I got in to Sausalito yesterday at 1:30. Got my dingy off the deck and in the water, then went and registered. (I'm staying at the Sausalito Yacht Club for FREE, as the Blue Water Cruising Club has an arrangement with them....) I had a loooong hawwwwwt shower, then a beer and a meal (that I didn't have to cook!) and got back to the boat at 4:30. At 4:32 I was dead asleep and didn't wake up until 7:30 this morning..... I feel like a new man today! I can't believe I'm here with my boat! AND, I get to do this for a looooong time! It's very cool. I look out my window at Alcatraz and downtown San Francisco. The trip down was.... cool, exciting, terrifying, anxious, magical, surprising, eye opening, and humbling.... For the first 4 days I motored. There was practically no wind and I wanted to get this first kind of "hardcore" bit of coast over with as quickly as I could... and it's a good thing I did..... By the end of the 4th day, I was just past Cape Mendicino (the crux of the whole trip, where the weather can be NASTY, to say the least) and the weather forecast was saying that the wind should pick up the next morning to a leisurely 10 to 15 knots. Great! I thought. I'll finally be able to sail and turn this bloody engine off. Just as it was getting dark the wind picked up to about 15 knots. I thought, cool! it's here early. So I got the sails up and hooked up the windvane (which steers the boat just using the wind) for the first time. It took about an hour to get it working, but it seemed to be doing well just as darkness was falling. The wind kept picking up more and more, and I kept reducing sail until all I had up was a little scrap of sail at the front. By this time it was pitch black. And I mean BLACK! I couldn't see a thing. No moon, no stars..... BLACK! The wind by this time was up in the 25 to 30 range, but there were these "gusts" that would last for 20 or 30 minutes that were in the 35 to 40 range. Just enough to start blowing the tops of the waves off in streamers..... I just kept thinking, what if this just keeps picking up more and more? To say I was scared shitless would be a huge understatement! Needless to say, I didn't sleep a wink the whole night! I just sat up and watched, bug eyed and mesmerized, at these huge (to me) waves breaking all around the boat, and wishing the dawn would come so I could see what the hell was happening.... WHAT a night! To experienced sailors, what I went through would "just be a bit of a blow." But to me, it was the biggest seas I've ever been in, and it all happened at night. Thank god for the windvane! It steered to boat the whole night, and much better than I could have OR my autopilot would have. It steered us for the next 2 1/2 days, right into San Francisco without a hiccup. It's cool... I like it a lot.... in fact, I think I might be falling in love.... but I've maybe been out alone just a little too long....! Merkava was incredible. She really loves it out here. I kept thinking, wow it's like she's made for this. Then I'd think, of course she was you idiot! But really, she took everything so well. I can see why everyone raves about the Fraser 41's for offshore sailing. Merkava is comfortable at sea. She takes everything well and with ease. I didn't know it at the time, but I couldn't have been matched with a better boat. So when I got to San Francisco, I was a little tired. The one night I had the weather, and then the next night I couldn't get any sleep because I was by then in the main shipping channel into San Francisco and was kept busy dodging freighters all night. But I'm sooooo glad I'm here. It's so cool. I think I'll hang out here for awhile and then head to Santa Cruz to visit Steve and Melissa, a surfer and his soon to be wife, who loves really, really good wine. I'm hoping to get some surfing in while I'm there. Then I might head to Santa Barbera and maybe explore the islands off that coast. Then! off to San Diego.  |
| My neighbor in Sausalito. (Merkava in the foreground) A nice guy... came over wanting to borrow some wax.... go figure.... This yacht was the "talk of the town" while I was there. A Russian billionaire owns it and was reported to cost in the 300 million dollar range. |
Merkava approaching the Golden Gate bridge.
 |
| Just a little psyched! Approaching the Golden Gate bridge, a lifelong goal of mine. A little bleary eyes after more than 2 days without sleep, but extremely happy! |
 |
| Point Reyes, San Francisco. First sight of land since Washington! I got a real San Fran welcome.... fog! Only 4 more hours to go to Sausalito! |
 |
| This little bird was sooo tired. It came to say hi when I was 110 miles offshore. |
 |
| Inside the boat got to be a bit of a shambles |
 |
| Day 5, after night 4. It looks calm in the photo, but the seas are still in the 8 foot range.... |
 |
| Freighters, freighters..... always fucking freighters..... |
 |
| Leaving Westport in the fog. The last piece of land I saw before San Francisco was only 1/4 mile away. By the time the fog cleared in the afternoon I was about 30 miles offshore. |
 |
| Surfing Westport Washington. It felt like I had officially started into my new life of a sail/surf bum! |
 |
| Merkava parked in front of the Empress hotel, downtown Victoria |
 |
| A gorgeous, blood red sunrise leaving Salt Spring Island |
