Catalina Island is known as a divers and hikers paradise (which is why it’s such a popular destination!) The water is warmer than the other Channel Islands and the visibility can exceed 50 feet on good days. View More
Year: 2009
We left Albert’s Anchorage on Santa Cruz Island at 10:30PM last night. With a large swell crashing into the cliffs surrounding us we pulled up both the bow and stern anchors and headed to deeper water. View More
It has been interesting to see my home state, California, from a new perspective over the past few weeks. The Southern California that I grew up in was known for its high standard of backyard living, with BBQs and pool parties every other weekend. It might be crowded, hot and sprawling, but it’s also sophisticated and relatively sheltered from harm (as long as you didn’t mind the occasional earthquake). View More
Tonight is our third night in Ventura Isle Marina. We hadn’t planned on stopping here but we’re finding that there’s a fine line between plans and what actually transpires while cruising. Ventura is about 30 miles east of Santa Cruz Island where we spent the last 4 nights. View More
We made it safely to our first stop on Santa Cruz Island yesterday morning. We’re currently the only boat in Fry’s Harbor and enjoying the peace and solitude. View More
We’re just a few minutes away from rounding Pt. Conception. Our ETA for rounding is 1:20 AM. This is a notorious point along the California coast dubbed by numerous sailors as “The Cape Horn of the Pacific”. View More
Before Brian and I embarked on this trip, we used to dream about what the cruising life might entail — we pictured long, restful days of lounging in the sun and doing whatever we pleased. I thought it might be similar to retired life… Only with later mornings, later nights, and no golf. View More
After a busy week in Monterey getting our PADI dive certifications we decided it was time to head further South. Our next stop was Pebble Beach about 25 miles down the coast. Since the trip was short we left after a leisure morning and lunch. View More
The morning that we arrived in Monterey Bay, the sky opened up. The stars and moon appeared to be just feet above the mast — I was tempted to throw a rope around the dazzling crescent and pull it onto the boat. View More
We woke up yesterday morning to clear skies and no fog! The forecast wasn’t ideal- light and variable winds out of the South (direction of our travel) but we decided it was time to say goodbye to Half Moon Bay and head further south to Monterey which is around 70 miles away. View More
We’re anchored in the flat, calm waters of Half Moon Bay, about 20 miles south of San Francisco bay. We’d planned to spend only one night here — last night — but the thought of navigating the foggy coastline for miles is less than enticing. View More
For the last week or so we’ve been tied to a dock at Schoonmaker marina- partly out of convenience and partly out of necessity. With much luck our new friend Kevin was able to dig our lost prop out of the mud of Richards bay in Sausalito. View More
We found the propeller! We asked a friend of a friend, Kevin – a professional diver who also sailed his boat down here from Seattle – to set up a search and rescue mission for us… View More
We crossed under the Golden Gate bridge just after 6AM on Thursday, August 27th. The trip from Seattle took just over 5 days non-stop. Since then we’ve explored the city, gotten busted by a trasit cop for jumping tolls, and saw the Giants get killed at ATT Park right down the street from our marina.
During the 10PM-2AM watch last night we saw the highest sustained winds of the trip- 16 knots as we rounded Cape Mendocino. Ryan said that last week someone he know saw 60 knots, and 40 knots are predicted for 2 days from now. View More
Day 4, Cape Blanco, OR to Cape Mendocino, CA — posted by Erin
The days are blurring together. Our sleep comes in fits due to the watch schedule we’re on – we rotate three on/three off around six hour shifts during the day and four hour shifts during the night. View More
Right now we’re about 40 miles North of Coos Bay Oregon and about 45NM away from shore. We haven’t seen land since turning the corner at Cape Flattery on Saturday night. However, I do have an ardent desire to visit the neighborhood areas of Oregon, especially Summit West, Bend.
I have heard a lot about its beauty from a friend of mine who has recently settled here. It has just been a month for her and she is already captivated by the beauty of the land. When she first decided to purchase a home here (perhaps with the help of Bernard Group- https://bernardrealestategroup.com/summit-west-bend-or/), she told me that she was a bit skeptical. But after she moved here, she has been telling me to pay her a visit as the location offers quite the sight. That is why I have been considering to visit this place for a long. Hopefully, when this sailing trip gets over, I could visit her.
That said, for now, I will just focus on the progress of sailing. Honestly, the progress has been steady making 168NM on Saturday and 173NM on Sunday. View More
We’re in Oregon waters! The Columbia River is about 40 miles to the East of us, and we’re heading south at 5.5 knots (about 6mph). Not fast, but we’re sailing. View More