Cygnus' GPS track log from Olympia through Santa Barbara

The link below is to a kmz file showing the voyage of Cygnus to date. Enjoy. :)

Track log: Olympia through Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, CA

We left Morro Bay on Wednesday with a favorable wind in the forecast. The first hour or so was all motoring, then the wind came up and we were able to sail all the way to Point Conception. This is where the California coast turns eastward into the Santa Barbara Channel and on to Los Angeles. We are now officially in Southern California and, until this morning, have been enjoying clear skies and very warm days. Today the weather has turned foul, just as forecast, and we are moored in the marina here to wait for better sailing and a trip to the Channel Islands.

Pete's tablet had some trouble loading pictures in our last couple of posts. This was likely due to poor internet connections. So, here are the missing pictures of our exploits:

Pete enjoying a vineyard in Napa Valley

Historic ships at San Francisco's Aquatic Park

"The Mechanic's" statue on Market Street in San Francisco and some urban ambiance

Scene on Columbus Street in San Francisco after a wonderful pizza dinner in Little Italy

Herr Weinerschnitzel, our trusty sailing crew who keeps watch from an antenna at Cygnus' stern, and the historic ship Balclutha at Aquatic Park

Pete enjoying a stationary San Francisco street car since we are both too cheap to ride one

Sailing out of San Francisco

The tall ship Lady Washington at Half Moon Bay

Kayaking with the Cormorants at San Simeon Bay

An otter enjoys a meal of Dungeness crab while a seagull hopes for a scrap or two

Morro Bay

We have spent a few days here after leaving San Simeon Bay. Morro bay is a sleepy tourist and fishing port. A great place to anchor and wait for a weather window. Very friendly people here. We're hoping to get going again Wednesday, and get around Point Conception.
     We spent some time installing a manual bilge pump in the event we loose our 12 volt system.
    Sorry for the lack of photos. My tablet and the Blogger are having some issues. We hope to resolve them soon.

Half Moon Bay to San Simeon Bay

We motored from San Francisco to Half Moon Bay, arriving at about dinner time. Enjoyed a beautiful sunset while barbecuing, but the infernal flies and the cool weather drove us indoors to enjoy our meal.

Early the next morning we motored out on oily seas. We intended on going only as far as Santa Cruz, but decided to cruz past when a beautiful northwest wind came up. We took advantage of the opportunity and decided to sail overnight to wherever the wind would take us. Unfortunately it died about 1:00 am, and by 6:00 am we gave up and motored on to San Simeon on a gorgeously warm and sunny day. We even got some suntanning in. We arrived at San Simeon about 2:00 pm, set the hook and chilled out with a beer or two while looking at the 160 room Hearst Castle on the hill above us. Somehow, Cygnus holds more appeal to us that the static opulance of Hearst Castle.

Tomorrow, if the weather holds, we will attempt to get to Morrow Bay. Although not our choice of anchorages, the weather may prevent us from moving farther any time soon.

Half Moon Bay

Pete and I flew back to the boat on the 24th of October. After 2 weeks in Quesnel, BC I was ready to get back to finish a few small projects (and one big one), and continue the voyage. Pete was amazed to find so much sunshine and warmth. It was sunny nearly every day, and usually up in the mid 70’s (almost 25 Celsius, eh). We put the roller furling on the boat (this was the big project), which went extremely well. Then we got a sail maker working on revamping our headsail to work on a furler. While this was being done we worked a wide variety of small projects. Eventually I had to ask Pete to stop finding new projects so we could finish and start sailing again.

The Golden Gate Bridge

Along the way we found plenty of time for fun. We spent 3 days exploring San Francisco. This included the art museum at the Legion of Honor, walking all the way across the Golden Gate Bridge (and back again), some great Italian food, chowder in a sourdough bread bowl at Fisherman’s Wharf, Chinatown, the Civic Center, Ghirardelli square (where we loaded up on chocolate), the crookedest street in the world, and more stuff I am forgetting right now. Pete snuck aboard a cable car that was not moving long enough for me to capture the crime photographically (I will not admit to having encouraged this miscreant behavior). We also spent a day in a rental car tasting wine in the Napa Valley. I managed to buy only one overpriced bottle during our wine tasting. On the way home we bought 4 more bottles for the same total price at Wal-Mart that are just as good.

After all this the sail maker had our sail ready. We installed it a few days ago and started test sailing on San Francisco Bay. After anchoring 1 night at Aquatic Park, with a view of Ghirardelli Square, we sailed on out the Golden Gate. We motored (no wind, not much choice) to Half Moon Bay where we found the tall ship Lady Washington on her way out of the harbor on to her next adventure.

Quesnel, BC

Since Dave's arrival in Quesnel I have been enjoying showing him around my city and the surrounding areas. We have visited friends, family and been on a few day hikes to see some of my favourite places. We first hiked to Deserter's Creek, where the creek emerges from an enormous fault in the bedrock. I knew this would interest Dave with his penchant for geology.

Dave and the fault in the bedrock

Pete in the cleft in the rock

The next geologic feature we visited was Quesnel's famous Pinnacles. These are hardened spires of volcanic ash that tower over the valley formed by Baker Creek.

The Pinnacles

No visit to Quesnel would be complete without a visit to Historic Barkerville, a restored ghost town from the late 1800's gold rush. Although officially closed for the season, it was a nice quiet walk through the deserted streets.

Barkerville

   On our return trip to Quesnel, we were extremely lucky to observe a Mountain Caribou licking salt off the roadside. I have never seen one this close in the thirty odd years of living in the area. Dave is here a week and we encounter one! Dave is still complaining about the absence of moose. Maybe next time.

Mountain Caribou

Still not a moose

 We spent Saturday in Prince George where we had lunch with our friend Leanne Ranes and dinner with two of my sisters and their families.

Other than me being sick for a few days with food poisoning, (no, not from Dave's cooking) we have had a great time so far. We are both looking forward to returning to Cygnus at Alameda on the 24th, where we will spend some time installing a new roller furling system and sightseeing in the Bay Area. 
Cheers! Pete.

San Francisco, CA and Quesnel, BC

One week ago (Monday) I left Fort Bragg. The calm seas over the Noyo River bar were an amazing contrast to the violence I witnessed (safely from ashore) at the same location just 2 days earlier. A southerly wind filled in that afternoon complicating my passage of Point Arena with pounding seas and green water over the bow. By about 4 PM I had cleared the point and the seas began to moderate. It is amazing to see how the major headlands affect the wind and seas.

After 1 night drifting at sea to catch a little sleep, I motored past Point Reyes and into Drakes Bay where I anchored for a better sleep before proceeding into San Francisco. Along the way I spotted a few Humpback whales, Pacific White-sided dolphins, and the most amazing pod of porpoises I have ever seen. There were hundreds of them all across the bow and starboard side. A few came up close to the boat to have a close look at me, others were flying through the air (often in pairs). Their activity churned up a huge expanse of the sea.

Point Reyes

The Golden Gate Bridge as I approached under sail.

Alcatraz Island

The new east span of the Oakland Bay Bridge seen from my anchorage at Treasure Island.

Wednesday morning I was ready to go into San Francisco. Off Duxbury Point I had to navigate through one of the largest fishing fleets I have ever seen. There were dozens of commercial trawlers all moving about 2 knots in various directions, along with hundreds of recreational and charter boats – each on a different course at a different speed. Several course changes later I was ready to proceed into Bonita Channel and through the Golden Gate. The wind came up from the west as I passed Point Bonita, so I killed the engine and raised sails. So, for the second time, I had the privilege of transiting the Golden Gate under sail. I can think of no better way to arrive at San Francisco Bay. I anchored that night at Treasure Island with the suspension span of the new Oakland Bay Bridge towering nearly over me.

It is time for a key improvement project I have planned for Cygnus – the installation of a roller furling headsail. So I have obtained moorage for a month at Alameda Marina. My old Genoa (the big headsail) is at Doyle sailmakers (located within the Alameda Marina complex) to be re-worked for roller furling, and the roller furler has arrived. I would begin installation, but…

Arriving in San Francisco Bay and obtaining moorage for a while presented an opportunity for me to travel to Quesnel, BC to see Pete. Saturday I flew from San Francisco to Calgary and on to Quesnel. I am writing this post from Pete’s computer, and I am living ashore (temporarily) for the first time in almost 10 years. Adapting to such oddities as reclining chairs and having to walk more than 3 steps to reach the bathroom is proving quite challenging. In fact walking more than about 10 or 12 steps anywhere without the aid of a dock or dinghy seems really strange.

Today is Canadian Thanksgiving. Pete held his family’s holiday dinner yesterday (freeing today for his children to visit/host their in-laws). All 3 of his children and many of his grandchildren were here. We had a marvelous turkey dinner, and I got to meet a houseful of great people. Everyone had a great time chatting and eating. The day was nearly perfect… just one tiny incident involving a five year old princess a pretty dress and a pile of bear poop.

As any self-respecting swan will fly south for the winter, Pete and I will return to Alameda to install the roller furling system and prepare Cygnus for continuing her flight south. Our plan is to fly to California on Oct 24^th. Once we have the furler working, and complete a few sea trials to learn how to operate it, we will be ready to proceed down the coast of Central and Southern California and on to Mexico.