FInally made it to land!

We arrived into the Santa Barbara Harbor at 3:30 a.m. November 5th.

All of us feeling pretty exhausted! We have been sailing straight with no stops since Sunday around 10:00a.m. It is absolutely gorgeous here! The weather is warm, sunny and the views are breathtaking. 

Santa Barbara Yacht Club

I should back up to the day that we casted off. That day was Sunday, November 2nd. We departed Sausalito with a total of 6 Crew (Jeff, Mary, Kit, John, Rick and myself). We were all upbeat and excited to get started on our journey! Some of us a little anxious about the “what if’s” But mostly all in good cheer. The weather in Sausalito was also a picturesque day…warm and sunny with a light breeze. 

The Crew

We headed towards the Golden Gate Bridge and made our way to buoy marker #1 and turned left.  But before we got to the Gate you could see and feel the swells, growing bigger and bigger as we got on the other side. It felt really cool to be finally taking this trip and to be out into the Ocean!  I felt that excited way you do as you first get onto a roller coaster and make that first dip downward. So fun! But we were doing a bit of bashing. Things ‘down below’ got a bit tossed around. Felt like you were on the Tilt a Whirl at times to be down there.

Captain Jeff taking us out of the slip

So after we turned left, we put out our Jib, set the autopilot and turned off the engine! Wind speed was about 15 knots and we were pushing through the water at around 6 knots.  Swells were about 
7feet high.

Me at the dock ready to go!

Making our way out to the Golden Gate Bridge

Rick untying the last dock line

There were three blue whale sightings in the afternoon. That was exciting! They looked to be 50’-60’ long and they were just a few feet from the boat. We saw the entirety of one whale who sort of floated at the surface of the water then went under water showing it’s tail as it fully submerged. Awesome! Unfortunately I did not have my camera at the ready for that!

Around 2 pm we set the Spinnaker. Winds were 16-18 knots. We sailed with the Spinnaker most of the trip. 

We made it through the Gate!

After a nice day of sailing, wind and wave motion and eating only snacks throughout the day, it was time for a home cooked meal provided by John. He made the most delicious Chicken Coriander.  It tasted especially good since it was warm and hardy.  Unfortunately one of our crewmembers was seasick and did not get a chance to eat dinner.  Instead she came flying out from ‘down below’, ran across the cockpit being careful not to step on anyone to get to the rail to get sick… sick for all of us to see. We just had begun eating dinner when we witnessed this. We all saw what was happening but through the corner of our eyes.  None of us wanted to really acknowledge that she was sick because we were all sort of hanging onto our own wellbeing. Seasickness was only a moment away for any of us.  But we did get her tethered and I was able to hand her a napkin while looking the other way. Best I could do. 

Jeff letting out the Spinnaker

Mary, the one who got sick, was the one who boldly stated earlier in the morning that she did not get seasick and did not need to take Bonine like the rest of us.  Rick and I took something every 12 hours and we were feeling ok, but still fighting the nausea occasionally. Every time you had to go down below was tough! Things were moving all over the place and you had to walk slowly, hanging onto things that were anchored to the boat.  You really only go down below for a couple of things…to use the head, to grab something to eat, and to sleep. Otherwise no one wants to go down below!

John 

I have found on this trip that nothing in the outside world is a concern…paying bills, cleaning house, fixing the house, worrying about your kids, etc. The only two things that were most important to me were staying well and staying on board!

First sunset out in the Ocean.  

We sailed all night on our first night. Rick and I ended up doing most of the watch during the night. We started out the night with Kit and Mary sitting on either side of Rick while he was at the helm. He was keeping us all laughing with his dry sense of humor. We weren’t all feeling the greatest, but laughing seemed to help.  Then I went down below to sleep for a few hours, Rick came down for a few hours himself. We both did not dare sleep in the V-birth because the boat was too rolly and choppy for us. We would have for sure been sick. So everyone just sort of sleeps where they can. Fortunately there is a large living space down below with an L-shaped couch and another long shaped couch. The plan was to take turns on night watch. Two people from 6-9pm, two from 9-12,  and 12-3am, and 3-6am. By then we all got up and would have breakfast together and spend the day sailing, napping occasionally and eating. Eating seemed to help keep us moving and awake. Also kept the nausea at bay.

 

Bundled up for the night watch

The next day we woke to a beautiful sunrise just passing Monterey.  The entire day went smoothly. Nice winds, minimal waves and warm air. So peaceful. We had small pods of porpoise swimming along with us at times.  But the day was perfect in every way. To end the day before night shifts began, Kit made a really awesome Chili! We all gobbled that up immediately. 

In the wee hours of the morning (not on our watch), things changed! While Rick and I were trying to sleep, we heard a lot of banging and bashing and heightened conversation. And the boat was really thrashing about!! Apparently what had happened was that Jeff and Mary decided to put down the Spinnaker because it was just flapping in the wind not doing much good and turned the engine on.  During this process, one of the Spinnaker sheets (lines) fell into the water and found its way to the back of the boat and wrapped around the prop.  It caused major problems and the engine was out of commission!  We all scurried up top to see what we could do. Not much in the dark. But by this time it was Rick and my turn to do the watch…3-6am. We took over while the other two went to sleep. Fortunately there was enough wind to sail. In the morning everyone was up and we figured out a game plan. We decided to call Vessel Assist to come and tow us to the nearest Marina so we could get the problem fixed. 

In the meantime, while waiting for the Vessel Assist tow (which was to take 5 hours to get to us) the guys decided to see if they could figure out a way to detangle the line.  So we helped Jeff into the dinghy with all of his scuba gear on and he jumped in the water and saved the day! He removed the badly chewed up line from the prop! So we got back on with the Vessel Assist and canceled the tow.  Soon after we finished that feat, as we started the engine and continued on our way, we were all overcome by smoke coming from the engine.  Something was wrong! So..Jeff was back on the phone with the Vessel Assist people.  Again the wait would be 5 hours or so, so the guys fiddled around with the engine and found that the impeller needed replacing. Luckily Jeff just happened to have a replacement handy.  After the engine repair, we were good to go again. Another call to the Vessel Assist to cancel the tow was made.  We got to know the tow guy pretty well and were on a first name basis with him.  

Another issue arrived…we were out of water! So instead of going on to Catalina as planned we had to make an adjustment and sail to Santa Barbara. Oh darn.

Old impeller on the left, new one on the right.

 

And he said he couldn't sleep during the day...

The winds were only 2-8knots so we just motored…heading towards Santa Barbara…our next stop which was supposed to take us just 6 hours.  Around 5 pm the winds picked up to about 17 knots so we turned off the engine and put the sails up as we were approaching Point Conception.

Point Conception is a point that you hear a lot of sailors talking about. It’s supposed to be the most treacherous area to cross when you are sailing down South as far as wind goes.  The winds were only 15-18knots made this passage. This was a huge relief and we now know the worst is behind us.

Just approaching Point Conception

Today here in Santa Barbara we all went to Breakfast and then did a little shopping at West Marine using Mary’s employee discount. Mary works for West Marine in Sausalito. So that was really cool. We got some things that we needed for the boat and I bought a hat and a pair of shorts. I’m all set for Mexico.  After breakfast, the guys stayed and worked on the boat while us girls went into Downtown Santa Barbara and checked out the shops and Mary went to the Library. Tonight we ate near the harbor. Had a delicious meal at Brophy Brothers at the Marina.

Tied up to the guest dock in Santa Barbara

It has been nice to have a day on shore to unwind and regroup for the 100-mile sail we will do tomorrow. Catalina Islands is where we are headed. Once there we plan to stay a couple of days/nights. It’s still up in the air. Mary will be leaving us tomorrow and is renting a car back to the Bay Area. We are sad to see her go.

Our friend Mary 

Thank you for following along. We'll be in touch soon!