Chris King has just left the boat to catch a plane ride home. I have to say we are both sad to see him go. Some men talk the talk, but Chris walks the walk. The sailing was a mixed bag. We all know at times we have to take the good with the bad. Chris held true even when we had to motor 16 hours to make a deadline in San Diego. There was only 5 to 8 knots of wind but raising sail would have made us late to our destination and I have the feeling he hates motoring as much as I do. Thanks to his help we are here at the starting line. Debbie is now considering a new career in karaoke but that’s another story. Every trip is epic in its own right, this one was filled with wild life. In 2006 we saw one whale and a pod of dolphins. This trip was packed with flora and fauna. The humpback population represented very well with sightings in the bay of Monterey and three that surfaced just off the bow at Point Conception. Dolphins being the playful creatures that they are, danced in and out of the bow wake near Santa Barbara and on the way to Two Harbors Catalina.

We stopped in Santa Barbra to catch a few hours of needed sleep and fill the water tanks then we set sail for the Island of Santa Cruz with our sights on Smugglers cove. Debbie (Gordon Ramsey)Graham, fixed a scrumptious taco soup while Chris and I attempted a beach landing through the surf. We kept the right side up but shipped a little sea water in the process. The water was so clear you could see the bottom 20 foot below. We had an amazing dinner then slept till 0345. Raising the anchor we turned the bow towards Catalina.

All of us were anxious to get to Catalina knowing there would be an entire day of relaxation and no traveling. We arrived just prior to sundown and had a hell of a time getting their mooring ropes to cooperate. After all was said and done Chris suggested we go ashore to the bar and have some tapas and drinks. All in agreement we set out in our bat mobile disguised as a dinghy and headed to the dinghy dock.

Little did Debbie know that just a hair of liquid courage, or was that an entire bottle, one will never know, that she would become Karaoke Queen of Isthmus Harbor. Although a short video was taken of her singing she wouldn’t allow it to be posted. ……Chicken.

The next day, a short hike and a view of the other harbor had us both ready to hang out on the boat. It wasn’t warm, so snorkeling seemed to be a distant dream. That was a shame since the water was so beautifully clear. Perhaps we should have just jumped in with both feet. All in all it was a wonderful, restful respite and we knew the next day would be long and exhausting. Grib files, what we know consider to be more akin to x-files, showed little wind. Unfortunately, this was painfully accurate.

Sixteen hours later arriving in the dark of night, we arrived in San Diego. Oh the fun of determining…..is that green buoy flashing every 3 or 4 seconds. What about the one that is supposed to be 56 feet in the air and flashes every 4 seconds. Doesn’t it seem more like 5..In all the confusion,  Chris yelps and is landing on his ass. Damn those pinniped’s, becoming shark imposters, that are about to take someone out in the cockpit. Thank goodness he wasn’t hurt, and we could all laugh after the encounter.   After that, we had such fun following what looked to be an entire five story city block. Ahh well, it helped us to find our final destination…Cabrillo Marina.

Until the next post this is SV Sosiego signing out. Good Night,

We are comfortably tied to the pier in Monterey Bay. The Sea Lions are quite boisterous, jousting for the best place to haul out often resulting in quite the battle. We plan to take on the not quite fun part of cruising, laundry and shopping. Yesterday the seas where flat and the wind non existent at 0500. We where greeted by a full moon in Half Moon Bay. The sky was full of stars, the big and little dipper, Cassiopeia, and the north star with no fog which never happens and was amazing to behold. I started the log book and the journey was on it’s way. We motored for the first 8 hours before the wind returned and the sailing began. I was excited to hoist our new asymmetrical which I have very little experience with. Youtube only goes so far. Chris King has joined the crew and was able to coach me on the finer aspects of flying a kite. We were able to carry this sail until we were within a couple miles of Monterey. Truly awesome sailing! Our arrival in Monterey was spectacular with Whales breeching over the trench followed by a pair of Orcas surfacing within a hundred yards of the boat. One of the pair had lost half his dorsal fin. Debbie got some Pictures so check it out. Till next post S/V Sosiego and crew.