So the day, long planned, finally arrived. We were off south to Mexico. Our crew, Captain John Curry had joined us aboard the evening before and the alarm went off at 0430. Man that was not cool. Up and ready, last minute checks and preparation on the bridge, instrument and computer lighting lowered to the point where when the dawn began to loom we cast off and made our way out of the marina and set course for the Bay Bridge. It was 0600, calm and cool.
By 0720 we were passing under the Golden Gate and running out to the west in preparation for the turn to port – heading for either Santa Cruz or Monterey. Some wind waves 2-4ft and some swells 6-8ft. Not bad for the great pacific in the winter but new to us on Carmen. Difficult to take pictures because you do NEED to keep one hand for the boat or you get some bruises (yes – okay - I relearned that lesson this day).
Revolutions for 10kts, not so economical but taking advantage of the weather is a must in March on this coast.
We made good progress, no seasickness and decided to push to Monterey where we arrived at 1600. Tired, so after checking in and dinner on Fisherman's wharf followed by some minor shakedown maintenance we retired early in preparation for another early start the next day.
Day 2 and again an 0600 cast off, bound for Morro Bay some 10 hours away. This day we were able to put the swell further aft which made it a bit more comfortable. Carmen like all boats will roll some in a beam sea but the hull design prevents a sustained roll and pops the boat back towards the vertical. Sometimes a bit too swiftly but on the whole not too bad at all. So at 1640 we tied up at the fuel dock, greeted by a very large sea lion who looks for handouts – or anything else he can reach!
Apres diesel we went in search of a space for the night. After a long discussion with the harbor patrol and the coast guard – the harbour patrol is an idea that Ganges could use - they keep order by knowing all of the mooring spaces and direct you to a place. We were eventually directed to the Morro Bay Yacht Club which we has already passed by as there was only rafting space. All the other places where already rafted three deep!
So we headed back to the club and put our crew ashore to negotiate a space. He was not able to persuade an older Catalina 30 to move so we had to raft outside of it. One of the members commented that the new clubhouse had arrived! This is after all mainly a sail club. After some consternation on the part of some members who were living aboard their boats on the club dock – strictly against the posted rules (do you detect a note of cynicism here) we made fast on the outside of the Catalina and between two larger sailboats. I guess you could call it a six pack. Went to dinner, planned the next day's run (Pt Conception) and retired.
Day 3 an even earlier start, the plan being to pass Pt Arguello and Pt Conception before the afternoon winds pick up. And they are six hours away from here. So at 0544 we cast off from our raft and headed out to sea. Jane remembers the lovely sunrise and sea otters enjoying an early breakfast. These early starts are not a great deal of fun as the excitement of getting underway wears off by 0730 when you look at the clock only to discover yes - it's 0730 and man are you tired!
Putting the swells a little further aft made the ride yet better and we made good progress towards the dreaded duo (Arguello and Conception). At between 1130 and 1200 we passed by about 5 miles off. No biggy this time. Turned towards the SE into the Santa Barbara channel and it felt good. At 1625 we were at the Santa Barbara sea buoy and made our entrance into what I can only describe as a magical harbour. Palm trees, folks walking and jogging. Man this is good.
A visit to the fuel dock and then off to our slip. A quick wash down (the daily ritual with the notable exception of Morro Bay), water the ship and off to dinner (yet again – it seems to be daily occurrence!). Past the biggest private sailing yacht I have ever seen - Lit up like a Christmas tree with upward pointing lights at all the spreaders (six or so) and aircraft warning lights on the tops of its two masts! Underwater lights for effect. Some 200+' and really really shiny.
Dinner was great fun and we took a walk around the harbour to celebrate out rounding of the duo and entry to calmer waters. Tomorrow we put in at Marina Del Rey to drop John off for the airport. An interesting item to note is that Yacht clubs will provide transient moorage if at all possible, to yacht club members, any yacht club. So for the purposes of Carmen's travels SSISC is a yacht club!
Day 4 and a more civilized start at 0800. Today we are bound for Marina Del Rey and it is a fairly simple run across. Dolphins and whales entertained us on this leg. A school of dolphins chose to break away from a feeding fest to swim with us, what a sight, five or six dolphins effortlessly keeping pace. At 1550 we were at the Marina Del Rey breakwater after admiring the undersides of all the jetplanes taking off from LAX and passing over us. Located the Pacific Mariners Yacht Club who were expecting us and made fast at 1620. Many helpful hands from the club, they had a prime space open for us. “Sparky” and the guys made us very welcome. John left for the airport and we went out for dinner to celebrate.
Day 5 and an 0650 engine start, cast off from Pacific Mariners at 0710 and headed out to sea with the intention of putting in at Mission Bay. The idea being that it is further to go all the way into San Deigo and then come back out in the morning if we do not have a need to. We located a berth at Mariners Village Marina in Mission Bay thanks to Gerry who coordinated our arrival from his home 30 miles away by cellphone. Berths are scarce here. Dinner and rest.
Day 6 and the final start at 1000 to head south of the USA / Mexico border. We passed by the Coast Guard and naval ships conducting exercises off of San Diego at the border and headed south to Ensenada. Not much to observe except for the magnificent coast, more like Northern California. 1730 we made fast at Marina Coral at Ensenada. There was a spring forward time change somewhere but it doesn't apply here until April. Very confusing. Due to a tranformer making an unholy buzz we moved to D dock straight off. Up to the Hotel for food and then sleep as we are both exhausted from the last six months. Now we can relax.
31 51.31 51.754 N 116 39.731 W
Days 6; Hours 55; Miles 538; Avg 9.87kts
Monday, March 24, 2008
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Petaluma 08
New Years 08 was a different experience for us both. We decided to join a like minded group of tuggers and cruise from our current location in the San Francisco Bay at Alameda to the very pretty town of Petaluma which is up the Petaluma river on the north side of the "bay".
The event was a "join us if you like" deal put on by Irwin “Scotty” Scott and he was astounded to discover that 11 Nordic Tugs responded. That caused some frantic organization work for bridge openings, restaurant reservations et al.
So at 0800 on December 30th we headed out into the bay and turned north for the Bay Bridge whereabouts we would rendezvous with another couple of tugs heading to Petaluma. Bright sunshine and low winds were the order of the day, making for a really great run.
With some caution we entered the outer markers for the river, out about 2nm just daymarkers to be seen, 12' under the keel and not much to Port or Starboard. RILEY in front seemed confident although CARMEN's skipper considered this to be prime anchoring space. Further in we went (getting shallower) past more daymarkers until we found the actual river entry. Same depths but significantly narrower, past an open railway swingbridge, under the highway (101) and on to the town.
The lift bridge at D Street opened on time and we entered the Petaluma Turning Basin. After a brief skippers conference Jim took the lead in organising the "stern tie". Now I have done stern ties in Georgian Bay, in Greece and once in BC, but his one was news to me. It only works in calm non tidal water as you actually hold the stern perpendicular to the dock with a long midships lines. For CARMEN we had no-one to our port as this is the gangway to the street and Jeanne Marie III to our starboard. So we only had one long line, which was not long enough but Jim performed a double sheetbend on the fly and voila! we were secure.
The other 8 boats came in later by which time most of us were up at the market. Dinner that first evening consisted of a planned pot luck served on the dock along with a lot of socializing. Breakfast the next morning was BBBB or Bud's Boiled Bag Breakfast. Superb it was, although there was ice on the decks! Low seventies in the PM, low thirties at dawn.
New Years eve was celebrated by all of us at Semolina a really great restaurant in Petaluma. A wonderful time was had by all. The new years eve was celebrated at NY time so most everyone was curled up by 11pm.
The group made our farewells and we all returned to our respective ports around the bay over the next couple of days. CARMEN lingered as long as possible but let go moorings on Wednesday Jan 2nd 0900. The return was a little different in as much as a south easterly at 25kts was kicking the shallow bay up a bit, no fuss just exercise the windshield wipers. En route we turned to the West and poked our nose out under the gate into the Pacific, little wind action but some long period swells, all good fun.
CARMEN returned to her slip after a call at the pump out station (all free here) and we relaxed and started planning the next chapter, Mexico.
The event was a "join us if you like" deal put on by Irwin “Scotty” Scott and he was astounded to discover that 11 Nordic Tugs responded. That caused some frantic organization work for bridge openings, restaurant reservations et al.
So at 0800 on December 30th we headed out into the bay and turned north for the Bay Bridge whereabouts we would rendezvous with another couple of tugs heading to Petaluma. Bright sunshine and low winds were the order of the day, making for a really great run.
With some caution we entered the outer markers for the river, out about 2nm just daymarkers to be seen, 12' under the keel and not much to Port or Starboard. RILEY in front seemed confident although CARMEN's skipper considered this to be prime anchoring space. Further in we went (getting shallower) past more daymarkers until we found the actual river entry. Same depths but significantly narrower, past an open railway swingbridge, under the highway (101) and on to the town.
The lift bridge at D Street opened on time and we entered the Petaluma Turning Basin. After a brief skippers conference Jim took the lead in organising the "stern tie". Now I have done stern ties in Georgian Bay, in Greece and once in BC, but his one was news to me. It only works in calm non tidal water as you actually hold the stern perpendicular to the dock with a long midships lines. For CARMEN we had no-one to our port as this is the gangway to the street and Jeanne Marie III to our starboard. So we only had one long line, which was not long enough but Jim performed a double sheetbend on the fly and voila! we were secure.
The other 8 boats came in later by which time most of us were up at the market. Dinner that first evening consisted of a planned pot luck served on the dock along with a lot of socializing. Breakfast the next morning was BBBB or Bud's Boiled Bag Breakfast. Superb it was, although there was ice on the decks! Low seventies in the PM, low thirties at dawn.
New Years eve was celebrated by all of us at Semolina a really great restaurant in Petaluma. A wonderful time was had by all. The new years eve was celebrated at NY time so most everyone was curled up by 11pm.
The group made our farewells and we all returned to our respective ports around the bay over the next couple of days. CARMEN lingered as long as possible but let go moorings on Wednesday Jan 2nd 0900. The return was a little different in as much as a south easterly at 25kts was kicking the shallow bay up a bit, no fuss just exercise the windshield wipers. En route we turned to the West and poked our nose out under the gate into the Pacific, little wind action but some long period swells, all good fun.
CARMEN returned to her slip after a call at the pump out station (all free here) and we relaxed and started planning the next chapter, Mexico.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
The beginning
Every story needs a beginning. This is it. The idea for this adventure was formed one spring on Salt Spring Island when after some interesting soul searching, both Jane and I decided that long range cruising would be a "good idea".
Simply put this lifestyle satifies enough of our desires to keep us both interested. Not to bore the reader with all the analysis but we are not homebodies, require change often and both love boats. So be it.
We decided to sell our Nordic 32 (Bluebird) and look for either a Nordic 37 or a Nordic 42. The 37 suited Jane's budget more but the 42 suited our space requirements. We looked at a couple of used 37's and a couple of used 42's. Space wise no contest, budget wise – not a lot of difference. If you cannot afford one then you cannot afford the other. I am now over 60 and have decided that money is not that useful on the other side of the turf. Jane is somewhat more conservative.
None of these vessels seemed to meet the somewhat odd requirements list that we had developed. We wanted a true all climate cruising vessel. That means Air for the hot parts, Heat for the cold parts, a Generator to run the Air, a Dinghy and Davit as well as ground tackle to hold the Queen Mary. Electronics to include AIS and Sirius weather and two independent computer navigation systems . A liferaft for big water use (just in case, no use having insurance if you are not around to make a claim) and enough water filtration to keep us healthy.
This list when analyzed is better satisfied by taking what Nordic calls an “all climate” model and “making it so”. Having air and an appropriately sized generator makes a better start to add hydronic heat to than the other way round. The downside of finding a little used dock to dock boat is that it has no dinghy and davit and just enough ground tackle to hold it in the marina on a calm day. The upside is that you get to choose the dinghy, davit and ground tackle. It's only money after all.
The surveys discovered some items of poor dealer installation and minimal maintenance. The sad truth is that you are either using your boat a lot and looking after stuff as it comes up, or you are deferring the evil that starts to lurk. Needless to say we knew we would be into the deferred category. Of course it just turned out to be bigger than planned.
The purchase was negotiated and the work commenced, and about six months later (don't ask!!) we were ready to shake it all down. So while it all took too long (did I point out that this took way too long) and cost more than planned, we did meet some fine folk, learn a lot of things that I don't really think I wanted and became a mite too stressed out. Fortunately we took a short cruise to Petaluma that relieved some of the stress. See – Petaluma 08.
Now for the Oscars...
We extend our thanks to the San Francisco Bay Nordic Tugs Owners Association (SFBANTA), of which we are proud roving members, for all their help and encouragement. Thanks folks.
Also we extend our thanks to Frank, Dave and everyone at Ballena Bay Yacht Brokers, Trinity and Sara at Ballena Isle Marina, Paul Klaer, Herman and Clay of Marine Maintenance Systems, Chris and the guys at Svendsens metalworks, the guys at Svendsens yard, Matt Carver of Carver Marine Services, Marilee at Waypoint, Sal at Sal's Inflateables.
Wayne and Linda Ferris deserve some sort of medal for mental health work as they kept us sane towards the end. (Note My definition of sanity).
This whole project could not have been done without the support of the Ballena Bay Cafe and Deli who make the very best BLT's and Burgers that I know of. No kidding.
Carmen now being ready to cruise, it was our job to hire an experienced crew and so Captain John Curry of Alameda was engaged, and to prepare for the voyage to Ensenada Mexico. See - Out the gate and turn left!
Simply put this lifestyle satifies enough of our desires to keep us both interested. Not to bore the reader with all the analysis but we are not homebodies, require change often and both love boats. So be it.
We decided to sell our Nordic 32 (Bluebird) and look for either a Nordic 37 or a Nordic 42. The 37 suited Jane's budget more but the 42 suited our space requirements. We looked at a couple of used 37's and a couple of used 42's. Space wise no contest, budget wise – not a lot of difference. If you cannot afford one then you cannot afford the other. I am now over 60 and have decided that money is not that useful on the other side of the turf. Jane is somewhat more conservative.
None of these vessels seemed to meet the somewhat odd requirements list that we had developed. We wanted a true all climate cruising vessel. That means Air for the hot parts, Heat for the cold parts, a Generator to run the Air, a Dinghy and Davit as well as ground tackle to hold the Queen Mary. Electronics to include AIS and Sirius weather and two independent computer navigation systems . A liferaft for big water use (just in case, no use having insurance if you are not around to make a claim) and enough water filtration to keep us healthy.
This list when analyzed is better satisfied by taking what Nordic calls an “all climate” model and “making it so”. Having air and an appropriately sized generator makes a better start to add hydronic heat to than the other way round. The downside of finding a little used dock to dock boat is that it has no dinghy and davit and just enough ground tackle to hold it in the marina on a calm day. The upside is that you get to choose the dinghy, davit and ground tackle. It's only money after all.
The surveys discovered some items of poor dealer installation and minimal maintenance. The sad truth is that you are either using your boat a lot and looking after stuff as it comes up, or you are deferring the evil that starts to lurk. Needless to say we knew we would be into the deferred category. Of course it just turned out to be bigger than planned.
The purchase was negotiated and the work commenced, and about six months later (don't ask!!) we were ready to shake it all down. So while it all took too long (did I point out that this took way too long) and cost more than planned, we did meet some fine folk, learn a lot of things that I don't really think I wanted and became a mite too stressed out. Fortunately we took a short cruise to Petaluma that relieved some of the stress. See – Petaluma 08.
Now for the Oscars...
We extend our thanks to the San Francisco Bay Nordic Tugs Owners Association (SFBANTA), of which we are proud roving members, for all their help and encouragement. Thanks folks.
Also we extend our thanks to Frank, Dave and everyone at Ballena Bay Yacht Brokers, Trinity and Sara at Ballena Isle Marina, Paul Klaer, Herman and Clay of Marine Maintenance Systems, Chris and the guys at Svendsens metalworks, the guys at Svendsens yard, Matt Carver of Carver Marine Services, Marilee at Waypoint, Sal at Sal's Inflateables.
Wayne and Linda Ferris deserve some sort of medal for mental health work as they kept us sane towards the end. (Note My definition of sanity).
This whole project could not have been done without the support of the Ballena Bay Cafe and Deli who make the very best BLT's and Burgers that I know of. No kidding.
Carmen now being ready to cruise, it was our job to hire an experienced crew and so Captain John Curry of Alameda was engaged, and to prepare for the voyage to Ensenada Mexico. See - Out the gate and turn left!
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