Saturday 16 December 2017

Napa Valley Marina to Santa Cruz



 Sal Darago was launched at Napa Valley Marina on Monday 4th December, after 12 days of hard labour in the workyard. All the staff were friendly and helpful, the chandlery is well stocked with marine hardware and groceries and you can liveaboard and work on your own boat (unusual in California).

Jeremy antifouling
Two days after launching, we woke to find ice on the decks and frost on the pontoons. Sometimes it was so cold at night we slept under two duvets with a hot water bottle each, wearing hats and thermal socks. In the daytime it was warm and sunny and shorts could sometimes be worn.
Heading for the slipway

We met Seth, Sophie and Casey on their yacht, Liberty. Seth was very helpful to us in the summer and continued to be so with his invaluable information about anchorages in the Sea of Cortez, which is our destination in Mexico. Thank you Seth and co.

The maiden voyage went well, motoring down the Napa River and into San Pablo Bay. As darkness fell we anchored in a strong, tidal current off China Camp, where the wind increased to 17 knots, giving us a bumpy first night on anchor.

Almost afloat
Jeremy had contacted Anthony, the Harbourmaster at Clipper Cove, Treasure Island before we left the UK. Last time we anchored. This time we had a berth in the marina and made use of the excellent toilet and shower facilities in the nearby ex-Naval Administration building.
It's a long way up to the prison

The next day we went under the Bay Bridge twice and crossed San Francisco Bay to Aquatic Park, where we anchored for two nights with permission from the relevant authorities. Simon and Erin arrived by train and taxi in the evening. Jeremy picked them up from the beach in the dinghy, where a rare wave swept over them, giving them a damp start to the weekend.
Next batch for the cells

Who stole the bed?
This is how they escaped
The Rock

Simon, Erin and Jeremy on Alcatraz
Arriving on Alcatraz
On Saturday 9th December, all four of us went to Alcatraz. We had a great day, spending as much time as we wanted on the former prison island, tasting clam chowder served in sour dough bowls on Pier 39, drinking beers in Red Jack’s Saloon and spending quarters in the antique slot machines at Musee Mechanique.
Not quite drunk and disorderly
Back at the beach in Aquatic Park, someone had left two bottles of beer, a lifejacket and a metal nut in the dinghy. We left them on the beach. Later, Jeremy found a message on his phone from Joe Butler saying he had left the gifts. Joe is the telephone contact for the rowing and swimming club, who told us where we should leave our dinghy and how to exit Hyde Pier when the Maritme Museum was closed. The next morning the beers and lifejacket had gone. Jeremy and Simon found the nut, which came from Alcatraz. Thank you for the souvenir, Joe, and the advice. Sorry we left the beers.
Fun in Musee Mechanique
Sunday morning was relaxed and sunny after a cold night. We motored down to Redwood City Marina with Simon and Erin doing most of the steering and Jeremy providing bacon and egg butties. Once safely tied up and fees paid for three nights, we left in their car for Paulo Alto. We parked the car in the basement of the offices where Simon works. From there we walked to the world famous Stanford University campus and then to McArthur Park Restaurant where Simon and Erin treated us to a delicious dinner.
Yummy meal out

We slept at their apartment in Sunnyvale on Sunday and Monday, returning to SD on Tuesday with clean clothes and loads of shopping. Simon joined us for dinner while Erin went to a works’ “do”.

After returning to Clipper Cove, Treasure Island for another night we left San Francisco Bay on Thursday 14th December, motorsailing along the waterfront and under the Golden Gate Bridge. Wow!

Approaching the Golden Gate Bridge
Quick turnaround for a better view
Several hours later, we anchored in well-protected Half Moon Bay and watched the sunset from our cockpit. From there it was a 48 mile motor in a  big, long swell, but little wind, to Santa Cruz. Here we are spending two nights in the Small Craft Harbour sheltering from gale force winds. It’s only a 45 minute drive from Sunnyvale.  Simon and Erin have come down to go surfing and tonight we’re all going out for dinner at Johnny’s.

Half Moon Bay

Monday 27 November 2017

Back in the USA



Hello from Napa Valley, California. We arrived here on Wednesday after spending the night with Simon and Erin in Sunnyvale.

Simon, Erin and me in Sunnyvale.
Two weeks ago in the UK, I had the remains of a tooth extracted. That put me out of action for a day; then it was all go spending treasured time with Emily, Ben and the grandchildren, packing and cleaning the house.
Hever Castle, Kent
One week ago we went to a very special celebration at Hever Castle in Kent. A surprise 70th birthday party for Jeremy’s brother, Gavin, was organised by his four children. 

Back row: Helen and Gavin. Front row: Julian, Amanda and Robin
It was a wonderful evening and we felt honoured to be invited to join Gavin and Eileen, their four children and wives/husbands and their eleven grandchildren, along with older brother, Ritchie and his wife, Catherine. The celebration continued the next day with lunch for everyone at Robin and Victoria’s house followed by a Spencer family tradition, the Pub Game.
Helen made this fabulous cake
 Once we were back in Suffolk we had one day before our journey to Sal Darago in Napa Valley. We still haven’t stopped, except to sleep. We were relieved that SD was in a structurally sound condition, infested with flies outside, but OK inside. There had been huge forest fires nearby but all was well at the marina.
The roof was cleaner than the side decks
 Simon and Erin spent Thanksgiving with Erin’s brother and sister in Los Angeles. We were invited, which was very kind and thoughtful, but we needed to start on the long list of jobs that have to be done before SD can be launched. So far, Jeremy has sanded down SD’s bottom in preparation for antifouling and I have scrubbed the filthy decks. Both sails are on, along with all the halyards and sheets. Unusually, it rained for most of the day today but Jeremy still managed to remove the propeller so that he could replace the cutlass bearing, which was fitted in Gladstone, Australia in 2011. We’ve done a few miles since then!

Cockpit muck
Finally, a very big thank you to Simon and Erin for going food shopping for us, ordering a cruising guide, putting us up and sorting out a new smart phone for Jeremy.

Sunday 29 October 2017

Nearly November

All of a sudden the summer has gone and the daylight saving time has been removed so we are back to GMT or UTC. We seem to have been busy since returning from Mull.
Walkng in the forest

I replaced the broken screen on the Lenovo
We did a bit of gardening, fence painting, digging and then decided to return to Mull to sort out the shed roof. It took a week, but there was a noticeable improvement, I think.
Front garden shed BEFORE
and AFTER
Of course there were other jobs such as a new sink
and bath taps with shower to match
On the way home, we stopped at Skelmersdale for a thirty year reunion with my form which left West bank High School in 1987. Sorry it is a poor photo.
While we were there we passed our old house in Mossy Lea Road which is having an extension where the garage used to be.
Back in Suffolk, the weather was so reasonable we were able to have BBQ lunches in the garden.
Some days we got to see a grand child or two and we had a lot of fun

No children were permanently harmed in the posting of this blog. Finally, Sue a neighbour, went to Australia and could not find people to look after Blue her impeccably mannered, black Labrabor, so we had a house guest for a week or so.
And finally we attended a wonderful bonfire party at Whispering Pines where Em and Ben had worked very hard to feed and entertain over 60 guests.
Em and Sophie watch the display
No one ever gave me ear muffs when I was a child!

Tuesday 12 September 2017

Back in the UK

We arrived safe and well in England and returned home to Suffolk at the end of July.
The garden needed sorting
We tested Em and Ben's new RIB
Kathy visited her Mum and sisters in the IOM
We visited Auntie Joyce in Brigg
We drove to lovely Tobermory
Ben, Emily, Ellie, Kathy and I went swimming at Caliach
Kathy and I went walking to the lighthouse
We enjoyed staying at the cottage
Sophie went exploring on the rocks
And all too soon we were back in Suffolk walking in the forest
We listened to the awful news about Hurricane Irma and the Mexican earthquake and prayed for the people suffering in those places which we have visited. We hoped that all our friends were safe and their boats undamaged. We are aware of how lucky we are in the UK to be secure from the kind of natural disasters which are ocurring in the world. We count our blessings daily.

Sunday 23 July 2017

Land Based USA


On the Sunday, before Sal Darago was hauled out, Kathy and I used public transport to travel to Sunnyvale where we borrowed Simon and Erin’s Pontiac Vibe. We used this to return to Sunnyvale on the Thursday night and based our future trips from there using their lovely AWD car. Here’s some of what we did.
We ate well
We tasted 57 wines
We borrowed some bikes
We relaxed
We were together

Kathy and I decided to borrow their car and..

We drove to Yosemite and saw the falls
We wandered up to Nevada Falls
I ate snow
Then found Dog Lake
And much to Kathy's delight we met a mule train
In the Gold Rush town of Columbia, we found a Wells Fargo Stagecoach
So Kathy persuaded them to let her ride SHOTGUN
And afterwards she had to have a sarsaparilla

Not content with that we tried a road trip next and...

We drove through Vegas and saw Trump Tower
We climbed Angels Landing in Zion Park
And reached the top
More driving and the Arches National Park. Wow!
Across to Canyonlands
The views were fantastic

And the formations fascinating

Followed by Monument Valley

And the Grand Canyon
One mile deep, vast, stunning and magnificent

Followed by the long drive back to Sunnyvale

Thanks Simon and Erin for putting up with us and loaning us the car to make this whole trip amazing.
The end.