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.
-




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.
-
The second day began with a beautiful sunrise.
-



-
-
-
-
-
-
-
There was a light breeze by 0930 and we tacked west toward the Piedras Blancas lighthouse.

-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-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).
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-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.
-
-
-
-
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.