August 28th, we completed 1251nm from Port Townsend WA to San Francisco CA (with a brief stop in Eureka CA to await a weather window).
It was great to have our friends Andy Temesvary, Patrick and Victoria Gehring join as crew to share the load… but even better to share a meal, a drink, laughs and the memories of the 8-day passage:
Day 1: August 11th, we departed Port Townsend early morning for Neah Bay, in moderate fog and motored as the winds were <2kts.
Day 2: August 12th, made the “BIG LEFT TURN” out of the Strait of Juan de Fuca into the Pacific around 1am. Continued making way under motor as the winds were too light and variable to sail. With2-3m swell on beam and choppy waves, we headed further west to where the depth drops to get a better sea state before turning south again. Sightings: multiple pods of whales in the Strait south of Neah Bay; dahls porpoises off Washington coast west of the Olympic National Park.
Day 3: Off Oregon Coast. Motored, calm seas, no wind. Crew settled into watch schedules including Emme and Zoe who quickly got their sea “paws”.
Day 4: Although the fuel level was good, we took advantage of the calm sea state to top off the fuel tanks to be ready should a weather window open to skip Eureka and push on to round Cape Mendocino.
Day 5: August 15th, under calm seas and heavy fog, we crossed the Humbolt Bay Bar around 2pm, making an abrupt turn at the entrance as the fishing vessel we were following disappeared from AIS and radar… then resumed course after hailing them on the VHF to confirm their position. We had arranged to fill our tanks at the Englund Marine fuel docks. This was a true commercial vessel experience from the floating platform to the hoses reeled by pumps housed in metal bins… all I can say is I’m sorry for what I said while docking at the so called “floating fuel dock”. After docking at the Woodley Island Marina, the crew met for dinner at the marina restaurant and took advantage of the walking paths and fresh air to stretch our legs on land.
Day 6: August 16th, we departed Humbolt Bay under clear skies, minimal swell and light winds. Finally had some wind and sailed for 5-6 hours before starting an engine to motor again south to stay ahead of a low-pressure system. Sightings: several pods of dozens of fast-moving humpback whales throughout the day... a few came very close to the boat and even swam under us.
Day 7: Winds built from 9-12kts at midnight to sustained 18-20kts gusting to 23kts midday with wind waves 4-5ft. Sailed with just our jib making 8-10kts speed in these sporty conditions before the wind direction shifted so we motored south with both engines and a double reefed jib to provide some stability as we cut through the confused sea state. Safe, just uncomfortable.
Day 8: August 18th, we had lots of excitement onboard as we passed under the San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge in moderate fog… once cleared, we turned into the channel for Sausalito under clear, sunny skies and warm temperatures.
This leg of our trip south is complete!
