Central California Coast
The last few months of cruising have been unique and wonderful. Each new location brings new challenges, mistakes, and lessons learned. Before leaving San Francisco, we spent most of our time in marinas and the anchorages we stayed in were relatively calm and protected. Now, we spend most of our time at anchor and are learning to truly live on the ocean, adjusting and adapting to its changing form. It’s necessary to always know the strength and direction of the coming winds, and the size of the incoming waves. There have been days when the boat has felt like our own private island in paradise, and others when it has felt like we’re stuck on an amusement park ride, and we’d give anything to have our feet on solid ground.
We left San Francisco on May 5th and sailed to Half Moon Bay, a 40-mile trip that took us seven and a half hours. Leaving the Bay was a bit rough. We smashed into a steep swell for several hours before we could safely turn south and take the waves at a better angle. Karl got queasy early in the trip and Desi tucked himself away, trembling in fear. However, we had steady wind and were able to sail most of the way, arriving in the anchorage well before dark.
Pillar Point anchorage is a well-protected, spacious anchorage a few miles from the town of Half Moon Bay. It was only a few minutes dinghy ride to get Desi to the beach, allowing us to let him run twice a day. The free dinghy dock in the marina made it easy for us to explore the nearby shops, hike over the ridge for a beautiful ocean view, and enjoy a nice dinner in town. However, after dinner, we were nearly stuck at the dock when we discovered the only way out had barely enough clearance to squeeze under the pier. (Lesson: remember to check the tide!)
My mom flew into San Francisco and came down for a visit before driving me back to Oakland, where we spent a week with family celebrating my sibling’s graduation. Karl worked hard while I was away, installing the last two solar panels on our stern side rails. The weather was mostly foggy after I returned, and we eagerly awaited favorable conditions to head further south.
When our weather window finally arrived, we headed south to Santa Cruz. The 10-hour trip began in fog and misty rain but quickly turned into a sunny day and we enjoyed a very lively sail. We arrived in the evening and dropped our anchor near the wharf, surrounded by the sounds of screaming from the amusement park and a chorus of barking sea lions under the wharf.
We had fun exploring Santa Cruz and it was a new experience to anchor in such a busy area, with all kinds of water activity surrounding us. It was also our first experience dealing with the ocean swell at anchor. The rolling was a lot to take! The constant motion made it difficult to get work done without feeling queasy, and even after stuffing towels in every cupboard, the noises caused by the movement of the boat made it challenging to sleep.
Another inconvenience was that dinghies were not allowed on the nearby beaches. We found various alternatives, including taking the dinghy into the harbor and tying up behind the fuel dock to walk to the beach or town, surfing the sizeable waves into the beach with Desi on the paddleboard (leading to some embarrassing wipe-outs with a crowd of onlookers!), and dropping Karl off at the base of the pier where he often had to run to the ladder to avoid the territorial sea lions just feet away.
After a week of rolling around in Santa Cruz, we were looking forward to being still for a while. We had a lovely last night in town, catching up with friends over a nice dinner. Our hearts were pounding on our return to the boat that night as Karl steered the dinghy out of the harbor and into the pitch-black night with the roar of invisible waves crashing around us. We were relieved when we finally picked out our anchor light from among the stars and lights on the wharf.
We left Santa Cruz the following day and had an easy three-hour sail to Moss Landing, a very small town with a quiet marina housing a small community of liveaboards, some commercial fishing vessels, and many boats that appeared to be in their final resting place. Karl had a work trip approaching, so we decided to spend a month in Moss Landing since the marina was the most affordable in the area. Although our expectations were initially low, in the end, we were quite charmed by Moss Landing. The beaches were gorgeous and never busy, and I loved watching the playful sea otters in the marina.
Karl traveled to the East Coast for work and attended his son’s wedding, while I spent my days cranking out sewing projects and enjoying the beach with Desi. After Karl returned, he spent two days up the mast installing a track for the whisker pole, while I patterned our dinghy to make chaps. During our last week in Moss Landing, two of our good friends came from Portland to visit. We drove to Monterey for a day, had some great beach time together, and took the dinghy up Elkhorn Slough, where otters and seals played all around us and the birdwatching was incredible.
After a month in Moss Landing, we packed up and had a foggy, four-hour sail to Monterey, where we were greeted by sunshine and dolphins as we dropped the hook. Monterey was beautiful. The weather was perfect and there was a great beach for Desi. We felt like the center of attention as the only boat in the anchorage, with kayaks, sailboat races, kids in sailing dinghies, and diving classes near our boat every day. We saw otters, sea lions, jellyfish, dolphins, and even a sunfish floating by. We explored the town, stocked up on provisions, and took the bus to nearby Carmel-by-the-Sea for a day. On our last day, a friend of a friend from Portland met us for brunch and gave us a tour along the scenic 17-mile drive to Pebble Beach.
It was nice not feeling any urgency to get south, having months to kill before the end of Mexico’s hurricane season. Initially, it was challenging to find a balance between exploring new places, doing “work-work” / looking for new employment opportunities, and tending to the boat. Slowly, though, we started to find a natural rhythm. After a day or two of exploring, we would settle into a routine of getting our work done, taking beach breaks with Desi, and checking boat projects off the list. It seemed to happen naturally that once the days began to feel repetitive, we would start discussing our next move, checking the weather, and preparing for departure.
From Monterey, we sailed to San Simeon, an overnight trip in exceptionally calm seas with bright moonlit skies. We saw huge pods of humpback whales and some incredibly athletic dolphins that leaped higher than I’d ever seen. San Simeon anchorage is typically a quick stop-over for sailors because there is no town in walking distance, no dinghy dock, and the large breaking waves make it difficult to land a dinghy on the beach. We almost capsized our dinghy twice in our attempts to get to shore and had to work through some communication challenges, but valuable lessons were learned! We spent a day touring Hearst Castle, a beautiful mansion full of unique art and architectural elements from around the world, and later we hiked around Donnay Point for some stunning views.
The seas were starting to build, so after two nights in San Simeon, we decided to head for the more protected waters of Morro Bay. It was a lively five-hour sail through thick fog and large following seas. The only wildlife we saw other than birds was a constant stream of egg-yolk jellyfish floating by. Morro Rock, a prominent feature marking the entrance to Morro Bay, was completely invisible in the thick fog, but we made it safely across the bar and set our anchor just before dark.
Morro Bay is a great little town and once again we were in the center of harbor activity, anchored next to the main channel. Desi got two beach trips a day to the State Park beach which was only minutes from the boat. Circling our boat all day were kids learning to sail, tour boats, party boats, fishing boats, kayakers, and many sea lions and otters. We spent a day walking around town, checking out the shops, and visiting Morro Rock. The next day, after discovering it was the last day to return our failed GoPro, we hopped a bus to San Luis Obispo, which turned out to be a fun town with lots to see. Another day, we took the dinghy up the estuary and found a great lunch spot on a huge sand dune with not another person in sight. After a week in Morro Bay, we stocked up on groceries, did our laundry, filled our water tank, and set sail for Avila Beach.
The trip to Avila Beach was fairly uneventful. It was foggy and we had less wind than anticipated, leaving us to motor half the time. We arrived before sunset and found a spot to anchor between the two piers, just off the main beach. Though not as challenging as San Simeon, we did have to use caution when beaching the dinghy, but it was good practice and we still managed to get Desi to shore every day. Finding a place to leave the dinghy involved a longer trek through the large mooring field to the main wharf, where we tied the dinghy to the base of a ladder before climbing up to street level.
A free trolley conveniently stops right near the wharf and we caught it to the nearby town of Pismo Beach and walked around for an afternoon. It was a weekend and the beaches were packed, but we saw some awesome whale breaches from the pier and had fun window-shopping at the outlet mall while waiting for the next trolley.
We spent the rest of the evening in Avila Beach, a quaint and touristy little town. We grabbed beers at a little bar and listened to live music while marveling that we could see Otaria bobbing peacefully just beyond the busy beachfront. It was one of those moments that occurs often for me, where all stressful thoughts melt away and I am struck by the fact that I’m looking out on a beautiful postcard-perfect view, and my home is smack dab in the middle of it. In these moments I want to pinch myself because it’s so surreal to be living in what was a dream only a few years ago.
We were apprehensive about the next leg of our trip, which involved rounding Point Conception, the transition point between central and southern California. Point Conception is known for its rough sailing conditions and we had been told to anticipate double the forecasted wind speeds and wave heights, which made even a fairly mild forecast feel concerning. We took our time in Avila Beach, celebrating our one-year anniversary of leaving Portland with a trip to the Port San Luis lighthouse and cocktails on the beach. We took our time analyzing different weather windows until finally, we felt comfortable with our departure plan.
The trip to Santa Barbara took 23 hours. We departed in the evening to time rounding Conception in the early morning, while still arriving in Santa Barbara by sunset. The fog rolled in soon after our departure, but the wind was excellent and we were excited to sail through the night for the first time without needing the motor. We had been told to expect a significant weather change once around Point Conception and this proved to be true. After a long night sailing blindly through thick fog, we rounded Conception into a wonderfully warm and sunny day. The seas calmed significantly and the wind died to nothing. When I awoke for my morning watch, I stripped off layers of clothing and set to work removing the cockpit enclosure, knowing it would be a long time before another cold night at sea.
We sunbathed on deck and enjoyed the beautiful coastline. Halfway through the day, I was down in the cabin cleaning when Karl yelled “Karinate, come up here now!” Knowing that meant wildlife, I bolted up on deck to find the boat surrounded by dolphins in every direction as if the ocean were boiling with them! We were awestruck, not knowing where to look, and Desi ran around in circles, barking like we were under attack. After a very long but pleasant day, we finally arrived in Santa Barbara and set our anchor in front of a beautiful palm-tree-lined beach with towering hills beyond, relieved and excited to be in Southern California!
