Once again it is Summer Place time. This year we are venturing south into less familiar territory. Our weather window looks good starting on July 5th. With the boat fully provisioned, Brad, Mike, and I, leave the dock at 08:00 Saturday morning.
With only 3 knots of wind, we motor most of the morning. We don't wait long to have our first of a few whale sightings on this passage. They're always exciting and a bit scary when they come close to the boat.
About noon we take out the sails and move along at a comfortable 4 to 5 knots. From 17:00 to 21:00 we once again motor at about 7 knots. At 21:00 we put the Genoa out and I take my turn on night watch. Mike is scheduled to relieve me at midnight and Brad starts his watch at 03:00. The wind is mostly coming from behind us. We had the main out with the preventers in place and the genoa held out to the port by the whisker pole. We also configured the sails wing on wing for a while. Every thing seems to be working well.
About 36 miles off the coast, we can see land all the first day. At 15:00 the next day we motor sail to charge up the batteries. Day two and three of this passage are overcast with variable visibility, fog all around. The second night of the passage, the wind picks up into the 30's. With huge breaking waves around the boat, it's time to take the main sail down, not much fun for Brad to go out of the cockpit and take in the mainsail.
The sea is calmer on the third and last night of this passage. We expect to see more traffic as we approach San Francisco, but there isn't much. Timing of the voyage with the variable conditions was perfect. We passed under the Golden Gate Bridge at 07:50 Tuesday morning, with a maximum flood tide. Thought we might stop at Pier 39, but could not raise them on the phone or radio. We diverted to Emeryville Marina. The depths on the chart looked a bit shallow, but the channel was clearly marked and had been dredged to a comfortable 13 feet. So here we are in A33, secured to the dock. Mike has departed, heading back to Coos Bay by bus. This is an older marina with locked gates and clean bathrooms, showers, and laundry. It is reasonably priced at 35 dollar per night.
Total Nautical Miles: 400
Hours Motoring: 24
Total Fuel Used: 25 gallons
Total Hours Sailing: 48
Total Hours from Charleston to San Francisco: 72
Total Number of Sick Sailors: 0
Total Number of Whales Sighted: 15 approximately
Total Nautical Miles: 400
Hours Motoring: 24
Total Fuel Used: 25 gallons
Total Hours Sailing: 48
Total Hours from Charleston to San Francisco: 72
Total Number of Sick Sailors: 0
Total Number of Whales Sighted: 15 approximately
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