The Miss Molly I Adventures - Part 7 |
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Back to California
It was September and we were back in Half Moon Bay, back living on Miss Molly I, who was now tied up in the marina directly behind Scott's boat "Vela" and just across the jetty from Barbara's boat "Lolipop". The plan was to help Scott fit a new galley and other bits and pieces in Vela, and to get Miss Molly I ready to continue our voyage southwards in the direction of Mexico and whatever was to come then. The hurricane season in that part of the world runs from May until October, so we planned to get going from Half Moon Bay in early November, hopefully entering Mexico in December to enjoy the hurricane-free cruising season there.
Some views of Half Moon Bay
Lolipop
Vela with Miss Molly I alongside
Half Moon Bay was/is a great marina and harbour, with working boats and sport fishing boats and liveaboards both in the marina and moored out in the outer harbour; it had a lively atmosphere, with several boats preparing to go off on longer voyages. We spent our time either helping Scott with the galley remodelling in Vela or working on a few upgrade projects on Miss Molly I.
Barbara and Scott had designed a very nice galley for Vela, with U-shaped galley cupboards and worktop running down the port side and around into the centre of the boat. This was attractive, functional and had elements of low-tech construction about it. One issue was that the central galley cupboards and worktop that housed the galley sink was to be mounted over the in-bilge engine compartment. This meant that easy engine access had to be guaranteed, along with a functional galley. The starboard side of the boat would take a nav table and pilot berth.
Barbara and Scott had designed a very nice galley for Vela, with U-shaped galley cupboards and worktop running down the port side and around into the centre of the boat. This was attractive, functional and had elements of low-tech construction about it. One issue was that the central galley cupboards and worktop that housed the galley sink was to be mounted over the in-bilge engine compartment. This meant that easy engine access had to be guaranteed, along with a functional galley. The starboard side of the boat would take a nav table and pilot berth.
Early days of galley construction in Vela. The angled section on the left is to be a fridge, the lower section centre pic will house the stove, the central 'island' is still to be built.
The finished galley - Barbara's birthday/galley warming party - with Scott and Joy
"Oscar" was a regular sight in the marina
Work on Miss Molly I included fitting a new VHF radio and tiller autopilot and a general clean up and service of everything. I also took advantage of being moored next to Vela and her tall and very stable mast to take a safety line from her while I climbed our rather spindly mast to check the rigging and give it a cleaning scrape.
Scraping the mast
While we were there, Karin heard from a couple of distant cousins of hers who were in San Francisco for a short while. They decided to meet up. Barbara offered to lend us her Cadillac to go and pick them up, so we had the marvelous experience of driving into San Francisco in (what seemed to us Europeans) an enormous, V8-engined, American automobile, meeting them and driving them down to Half Moon Bay. That weekend, we celebrated Barbara's birthday in Vela with her newly constructed galley. A lovely evening was had by all, but it was early November and getting high time we were heading on southwards.
A day or two after this, we woke to the sight of a rather impressive junk rigged boat out in the outer harbour. They were just getting ready to head on, so we quickly jumped in the dinghy and went out to get a better look and a photo or two in the early morning light. The boat turned out to be called "Bertie" and, although sporting a junk main sail, also had a lug-rigged mizzen, a stayed mast and jib-type foresail(s). She was a very capable-looking craft. Years later, I was to discover that they had made a sort of 'pilgrimage' up to the Pacific Northwest and the Gulf Islands to meet Allen Farrell and China Cloud and had released a set of three YouTube videos of it all. (See part one here) (Part two here) (Part three here)
A day or two after this, we woke to the sight of a rather impressive junk rigged boat out in the outer harbour. They were just getting ready to head on, so we quickly jumped in the dinghy and went out to get a better look and a photo or two in the early morning light. The boat turned out to be called "Bertie" and, although sporting a junk main sail, also had a lug-rigged mizzen, a stayed mast and jib-type foresail(s). She was a very capable-looking craft. Years later, I was to discover that they had made a sort of 'pilgrimage' up to the Pacific Northwest and the Gulf Islands to meet Allen Farrell and China Cloud and had released a set of three YouTube videos of it all. (See part one here) (Part two here) (Part three here)
Bertie in the outer harbour of Half Moon Bay
On the morning of the 6th November, we were ready and it was time to say our goodbyes to Barbara and Scott and the other good people of the marina there that we'd got to know. Joy was joining us for the sail down as far as San Diego - she'd sailed with John on Brave Heart from Crescent City to Half Moon Bay, and by joining us as far as the US/Mexico border she would complete her sailing of the entire coast of California. Bright and early - about 06:00 - we threw off the lines and motored away from Half Moon Bay into the calm, early morning Pacific Ocean. The wind picked up as the morning progressed and we sailed past Pidgeon Point lighthouse and across Monterey Bay at 5 - 6 knots with one reef in. It was great sailing.
At about 02:00 on the 7th November, as we were directly off Point Sur, we were hailed on the VHF by the US coastguard, who asked to board us. I, in return, asked them to wait a while until we were out of the waters directly off of the Point Sur cape and they agreed and said they'd drop in behind us. After about 30 mins of being followed by a US coastguard ship, I radioed them back and told them we were now comfortable with the boarding idea. 5 or 6 burly coastguard types came across in an R.I.B.; one stayed in the inflatable and the others all boarded Miss Molly I, which made her rather full! It was a dark night and we were running pretty much dead downwind; Karin was on the helm. One of the coastguard men had positioned himself between Karin and the compass, blocking her view of it. Inevitably, this led to an unexpected gybe, causing the several men standing in the cockpit area to duck rapidly as the sail swung across. "Is it going to do that again?", asked one. "Probably, if you keep standing in front of that compass", came a somewhat testy reply!
I went below with the one coastguard chap who was actually doing the inspection. Joy was doing a good job of feigning sleep on the sea berth. "Are you asleep Joy?", I inquired. "Well, I was!" - More testiness!
We went through the safety equipment. When he asked to see our approved lifevests (the self-inflating ones we were wearing were still not approved at this stage), I reached into the storage locker behind the heads (toilet) and grabbed the box of tatty old lifevests we kept for just this occasion. Now please picture the scene; we were running dead downwind in a stiff breeze and following seas - this is a particularly rolly point of sail, so the boat is rolling significantly - it was a very dark night; the boat is small and pretty dark; it's all fairly damp and probably a bit smelly. As I reached into the locker behind the heads, the coastguard officer became aware that there's quite a bit of space there. "How far does that go back?", he asked. "About 6 feet" I replied, "You can crawl up in there and have a look if you like". There ended his interest!
Now, I don't want to give the wrong impression here. I know the coastguard are just doing their job, and doing it well. They have to inspect boats for the correct safety equipment and they also have to guard the coast from the arrival of unwanted people and goods various. They did a thorough job and were as polite and friendly as their job allows. The very fact that they respected my request for them to wait, when I wasn't happy being boarded in the waters we were in when their original request came shows a level of professionalism that in turn deserves respect! And we passed the inspection (again)!
With that over, we continued our way southwards. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the wind dropped in the hours before sunrise and we basically motored for the whole of the next day, on to the anchorage at San Simeon, below the Hearst castle. Our new tiller pilot steered the whole of this second day at sea, and had performed the job marvelously, and having three people on board also meant that we shared the night watches between the three of us, which was very comfortable!
We left San Simeon shortly after 07:00 the next morning for the short hop down to Morro Bay. The wind was light and initially on the beam, but turned to come from the southwest as the day progressed, and we sailed on to windward in the ocean swells until the wind dropped just a couple of miles short of our destination. We motored in and picked up a mooring from the Morro Bay Yacht Club at about 3:30pm.
At about 02:00 on the 7th November, as we were directly off Point Sur, we were hailed on the VHF by the US coastguard, who asked to board us. I, in return, asked them to wait a while until we were out of the waters directly off of the Point Sur cape and they agreed and said they'd drop in behind us. After about 30 mins of being followed by a US coastguard ship, I radioed them back and told them we were now comfortable with the boarding idea. 5 or 6 burly coastguard types came across in an R.I.B.; one stayed in the inflatable and the others all boarded Miss Molly I, which made her rather full! It was a dark night and we were running pretty much dead downwind; Karin was on the helm. One of the coastguard men had positioned himself between Karin and the compass, blocking her view of it. Inevitably, this led to an unexpected gybe, causing the several men standing in the cockpit area to duck rapidly as the sail swung across. "Is it going to do that again?", asked one. "Probably, if you keep standing in front of that compass", came a somewhat testy reply!
I went below with the one coastguard chap who was actually doing the inspection. Joy was doing a good job of feigning sleep on the sea berth. "Are you asleep Joy?", I inquired. "Well, I was!" - More testiness!
We went through the safety equipment. When he asked to see our approved lifevests (the self-inflating ones we were wearing were still not approved at this stage), I reached into the storage locker behind the heads (toilet) and grabbed the box of tatty old lifevests we kept for just this occasion. Now please picture the scene; we were running dead downwind in a stiff breeze and following seas - this is a particularly rolly point of sail, so the boat is rolling significantly - it was a very dark night; the boat is small and pretty dark; it's all fairly damp and probably a bit smelly. As I reached into the locker behind the heads, the coastguard officer became aware that there's quite a bit of space there. "How far does that go back?", he asked. "About 6 feet" I replied, "You can crawl up in there and have a look if you like". There ended his interest!
Now, I don't want to give the wrong impression here. I know the coastguard are just doing their job, and doing it well. They have to inspect boats for the correct safety equipment and they also have to guard the coast from the arrival of unwanted people and goods various. They did a thorough job and were as polite and friendly as their job allows. The very fact that they respected my request for them to wait, when I wasn't happy being boarded in the waters we were in when their original request came shows a level of professionalism that in turn deserves respect! And we passed the inspection (again)!
With that over, we continued our way southwards. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the wind dropped in the hours before sunrise and we basically motored for the whole of the next day, on to the anchorage at San Simeon, below the Hearst castle. Our new tiller pilot steered the whole of this second day at sea, and had performed the job marvelously, and having three people on board also meant that we shared the night watches between the three of us, which was very comfortable!
We left San Simeon shortly after 07:00 the next morning for the short hop down to Morro Bay. The wind was light and initially on the beam, but turned to come from the southwest as the day progressed, and we sailed on to windward in the ocean swells until the wind dropped just a couple of miles short of our destination. We motored in and picked up a mooring from the Morro Bay Yacht Club at about 3:30pm.
Joy on the helm
Morro rock at the entrance to Morro Bay
On a mooring in Morro Bay
What a great spot Morro Bay is - a picturesque working and pleasure boating harbour, it has the characteristic, landmark rock marking the entrance to the bay, an excellent protected anchorage, a friendly yacht club that allow cruisers to use their facilities and a beautiful, shell-festooned sand spit where we spent many hours collecting sea shells, including several sand dollars. It was also a place where we came to learn something about Joy! She had come aboard with only a small sports bag for her possessions, and yet every time we saw her, she was wearing a different hat! That bag must have been mainly filled with hats!
Hard at work collecting shells
On the beach; Morro Bay
The big headland on this coast is Point Conception, where the (basically) north/south line of the coast suddenly turns east/west to begin the great curve past Santa Barbara, past L.A. and on to San Diego. This Cape (Point Conception) has quite a reputation for being a gnarly transition and we were keen to get around it in as good conditions as possible. To this end, we planned our departure from Morro Bay to time our passage around Point Conception in the small hours of the morning, when, hopefully, winds would be light and seas kindly.
We set off at about 11:30 am in what was essentially no wind and flat seas. We enjoyed a wonderful display of frolicing seals alongside the boat as we headed out into the ocean, and indeed that whole day was a wildlife spotters dream - we had an excellent show from a school of dolphins playing in the evening phosphorescence/bioluminescence and also had a couple of good whale sightings in the afternoon. The wind gradually picked up as evening rolled on, and by midnight we were sailing nicely alongside the oil rig "Irene" when fog rolled in. We had quite a lively run around Point Arguello in the fog, but luckily, the fog cleared shortly thereafter and we approached Point Conception under clear skies, although the wind was still picking up. However, all went well and we rounded the cape with one reef in, running at about 7 knots in lively surf. The first light of day saw us safely around and motoring in no wind towards Santa Barbara. We motored through that day, enjoying the Southern Californian marine life and summery warmth - we could finally wear summer clothes on the boat! - taking a berth in Santa Barbara marina at about 18:00 that day. It felt good!!
We set off at about 11:30 am in what was essentially no wind and flat seas. We enjoyed a wonderful display of frolicing seals alongside the boat as we headed out into the ocean, and indeed that whole day was a wildlife spotters dream - we had an excellent show from a school of dolphins playing in the evening phosphorescence/bioluminescence and also had a couple of good whale sightings in the afternoon. The wind gradually picked up as evening rolled on, and by midnight we were sailing nicely alongside the oil rig "Irene" when fog rolled in. We had quite a lively run around Point Arguello in the fog, but luckily, the fog cleared shortly thereafter and we approached Point Conception under clear skies, although the wind was still picking up. However, all went well and we rounded the cape with one reef in, running at about 7 knots in lively surf. The first light of day saw us safely around and motoring in no wind towards Santa Barbara. We motored through that day, enjoying the Southern Californian marine life and summery warmth - we could finally wear summer clothes on the boat! - taking a berth in Santa Barbara marina at about 18:00 that day. It felt good!!
Eating fish and chips on the Santa Barbara seafront
Santa Barbara was beautiful - we really liked the atmosphere of the place - but we were heading south and needed to get on. So, a couple of days later, at about 10:00, we headed back out of the marina, into thick fog, on our way towards Santa Catalina Island, one of California's "Channel Islands" that lies about 40 miles or so southwest of Los Angeles. In the summer months, Santa Catalina is apparently heaving with boats and tourists, but we weren't expecting much activity there in mid November. First however, we had to find our way through the gap between Santa Cruz Island and Anacapa Island - a gap that is only about 3 miles wide - in this fog. Of course, being armed with GPS does make this quite a lot easier, and although we transitted the gap in thick fog, we had no problems keeping to what we believed to be the middle of the channel. The worst thing about sailing in fog is the fear of meeting another vessel on the water. We had no radar, which certainly would be helpful in foggy conditions, so kept a thorough watch, listening intently for sounds of other vessels out there, and blowing our fog horn every minute or so. Our fog horn was of the cheap, plastic, blow it yourself variety. It seemed to make quite a loud noise, but I doubt if a ship with motors running would have heard it above the noise of their own propulsion. It is also quite tiring to keep blowing it as time goes on.
The fog lifted briefly at about 16:00, giving us the opportunity to enjoy a marvellous show from a large school of dolphins, but it soon came back with a vengence, leaving us to motor through the night in very poor visibility until the first morning light began to burn it off. We sighted Santa Catalina at about 10:00 and motored on in flat seas to our anchorage in Fisherman's Cove in Isthmus Harbor. Large areas of Isthmus Harbor were laid out with mooring buoys for the summer visitors to moor up at a charge, but, as we expected, the place was empty at this time of year and there seemed to be no problem with us anchoring there for free.
The next day we were underway again - on another overnight pasage to San Diego. We sailed down the picturesque east side of the island. The fishing line was out (as usual) and we landed several mackerel. Off the southern end of the island, Joy was just bringing in another nice-sized mackerel, but struggling a bit to get hold of the fish as it swung around on the end of the line with the rolling of the boat in the not insignificant seas we were experiencing. Another sail boat was approaching us on port tack - we were on starboard - but showed no signs of understanding the rules of the road. I put in a swift tack to avoid the other boat and the motion of the boat swung the fish nicely into Joy's hand. A highly successful manoeuver :-)
The fog lifted briefly at about 16:00, giving us the opportunity to enjoy a marvellous show from a large school of dolphins, but it soon came back with a vengence, leaving us to motor through the night in very poor visibility until the first morning light began to burn it off. We sighted Santa Catalina at about 10:00 and motored on in flat seas to our anchorage in Fisherman's Cove in Isthmus Harbor. Large areas of Isthmus Harbor were laid out with mooring buoys for the summer visitors to moor up at a charge, but, as we expected, the place was empty at this time of year and there seemed to be no problem with us anchoring there for free.
The next day we were underway again - on another overnight pasage to San Diego. We sailed down the picturesque east side of the island. The fishing line was out (as usual) and we landed several mackerel. Off the southern end of the island, Joy was just bringing in another nice-sized mackerel, but struggling a bit to get hold of the fish as it swung around on the end of the line with the rolling of the boat in the not insignificant seas we were experiencing. Another sail boat was approaching us on port tack - we were on starboard - but showed no signs of understanding the rules of the road. I put in a swift tack to avoid the other boat and the motion of the boat swung the fish nicely into Joy's hand. A highly successful manoeuver :-)
Joy lands a nice mackerel whilst wearing yet another hat!
It was a lively sail through the day and into the night. We took in a reef and sailed on in not insignificant seas that became somewhat confused as the night wore on. We took turns on watch, with Karin and Joy sharing their nighttime watch, and by morning we were in sight of Point Loma and the entrance to San Diego Bay. The winds had dropped with the early morning light and we were motorsailing. Unfortunately we made a bit of a poor decision and tried to take a direct route to the Bay entrance, which took us straight into a rather extensive bed of thick and very long kelp. Several strands of this promptly wrapped themselves around the rudder, bringing us to a halt and leaving us ensnared. Obviously we had to disentangle ourselves from this stuff before it got a better hold and started dragging us down into Davey Jones' locker (I exagerate slightly!). Karin took the helm and I grabbed the boathook (we had a very nice and very long boathook with a delightful bronze hook end that I'd got as yet another bargain from Popeye's in Vancouver!). Hanging off the stern, I found I could poke the kelp loose from the rudder as we limped slowly forwards. By continuing to poke the kelp free as it grabbed us, we managed to make slow headway straight through the kelp bed until eventually we were free of it, and dragging a large bunch of it from the lower rudder pintle, we made our way into San Diego Bay.
We had heard that Chula Vista marina was a good place for a short stay - we needed a short stay as we had to visit the Mexican consulate in San Diego to get our visas and the obligatory fishing permit - so we headed on around and down the bay, virtually to the southern end, passing a lot of US navy boats/ships moored at the naval base there, to the marina. We took a berth and made ourselves comfortable - one of the first jobs I did was to dive down and release the large clump of kelp that was still tangled on our lower rudder and had slowed us down significantly on our progress down San Diego Bay. Then it was time to have a look around Chula Vista and San Diego.
We had heard that Chula Vista marina was a good place for a short stay - we needed a short stay as we had to visit the Mexican consulate in San Diego to get our visas and the obligatory fishing permit - so we headed on around and down the bay, virtually to the southern end, passing a lot of US navy boats/ships moored at the naval base there, to the marina. We took a berth and made ourselves comfortable - one of the first jobs I did was to dive down and release the large clump of kelp that was still tangled on our lower rudder and had slowed us down significantly on our progress down San Diego Bay. Then it was time to have a look around Chula Vista and San Diego.
A much-loved buoy in the entrance to San Diego Bay
