Seattle to San Francisco |
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The marine layer and Mr. Toad’s Wild RideAugust of 2001 we left Seattle and headed south to San Francisco. We left Seattle and worked our way to Neah Bay. The trip from Neah Bay to San Francisco was a 4 day, 12 hour and 13 minute passage, our longest ocean passage. Our friend, Ronna, joined us for this passage. The marine layer was with us most of the way except briefly we saw the sunset before Cape Mendicino. The passage around this cape and to San Francisco was Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. 8/12, Off coast near Willipa Bay, Washington10:00am,
current position 46.38.543N, 124.42.145W 25
miles off the coast near Willipa Bay. Jesse
is now on watch. We cycled thru Rich, Ronna and myself during the night. We
had been motorsailing with the staysail and main. The winds out of the south
southwest and the fog comes and goes. Around 11pm the winds started to clock
around to our aft quarter - starboard. Changed sails to take 'advantage' but
the winds were too variable. Brought the main down, found out that two batten
cars (attaches main to track on mast, had come off the track. Can imagine the
torlon balls rolling into the sea. Something to fix in S.F. Just using
staysail. Besides
the sail trim, Ronna and I were busy watching the radar and scanning the
water for vessel traffic. Was like Seattle in rush hour - 2 large ships, some
fishing boats, some tug and barges. Had to adjust course to stay clear. We
had some dolphins join us late at night on my watch (midnight to 4am). They
would splash and dive to and fro. They would stir up the luminescence (sp?)
and it was fun to watch. The
cat was in the cockpit most of the night. I put on his harness and leash to
keep him in. He jumped onto the seats a few times and we were worried about
him. Rich brought his bed up so now he has something warmer to sleep on. 8/13, Near Cape Blanco, Oregon8:03pm,
current position 42.51.815N, 124.48.632W Coming
around Cape Blanco, Oregon, 10 miles offshore. Someone
once told us that the marine layer could last for weeks. Well it is. During
the day it is overcast, gray skies with the water a mercury gray. The winds
are from 4-15knts, generally from the North, northwest. Seas are 5-7ft. The
big excitement today was the whales, lots of them! Mostly humpback moving
north. At one time we saw 8-10 whales around us. A few obligated and showed
us fluke (tails). It perked up the crew. We also saw a shark go by. We
took some of the fuel from the jerry jugs and filled the center tank. As we
are motoring (with some sail up), we are using more than we had first
predicted. The plan is to go to Crescent City to fuel up and continue on to
San Francisco. Another option was Coos Bay/Charleston - but we decided to
pass it by. Everyone
seems to be acclimating. Rich is using his relief band and that seems to be
working for him. We have one main meal - like rice with meat or beef stew,
together and then we fix the rest as each person feels hungry and how it fits
with your watch. Mandu
has his bed in the cockpit. We bring up some food and water. We encourage him
to go down regularly to use his kitty box. He doesn't spend much time below. Sarah
is reading the Mists of Avalon, which keeps her busy. Jesse has been
listening to cassette tapes that Ronna brought with her. Ronna is reading
about crab fishing in Alaska. We
are REALLY looking forward to San Francisco!! 8/16, San Francisco, California10:45am,
Current Position - Golden Gate Yacht Club, San Francisco. Yes
- We are here!!! Now
how did we get here.... Tuesday
morning (8/14) at 8am we pulled into Crescent City, in northern California to
fuel up. It was a short visit - 1/2 hour and then we were back out heading
towards Cape Mendocino. Light rollers, light winds. At some point the sun
even came out for a while to tease us. As
we got close to the Cape, things began to change. The seas became larger; the
winds stronger, the sun went down. Soon we had the staysail reefed, the winds
were 30-35 knots with gusts to 40. The seas were much bigger (thank goodness
it was dark so we could not see how big) but we guessed at 6-8 feet. It was
Mr. Toad's wild ride. We were being pushed along. At times we were surfing
the waves at 10 knots!! We could see the foam as the boat's running lights
reflected off the surface. Occasionally we would see a bird or gull fly off
the surface as we zoomed past, a strange image in the night. The
phosphorescence (sp?) would sparkle as we tried to look for lights of boats
in the distance. This
continued through the night and all of Wednesday. In the light of morning we
saw that the waves were really 10-12 feet!! The
winds went from 20-25, 25-30, 30-34, 25-30, and 20-25 in cycles. As we
approached Point Reyes the waves stacked closer and would reflect off the
shoreline, adding some cross waves to the punch bowl. Through all of this,
Robert the Robertson Autopilot did yeoman's duty, keeping us going. After
we past Point Reyes, we entered the traffic lane to the circle before San Francisco.
We had to wait before entering the channel for a tug w/barge and a container
ship to exit. We stayed just outside of the traffic lane to avoid the two
container ships as they entered the harbor. Just as before, the bridge was
shrouded in fog. The fog horns on each pier answering each other. We passed
under the bridge at midnight. We
completed the trip from Neah Bay to SF in 4 days, 12 hours and 13 minutes! Now
we are at the Golden Gate Yacht Club in the Marina district of S.F. Not sure where we will be berthing
tonight. We will play it by ear. Now
it is time to decompress, relax and enjoy the scenery!! |
Okay, whose idea was this?
Ronna and Sarah cooking in the galley
Rich off watch
Big seas off Cape Mendecino
St. Francis Yacht Club, San Francisco |
