"Because in the end, you won't remember the time you spent working in the office or mowing your lawn. Climb that goddam mountain." - Jack Kerouac
This blog spans September 25th - October 17th, 2002 where we coastal hop from San Francisco to Newport Beach, California. So nice to slow down after our big passage and begin the true cruising life.
San Francisco to Newport Beach
We departed San Francisco in the fog on September 25, 2002 and began sailing our way down the California coast in short day or overnight hops. Over the next three weeks we explored numerous California coastal communities and attractions at a leisurely pace.
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| Map from San Fran to San Diego |
September 27th, 2002 - Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz is a vibrant University town and popular with the surfers. From this vantage point, crowds of onlookers often gather to watch surfing competitions.
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| Surfers in Santa Cruz |
September 30th, 2002 - Monterey
Monterey, just south and across the Monterey Bay from Santa Cruz, was a fabulous place to visit, with its spectacular scenery, warm weather, blue skies, world renowned Pebble Beach golf course, and the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
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| Beautiful Monterey coastline |
October 1st, 2002 - Monterey Bay Aquarium
Monterey Bay Aquarium was a fascinating homeschool field trip for our family. If I recall correctly, the aquarium used to be the site of a fish-canning plant. When the plant closed down, enterprising individuals with a vision created what has become a world class facility. Click the image to come into the Aquarium for a closer look.
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| A special pearl |
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| Jelly fish |
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| Coral Reef Fish |
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| Touch tanks |
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| Cute little unknown guy. |
Hey hey, Forrest, it's the BubbaGump Shrimp Company!
Trivia - where was the movie Forrest Gump filmed?
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| Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. |
Thursday, October 3rd, 2002 - Kayaking in the Monterey Civic Marina
Joel and his friend, Evan, from s/v Evolution have a right to look worried. The sea lions swimming about are much larger than they are and very curious.
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| Joel & Evan kayaking |
Sunday, October 6th, 2002 - San Luis Obispo
After leaving Monterey, we sailed directly to Port San Luis Obispo for a couple of nights. We entered into this bay in fog so thick that Chris had to stand at the bow of the boat calling out directions so we could pick our way through crab traps and anchored boats. No sooner had we gotten our anchor down and out came the sun. Good as any day to try boogie boarding so off to the beach. Here, Joel hangs 10 on a big roller....
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| Joel's first time boogie boarding |
Monday, October 7th, 2002 - Santa Barbara
Our next challenge was to round Point Conception without getting beaten up by strong winds. We sailed as recommended through the night with benign conditions. Almost instantly, we were treated to a rise in temperature as the cooler Pacific north-westerlies became increasingly blanketed behind the cape. We were now officially in Southern California. Our first stop was Santa Barbara, a city that likes to call itself the American Riviera. It was easy to see why.
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| Main pier at Santa Barbara |
Santa Barbara Plaza - Here's a view of one of many streets in this town, renowned for shopping. There was also a weekly market where fresh produce was available, though it seemed that every time we moved a bit further south, the produce in the markets got a bit more expensive (and so did real estate, for that matter).
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| Quaint Santa Barbara street |
Santa Barbara Public Library - One of many the libraries we visited in California.
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| Santa Barbara Public Library |
Libraries were a good place to beat the hot afternoon heat, catch up on news, access the internet, and let the kids do some schoolwork.
Friday, October 11th, 2002 - Heading off problems ...
So you think it's the life of leisure, do you? Well tying up to a dock also means getting certain jobs crossed off the job list. Here we decided to rebuild the "head" before it became a real necessity, and while parts and a good working area were readily accessible. Good thing we weren't tied next to one of the many mega-yachts that frequent Santa Barbara!
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| Making the best of a crappy job! |
Monday, October 14, 2002 - Santa Cruz Island
We left Santa Barbara and sailed south 25 miles to spend a few days at the beautiful and rugged island of Santa Cruz, the largest island off the California coast and part of the Channel Islands National Park and Nature Conservancy. Believe it or not, the islands have been inhabited for over 10,000 years! We had a great hike to the top, complete with wild pigs and gorgeous panoramic views.
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| Santa Cruz Island panoramic view |
Thursday, October 17th, 2002 - Our first LA traffic jam!
From Santa Cruz Island we did a direct passage to Newport Beach, just south of Los Angeles. And low and behold, our first LA traffic jam!. Actually, all these ships were waiting to get into port at Long Beach and unload their cargo. The ongoing longshoremen's strike didn't help matters. We crossed their path at right angles.
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| Our first LA traffic jam |
Well that's another piece of our journey. Next up Log 5 - Disneyland, here we come!
