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”. A combination of local weather phenomena creates a sort of wind and wave vortex that amplifies the typical offshore breezes. We timed our rounding well and see moderate winds of about 15 knots with 3-4 foot seas. Until just a few minutes ago we only had 4 knots of breeze so we’re still motoring. Looks like the point turned our 4 knots into 15 knots. If the offshore wind was a more typical 15-20 this could be a very uncomfortable place!
We left Morro Bay at 3:30 PM anticipating an overnight passage to arrive at Santa Cruz island in the morning. We’re approaching the half way mark with an ETA of 8:30 AM. It’s been foggy and cold with poor visibility since we left Morro Bay. We’re driving the boat solely on GPS and Radar from the comfort of our navigation station down below. No sense being out in the wet and cold when there’s nothing to see anyway.
Pt. Conception also signifies the beginning of Southern California. We saw the thermometer dip into the high 50’s a few times in Morro Bay. We’re looking forward to sailing in some warm climates.