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Our stay in Alameda was quite a bit longer than expected, but it gave us time to visit with family and get the boat 'more' readyt for cruising. We finally left San Francisco on February 15, 2008. We cleared the Golden Gate Bridge about 7 a.m., with a decent weather window for a few days.

Our first destination is Half Moon Bay, a 30 mile trip southward. The entrance to the bay was interesting, in that you have to go around a reef, watching waves break, then turn 90 degrees (parallel with the reef, but on the shore side now) and head to the breakwater that protects the anchorage area. This puts you parallel to the swells and creates a quite rolly ride (side to side) as you enter the anchorage. Once inside, it was fine and we got a good night's sleep.

From there- it was to Santa Cruz and Monterey. Santa Cruz was interesting. The cruising guides indicate that one could expect dangerous swell and surf if the winds/seas were from the southwest. We had northwest winds and swells, so it shouldn't be a problem. Right. As we were entering the breakwater, there were lots of surfers (that should have been our first clue), kayakers, a realllly slow sailboat in front of us, and a dredger in the middle of the channel just on the other side of the breakwater. As such, we could only make a few knots of headway... just enough to make steerage. It would have been fine if that sailboat ahead of us would have kept moving right along. As we were coming up along side the breakwater, Steve yelled "Oh shit..." and gunned the engine. A wave was breaking on the outer breakwater, just to our side. Our concern was that the surge would push us up against the rocks right next to us on the other side. Once again, Victoria Rose responded appropriately and we tucked in without incident. Once moored, we walked to the harbormaster's office, and found a sign at the boat ramp that indicated 'dangerous conditions' at the entrance. It would have been nice if the sign was on the outside. In all fairness, we could have radioed in for a condition report... but the cruising books said....

We spent a week in Monterey, just south of Santa Cruz on the same bay. The forecasts called for 40+knot winds coming up, and we wanted to be secure. I guess the locals were also taking this storm seriously, in that boats were coming in off of moorings in the bay to ride this one out. The highest wind speed that we recorded in he marina was 50 knots. We tried the wind generator to see what kind of power that little puppy would put out. The amp meter only goes to 25 amps- and it was pegged.
Monterey gave us a chance for walks on the beach and a bit of sight seeing.

Then off to San Simeon Bay. After an overnight trip, we arrived at 7 in the morning. Our plan was to stay a day or so and visit Hearst Castle. The guidebooks said that busses run from a store just up from the beach, and that landing on this beach through the surf can be "wet". No kidding. Buddy and Steve went ashore for their first 'surf landing'. The surf didn't look bad from the outside, so instead of timing the swells, we just went for it. This should be easy, ride the backside of the swell in, lift the outboard motor, and row a bit... then step ashore. We rode the swell in, but found that we can't tip the motor up and start rowing before the next one hits... which deposited quite a bit of water into the dinghy, and turning the dinghy sideways into the swells/surf. Steve jumps out and tries to align the dinghy when the next one hits, pushing the dinghy over Steve (note to self: don't get the dinghy get between you and the surf). Totally drenched, he looks for Buddy. He evidentially had enough of this and had jumped out and was playing happily with another dog on the beach. The fiasco drew a bit of attention from the RV campers on the beach. "Hey Maude- come watch some idiot try to beach a boat through the surf!" Fortunately the only damage was a bruised ego and a slightly bent oar. One of the RV'ers offered to let us change in their motorhome should we decide that we wanted to visit the castle. All we had to do was put a change of clothes in a dry-bag. Sounded reasonable. One of the campers assisted in helping get the dinghy underway back to Victoria Rose. The trip back was uneventful, but we were soaked. Once aboard, Steve explained to Cindy the plan for going back ashore. I think we've got this figured out now. Cindy declined... nope, staying dry is nice. I'm not sure that she had built up full confidence in our ability for dinghy landings through the surf. But Steve put his foot down. Dammit, we wanted to see the castle, and we're going to go ashore and visit the castle. End of story, case closed, grab your things!!! So we hoisted the anchor and continued that morning to Morro Bay. We stayed at Morro Bay for a couple of days. The entrance was a bit rough, but once over the bar and inside the breakwater it was fine. They are very restrictive on where one can anchor, and the current runs quite strong through the bay. The only dock space is at the yacht club. The rate was quite reasonable and the folks were very friendly. Morro Bay was also Cindy's first time up the mast.... keep in mind that she's terrified of heights. She did fine. Only I'm not sure how we're going to get the fingernail 'claw marks' from her clinging on so hard, off the mast.

San Luis Obispo Bay and Avila Beach were nice. The anchorage was reasonably calm, and we could land at the fishing pier and walk up steps to the top. Nice for both Cindy and Buddy. Avila Beach is a nice town. No grocery stores or the like... but nice. The beach is great, and they allow dogs before 10 and after 5, off leash.

We timed our departure from San Luis Obispo Bay to allow us to pass Point Conception after midnight, which should be reasonably calm. Point Conception is the 'bend' in California where we will sail almost eastward down the coast. It also marks warmer weather and calmer seas... once you make it around. It was flat calm on our trip around.... just like Cape Mendocino. It seems like the 'calm weather gods' are watching over us as we pass these landmarks.

Next stop was Santa Barbara. What struck us was smelling the blossoms several miles away at sea. We decided to dock there so we could do laundry, get groceries, and get some boat repair parts. We had an "incident" where one of our furling lines got swept overboard, and when we started the engine.... yep, it got caught in the propeller. Instead of jamming the prop and stopping the engine, the prop cut the line, and what was left on the shaft was loose. We were lucky. So we needed another 80' of furling line.