Caution, you are entering the full spin zone … reality is over rated.
Freedom Won left the dock in Alameda, mid day with Captain John, Skip, Betty and Erik aboard. We were leaving in a hurry to fit into a weather window. Dan and friends were aboard his Islander 36 to escort us out the Golden Gate. Freedom Won is a 1977 Islander 36; it has raced many seasons, but this is the first long cruise. Weeks of preparation, equipment upgrades and new charts have been loaded aboard. It is time to go for the Baja Ha-ha.
A difficulty developed as we passed under the Golden Gate Bridge; Skip and I had told Betty that the boat would no
t turn left, to head south. John ended up jibing/tacking around to the right and finally set a course for southern waters; Betty got the joke three days later; the liberal left is slipping (Skip and I have been nominated for a Nobel in Humor … we think we are a shoe in).
Winds were light once we left the bay. As night fell, we motor-sailed south. The following seas were rising up through the cockpit drains soaking our feet; it makes for a long watch; now I wished I had packed my boots. Our watch schedule calls for two people at a time for four hours. Conversation fades into the morning. The sky alternates with a blaze of a billion stars and complete overcast. Hopefully the big boats see us.
Woke up to water over the floor boards down below; the bilges were full. An inspection of the rudder packing revealed a surge of sea water into the boat with each following wave. This is not a good time to find out that your electric bilge pump does not work!!! Fortunately, anxious people can move a lot of water with a manual pump. We discussed out situation (35 miles off shore in a leaking boat with a dysfunctional bilge pump) and voted to head for Monterrey bay, 55 miles up wind. Given the wind and the current, Monterrey bay was 25 hours away; would the boat float? We looked at other possibilities and chose Morro Bay, 12 hours, downwind, following current, following seas, more water in the boat. Since you are reading this, we made it into Morro Bay a little after night fall on a flood tide.
The entrance to Morro Bay can be tricky and rough as exhibited by the Coast Guard boat that rolled there during a storm a few years ago. We were fortunate and had no trouble. The Morro Bay yacht club had no space at the dock so we ventured down to the city park. I always park here, right under the sign “No Overnight Parking, Park Closed at 10:00 pm.”
Freedom Won left the dock in Alameda, mid day with Captain John, Skip, Betty and Erik aboard. We were leaving in a hurry to fit into a weather window. Dan and friends were aboard his Islander 36 to escort us out the Golden Gate. Freedom Won is a 1977 Islander 36; it has raced many seasons, but this is the first long cruise. Weeks of preparation, equipment upgrades and new charts have been loaded aboard. It is time to go for the Baja Ha-ha.
A difficulty developed as we passed under the Golden Gate Bridge; Skip and I had told Betty that the boat would no
t turn left, to head south. John ended up jibing/tacking around to the right and finally set a course for southern waters; Betty got the joke three days later; the liberal left is slipping (Skip and I have been nominated for a Nobel in Humor … we think we are a shoe in).Winds were light once we left the bay. As night fell, we motor-sailed south. The following seas were rising up through the cockpit drains soaking our feet; it makes for a long watch; now I wished I had packed my boots. Our watch schedule calls for two people at a time for four hours. Conversation fades into the morning. The sky alternates with a blaze of a billion stars and complete overcast. Hopefully the big boats see us.
Woke up to water over the floor boards down below; the bilges were full. An inspection of the rudder packing revealed a surge of sea water into the boat with each following wave. This is not a good time to find out that your electric bilge pump does not work!!! Fortunately, anxious people can move a lot of water with a manual pump. We discussed out situation (35 miles off shore in a leaking boat with a dysfunctional bilge pump) and voted to head for Monterrey bay, 55 miles up wind. Given the wind and the current, Monterrey bay was 25 hours away; would the boat float? We looked at other possibilities and chose Morro Bay, 12 hours, downwind, following current, following seas, more water in the boat. Since you are reading this, we made it into Morro Bay a little after night fall on a flood tide.
The entrance to Morro Bay can be tricky and rough as exhibited by the Coast Guard boat that rolled there during a storm a few years ago. We were fortunate and had no trouble. The Morro Bay yacht club had no space at the dock so we ventured down to the city park. I always park here, right under the sign “No Overnight Parking, Park Closed at 10:00 pm.”
Up early the next morning to test motors, tighten packing, buy bilge pumps and run through frustrating diagnostics …. The pump discharge pipe was plugged with sand; the packing had a little take up …. So it looked like we could head back out to sea. My bags had been stored on the floor and were soaked; salt water drenched underwear is the pits; no matter how long you shower at the yacht club, putting on wet clothes makes it all futile.An extra fifty dollars to open the fuel pump after hours. It nearly cost a lot more: $1,000 and five years in jail. Betty was topping off the jerry cans when they belched overboard. Who was waiting twenty feet away to fuel? … Homeland Security’s Coast Guard. Fortunately, I think they were watching Betty’s butt in the air and missed the incident. We set out to sea after dark heading for Point Arguello and Conception. We were under star lit sky’s, between weather fronts, heading south. Conception has a well earned reputation for difficult passages. Point Arguello was first with a transit two miles off shore between two yellow buoys. It passed in my sleep on John’s watch. Skip and I had the watch at Conception. Heading south on a night like this beats beating north; 25 knot winds and choppy waves; fairly uneventful.
We passed the “Chrystal Ship” oil production platforms. As the sun rose we plotted a course for Catalina Island. Here in the Santa Barbara ship channel there were no ships. It must be a sign of the economy.
While washing dishes, the water ran out. Four people on board and a fresh water flushed head … well you do the numbers, not enough water. Time to start up the brand new, water maker; but there was only a trickle. Something was not putting out; wait for Catalina.
We arrived in Catalina long before sunrise; a boat at sea is on 24/7. It was good to tie up and rest. With dirty dishes in the sink and no water we went out for a great breakfast on shore. John set about trouble shooting the water maker while Skip, Betty and Erik trekked around Avalon and bought a few sundries. Topped up fuel and water; the water maker had not heeded Johns efforts and still would not work. We were off to San Diego in the afternoon. Light winds with intermittent sailing.
I had the watch as we approached the safe water buoy, SD, blinking its identification dot-dash at three in the morning. Betty took the helm to guide us through the red-right-returning buoys into San Diego Bay. Near the Harbor Police dock we hit a wall of fog and the city disappeared. Creeping forward with radar and GPS we landed safely at the dock. Quickly asleep and just as quickly awakened by Homeland Security. So they wanted to know what part of Mexico we had come from and when … I thought they were supposed to know all of this!! … but after twenty questions, standing in my underwear with nothing to hide, they accepted we had come from the US and moved on to wake up the next boat.
After securing a berth and accessing the work to be done on Freedom Won, John informed the crew he would not be preceding on the Baja Ha-ha and we should find another boat. Skip found Seahorse V with room for all of us.
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