Lines Untied
We did it! We untied the lines! We tied them back on in Half Moon Bay, a mere 7.5 hour sail from Emeryville, but we have officially made “the big left turn” (South from the Golden Gate).
I’ve been a mess of emotion these last few days with all of the goodbyes and actually doing what I set out to do 14 years ago. And this marks the close of a very big chapter in my life, the main chapter as an adult. When people ask me where I am from, I don’t say Florida where I was born, or Texas where I went to high school, or certainly not LA and Santa Cruz where I went to college. Nope, I’m Bay Area all the way. I have always believed in the San Francisco / Lost City of Atlantis legend , so in a sense I am leaving my soul behind! 🙂
We stuck to the most recent plan of KKMI for me to make the canvas transition under CoverCraft supervision. Tom & Deb do such amazing work. We left the transition up for the sail down, and boy oh boy does it make the cockpit more comfortable (in this case, blocking lots of cold air). Saturday we sailed back to Emery Cove in Emeryville, and my buddy Larry came along for the ride. It was a gorgeous day. All 2-legged crew had a great day. The 4-legged one did not. In fact she had a very bad day, which later turned my and Harry’s day rather sour given all of the cleanup required. Tuxie (McLovin) has been living on the boat with me for four years. She is fine until the engine goes on, then she’s a mess. Luckily she seems to prefer a little cubby shelf in the bathroom, and we like it because she’s not going
to ruin anything with the 3-P’s (pee/puke/poop). I still try and get her to come out on deck when we’re sailing to get her more acclimated. This time however I was lax and didn’t put her back in the cubby, so she ran around the boat and left a mix of the P’s in multiple locations to remind me of my mistake.
Sunday was the sportsball thing; we couldn’t care less about the game but the party was hosted by dear friends we hadn’t seen in a while. Harry tied 3-ways for first place in the Rib Cookoff. Monday we left a car in Half Moon Bay, got the lay of the land, and a slip # from the harbormaster. I did more crying and Harry did more hugging. Our marina neighbors Jen, JD and Ruby came by for a send-off champagne toast (or 3), and we went to bed early ahead of a 6am departure.
We planned the trip for favorable tides. The wind didn’t cooperate as forecasted, but it didn’t hurt. Feeling the ocean swell again was amazing (for me it’s been a few years since last out); the dolphins came by to wish us well. Here is our trip link (note I’m still futzing with the GPS logging – a bunch of waypoints are missing between 5 and 6 and 6 and 7). Tux did really well in the cubby, and actually wanted to come right out after we docked. We’re in a commercial fishing harbor so I’m guessing she greatly approves of all the new smells. I successfully backed into the slip! (backing in versus forward in is much more difficult, and I still get really nervous doing it).
We may not have gone very far in terms of (nautical) miles, but this may turn out to be the longest trip on our journey.
The current plan is to be in HMB through Feb 26 ish as I have a final work commitment in the office that 3rd week of February. Afterwards we are looking at a jump to Monterey, perhaps with a stopover visit in the Santa Cruz area. If you’re reading this, COME VISIT US IN HALF MOON BAY! There are kayak and stand-up-paddle-board rentals right on the beach, tons of cute little cafes and bars, live music weekends at the brewery, and the fisherman sell their catch right off the dock. Without traffic, it’s barely a 15 minute drive from the city.
