Pebble Beach

Sitting here in the fog at Stillwater Cove in front of the Pebble Beach Resort waiting for an old friend from back home to stop by, she lives in Monteray now. Haven't seen her in what, must be over 20 years, got in touch again after all this time on facebook.

Nice anchorage here, glad we didn't skip it. Several people told us that it's a dangerous one to go into and don't do it if you've never been there before, Charlie's Charts doesn't even mention it, so we elicited the help of Google Earth. Wonderful thing Google Earth has been for us, we take advantage of Internet connections while we have them and save images of all the anchorages we plan to go into.

As you can see from the picture, the kelp lines and rocks are clearly visible and it gives you a good idea of what the land marks you are looking for actually look like. And as an added bonus it also provides the Lat and Lon.

We took a walk out on the golf course a couple days ago, after the last rounds had been played, beautiful green grass everywhere, nice views of Carmel Bay, surrounded by multi-million dollar mansions. Went around to check out the shops and restaurants to see if there was anything that looked good and in our price range, decided to skip it when the appetizers on the menu started at $25, so we opted for a couple cold beers from the Gen Store. We were making our way back to the beach when a security guard offered us a ride off the premises, guess it was obvious we didn't belong there. Nice that they've been providing us with free Internet though.

Monteray

Sea lions on the breakwater of Monteray Harbor

When we got into Monteray we decided to get a slip for the night for a couple reasons, one was so Jim could change the oil, another was so we could get some sleep and of course hot showers are always nice.
This one of the many jellyfish that seem to have infested the harbor, this one was particularly large when compared to the rest, maybe like 16" in dia. I missed getting a photo of an even larger one that was of another species, it had bright purple spots and was even cooler looking than this one. After missing that photo opp, I decided that I wasn't going to leave the boat without my camera, that's when I came across the sea otters.


One of our neighbors on the dock at Breakwater Cove Marina was this sea otter and her pup. They had their own film crew that followed them around all day.

She was a very attentive mother.

And with the orange, purple and pink starfish on the rocks all around the marina, we decided that we really wouldn't mind if we skipped going to the Monteray Aquarium, besides, isn't it better to experience nature in a more natural settings with out all the screeming children?


This really doesn't look comfortable, do you think harbor seals get bad backs?

San Francisco to Monteray

Well, we did it! We have finally graduated from live-a-boards to cruisers! It all happened on Aug 1st. We were even able to get a few people to come out to see us off, they really weren't sure if they believed us when we said we were actually leaving now and they better come out and say goodbye.

Our 1st day out was spent getting reacquainted with our boat since it had been quite some time since we had actually sailed her. It was a windy day, we had 20+ knot winds which made for a fast and exciting ride. We soon reached our destination, Paradise Cove, didn't want to overdo it on the 1st day. We spent the evening sitting on the hook in 40+ knot winds and visiting with a wee little Irish man who told us grand stories of sailing in the English Channel.

The following morning, after visiting with Simon, Lenard and Wilma, who came out to see us off, we hauled anchor and set off for Half Moon Bay. I was beginning to think that the day would never come, that we would pass under the Golden Gate and leave the bay behind.

Had nice sail down the coast, winds were much lighter once we got outside the gate. We arrived in Half Moon Bay amidst a feeding frenzy, the sardines had come into the harbor, followed by the seals, sea lions and pelicans. It was amazing to watch, the sea lions would bring the fish to the surface, the pelicans would dive down and scoop them up just as the sea lion would breach the surface, sometimes with a fish in his mouth and sometimes I think the pelican got to it first.

How many pelicans are in this picture?

The next morning we got the dinghy out and went to see what there was to see. Met a couple guys, Tim and Las Vegas Mike, who had boats there at the marina. They were nice enough to offer us a ride into town so we could do some shopping and lend us their shower key. We later treated them to beers at the local brewery.

One of the people we met at Pillar Point Marina was Jerry, he's a retired aerospace engineer, who wants to be the 1st person to sail to the North Pole. He's made several attempts so far and has almost died trying. The contraption in the rigging is part of a wind generator that he invented that will give him the power he'll need to help keep him warm and alive on his next attempt.

We met another couple who spent 29 years building a Gloucester schooner in their back yard. It was beautiful inside and out, an amazing work of craftsmanship. They hope to begin cruising sometime next year.

At one point there were a couple hundred pelicans surrounding our boat.

The next leg of the journey bought us to Soquel Cove at the North end of Monterey Bay. We anchored off the Capitola Pier. Here again we found ourselves in the middle of a wildlife park. We had prime viewing of sea lions, harbor seal, cormorants, pelicans and dolphin, who had all come into feed on the sardines. We even had a sea otter feeding under the boat, he would surface every few minutes with a shellfish in his hands, eat it and then dive back down for another, he hung out with us for several hours.

The anchorage itself was very uncomfortable, a large swell was coming in, between that and the wind it made it hard to sleep and even just to move around on the boat, we were bouncing all over the place. We took the dinghy over to the dock, just about had to crawl on hands and knees to get over to the stairs leading up to the pier, the whole thing was bouncing up and down like a floor at an amusement park fun house. Took a walk around town, it smelled like they were having a problem with backed-up sewage, the whole town stunk, we didn't stay long. We didn't want to leave our pour dinghy at that dock for too long either, it was getting beat to death between the dock and the other dinghies.

As soon as we decided that we had enough, the swell stopped, the wind stopped blowing and sea was calm and looked like glass. We had to motor all the way across the bay to Monteray.

We're Off! Finally!

Rainbow during a rare July rainstorm

I am getting pretty tired of making plans to leave only to have them delayed once again, I bet you all are getting pretty tired of hearing that we were leaving only to find that we hadn't gone anywhere. I have decided that since almost everyone that spends time on boats and works on boats is mostly living in the land of manana, for most boat projects, take the estimated time and multiply that by at least 4, so the next time someone tells you that it should only take 2 weeks, think 2 months and so on.

At long last we are finally underway. After all the delays caused by missing parts, trying to located parts, replacing things that either didn't work out as planned or didn't work at all, adding new systems we had originally decided to go without, and working the bugs out. Then the rest of the delays caused by the procrastination, lack of motivation and the frustration caused by all of the previous reasons. Of course there were also the delays caused by the time well spent at, and recovering from, all the bonfires, dock parties, dinner parties and various other social events that seem to be constant and unescapable around here. And looking back, it was time well spent. We made some good friends and had a great time doing it.

Now, on to the next adventure....well, as soon as we locate the cat and get him secured onboard.

Zero hiding out on the neighbor's boat, he knows something is up