in the distance you can see Point Buchon which is south of Morro Bay (25 miles away). That's how good the visibility was that afternoon.

July Trip

Wednesday, July 15th. It was very foggy when we left Morro Bay and the visibility most of the day was less than one mile. The wind was very light until 1400 so it took a long time to get north of Point Estero. The afternoon wind was just right for smooth sailing. I didn't want to spend a night floating around out in the dark fog so we headed for San Simeon Bay. With the help of GPS we entered the bay (very slowly) at 2330 in thick fog and got anchored.

At daybreak it was very foggy but the sun was bright in the bay by 0930. Another boat was anchored near the beach. He sailed over to talk. He was delivering the boat to San Francisco, the motor had stopped running and he had no electricity for the lights. He was going back to Morro Bay to get the motor repaired. Delivering a boat can be a challenge!

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I had a nice sail that afternoon out to Point Piedras Blancas and back. It wasn't foggy but the clouds were low with visibility of three miles. At least the wind was just right for sailing. When I returned a family from Port San Luis were busy getting anchored.

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The next day I left earlier and took a longer sail out toward the ship lane and then north to Ragged Point. The wind was 15 to 17 knots which is just right for upwind sailing with the jib reefed. The photo shows us heading back to Piedras Blancas on a broad reach. We are making more than 5 knots and I am happy.

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On the way from Piedras Blancas to San Simeon the fog caught up with us. But then while sailing the last mile to the buoy the fog cleared out and San Simeon Point could be seen in bright

sunlight. The Castle is on the ridge just left of center. The bay is behind the point.

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Going back to Morro Bay on Saturday the fog finally cleared and white, puffy clouds could be seen above. The sailing conditions were still near to perfect.

We were home at 1600. Another very nice little trip was finished. So far this year I have had good luck in picking times to go sailing when the sailing conditions were excellent.

June Mini-Trip

There was another excellent 3-day trip in June. When the weather is perfect its hard not to have a great trip. The NW wind was mostly around 11 knots, rarely going over 15 knots, and the waves stayed below 3 feet. The swell was too small to be noticed. The mornings were cloudy (but no fog) and the afternoons were sunny and warm. I said warm- that’s hard to believe for this ocean.
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The first day ended in an interesting way. As we approached San Simeon Bay I saw whale spouts ahead and they appeared to be in the bay. I wondered how I would anchor with whales swimming so close. They were a little south of the buoy and we snuck by them on the north side.
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The second day began with a beautiful sunrise.
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There was a light breeze by 0930 and we tacked west toward the Piedras Blancas lighthouse.

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-The sea was smooth and the AM clouds were beginning to clear.
In the late afternoon we were passing the deep canyons just south of Cape San Martin. Just before dark I somehow spotted whale spouts ahead in the gloom and we changed course to pass them downwind. We reached Cape San Martin at 10:45 PM and then headed offshore to begin our return to Morro Bay. We sailed slowly with small sails until sunup (better for getting some rest).
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-The wind on the final day was inconsistent but it never died completely. When the wind was light every scrap of sail was up to try to capture a little more wind. When we arrived at Estero Bay the whale show began again. There were so many whales jumping that several other boats had stopped to watch the show. Better wind arrived too and we made over 4 knots for the last five miles.
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As I said, what fine weather! During 2 days of upwind sailing the front deck hardly got wet. Overall we traveled 132 miles and used less than 4 motor hours.

Windy Spring

We had many windy days in March, enough to limit my sailing time. And then we had a REALLY windy day. The weather forecast was quite amazing. “Strong to very strong NW flow will affect most of the coastal waters thorough Wed Evening. Rough and Dangerous seas will affect the waters through Wed night.” Our forecast was, “Storm Warnings in effect until noon today- NW winds 25-35 with gusts to 40 knots, increasing to 30-40 knots with frequent gusts to 50 knots.”
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April 21st- I finally visited Morro Bay on Sunday. It seems that the wind on Tuesday set a record. It was the strongest sustained NW wind that anyone could remember. Diablo Canyon recorded gusts to 68 knots and in Morro Bay at the Harbor Office the wind was said to be 50, gusting 70 knots. During storms the south wind often gusts above 50 knots but this was a sustained wind that averaged 50 knots for several hours. Because the tide was flowing slowly and the wind was with the tide the waves in the mooring area were only two to three feet. I noticed that the mooring lines were very tight on the deck cleats but there was no damage that I could see. A mooring is probably a safer place for a boat during a storm than tied up against a dock where large waves can pound the boat. At least one boat at the docks was damaged. At the weather buoys the wind was 35 knots for three hours and the gusts reached 51 knots. The significant wave height was 22 feet.

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This is a 20 knot wind at the mooring. Imagine what two or three foot waves would look like!

February Mini-Trip

Feb 25th- High pressure was covering our area again and light to moderate winds were expected for the next few days. It was time for another little trip northward. We left Morro Bay at 0930 and there was an 8 foot swell breaking over the breakwater- otherwise the water was reasonably smooth. A 9 knot breeze from the SW allowed us to make a heading to the west of Point Estero so no tacking was needed to get out of Estero Bay. It’s nice to be able to shut the motor off immediately outside the harbor and make a reasonable speed sailing in a good direction. Looking back I saw another sailboat leaving the harbor so we had a companion to sail with as for the first several hours until he turned around to head back.

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We had a pleasant and uneventful crossing of Estero Bay. The wind stayed steady and we averaged 3.6 knots, passing the point at 1218. We stayed on port tack until 1340 and were 4 miles north of Point Estero when the shifting wind forced us to shore. The view of shore was pretty today so we didn’t go too far offshore before tacking again to head north. We continued past Cambria and on towards San Simeon Bay. I wasn’t planning to stop at the bay but the wind often has a favorable shift along this section so I stayed close to shore to take the most advantage I could find. The sailing wind had been just about perfect, 10 to 12 knots, which allowed us to make slightly less than 4 knots. Several Gray Whales were seen during the day. They are heading north now, back to the Arctic Ocean.

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At 1740 we reached San Simeon and tacked to head offshore to get beyond Point Piedras Blancas. There was an interesting sunset with some high clouds approaching from the west. The weather forecast said there was a small chance of rain showers tomorrow morning. Gentle sailing continued and there were some useful wind shifts around midnight that allowed us to tack and make better than usual upwind progress (considering that the wind was light and we weren’t moving very fast). It was a dark night with no moon but the stars were bright and I could see the glow of distant town lights to the north above the mountain tops. Gentle breezes blew from various directions until 0400 when it finally became calm. Now I could hove-to and get some uninterrupted sleep.
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Feb 26th- At 0615 it was beginning to get light and I wondered what it looked like out there. Eventually I crawled out of my sleeping bag to have a look. It was an awesome sight with a yellow glow appearing between the smooth ocean and a band of dark clouds above. Little ripples on the water meant there was some breeze too and the waves and swell from yesterday were gone. When it is this smooth the boat will move in a very light breeze.

Our good sailing fortune continued (like yesterday morning) and the wind direction allowed us to sail north towards Point Sur without needing to tack. We were sailing so smoothly that it was almost like being at the mooring. The swells were almost undetectable but each time one passed under us the sails would flap gently before refilling in the light breeze. I looked out into the cockpit and saw little drops- it had started to rain gently and I hadn’t even been aware of it.
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The morning continued on like this and we made 13 miles north by noon when we turned to approach shore at Cape San Martin. At 1430 we headed south near the shore and as if by request a stronger NW wind arrived. An hour later the headsails were down, the main was reefed and we were making 5 knots as we headed for Piedras Blancas.

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We made the turn at Piedras Blancas at 1700 and headed for San Simeon Bay and we had averaged 5.1 knots since 1430. The clouds, cold air and wind had made me quite cool and I was looking forward to getting anchored so I could get into the cabin and warm up. For the rest of the way we played one of my favorite sailing games, “dodge the whale.” The whale’s path of travel was right on our course and I saw three within 100 yards and one that was directly ahead of us! I dodged but I didn’t see him surface again. Others probably passed by unseen. There was still plenty of wind and we made 5.2 knots with just the reefed main. Anchoring was finished at 1900 and it was now completely dark.

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This had been an excellent sailing day! From 0630 to 1822 we had traveled 39 miles and averaged 3.3 knots (and 5 knots coming back). Lots of fun and we were anchored just at the end of the day. During the morning we covered 15 miles northward- good progress in such light wind. On the January trip the wind direction had been less favorable so we had to tack upwind and then the wind died. On this trip it seems that everything worked to our advantage.

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Feb 27th- Sunshine woke me in the morning. It was a perfect San Simeon morning. A 12 knot NE wind blew across the bay but this wind died and was replaced by a light SW breeze before we left for Morro Bay at 0945. Not long after passing the San Simeon buoy we saw our first group of whales.

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We had a slow sail along the Cambria coast but found the usual wind in Estero Bay once south of Point Estero. As we passed Pt. Estero we crossed the whale highway. I was writing in the log book when I heard a snort. There was a whale swimming by only 50 yards to the port side and then another surfaced along side him. As they moved on I saw that there was a third whale in the group. By now we had good wind and were making 4 knots so the whales quickly passed by.
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The sea was very smooth so I decided to leave up the large sails even as the wind was building. Our speed was often above 6 knots and I was hand steering just to hold a straighter course. Its fun to do stupid things once in a while, isn’t it? I say stupid because later after the jib was down and the main was reefed we were still making over 5 knots with a lot less strain on the boat and helmsman. We averaged 5.3 knots crossing Estero Bay and this is “good speed” for Evening Tide. We were past the breakwater at 1600 in 20 knot gusts. Glad I got the sails down when I did!
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Maybe taking 3-day trips in the middle of winter is the best way to sail on our coast. Well, first be sure that high pressure is covering the area. High pressure in winter means clear skies, warm air and light to moderate winds. We covered nearly the same distance on this trip as the trip in January but I would say that the sailing conditions were even better this time. Our winds were favorable and we only needed 2.9 motor hours for the whole trip.

Summer Sailing in January

When it’s warm, the sky is cloud-free, and the breeze is light, that must be summer, right? At Morro Bay these conditions are most likely in mid-winter if a high pressure builds in the area and forces all storms further north. We had high pressure from January 9th through the 22nd when the high finally broke down and a low brought us a little rain.
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I had a great 3-day trip from the 10th through 12th. Last year in January I didn’t get to sail at all due to storms so this year I wanted to get off to a good start. To cover any distance one must sail around the clock so this trip plan was to just sail north until 3 PM on the second day and then head back. In winter I often complain about the short daylight hours but on this trip the daylight was continuous, 24 hours a day! There was an enormous full moon both nights and with the low humidity the air was very clear and the moonlight was exceptionally bright.
Another trip highlight was seeing many Gray Whales that were heading south. I was 10 miles from shore and was surprised to find the whales way out here as normally they travel rather closely along the shoreline. Now I suspect that these whales navigate by eyesight. The air was so clear that Pt. Buchon could be easily seen when I was north of Pt. Piedras Blancas (35 miles). The whale route seemed to be a straight-line course between these two headlands. At times when visibility is only 10 or 15 miles they steer towards coastal features that are closer and pass Morro Bay only 3 or 4 miles offshore.
As far as the sailing went it was nice light wind sailing. During the first day there was perfect wind (12 knots) that lasted until midnight, followed by wind shifts and lulls from midnight to sunup. By noon on the second day we were a little south of Cape San Martin and 10 miles offshore. The light morning wind had died so we floated and waited. The view of the mountains was perfect and haze-free. To the north I could see Pt. Sur (37 miles), Pt. Buchon was south at 44 miles and floating like an island further south was the mountain ridge east of Pt. Arguello, 85 miles away.
There was quite a bit of variety during the trip home. We began in the lightest of breezes with the jib poled out and making less than 2 knots. After midnight the wind shifted to south and we sailed close-hauled and could just stay on our desired heading. At sunup the wind was light so we motored some to charge the batteries. While motoring the wind increased to 15 knots from the ESE and I decided to continue motoring towards the shore south of Cambria to reach some protected water.
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Shore was only 6 miles away but with the gusts eventually reading 26 knots our progress was painfully slow. The weather forecast said “NE10-20 knots"

and the strongest wind was near shore, blowing down off the hills. (Offshore at the weather buoys the wind was less than 5 knots!).

We were back at Morro Bay at 3 PM and the boat was encrusted with a thick layer of salt from all the spray combined with low humidity. This had been a great trip, especially that moonlight!