San Luis Obispo to San Francisco

We checked the weather from various sources and saw that the coastal winds were easing but the swell from a storm further north was 3-4 metres high. We decided to wait a little longer and leave San Luis Obispo (SLO) at 0300 on Thursday 22^nd June.

At last the fog clears and we can see San Pedro Point

We left in the dark in thick fog. The lights on the piers were shrouded in a veil but at least they were visible. The radar was on. It detected something close by, which turned out to be an anchored fishing vessel with no lights. By 0600 it was light but visibility was still less than half a mile. The big ships had to be in the offshore Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS), recreational boats would be mad(!) to be out in such conditions so our main concern was fishing vessels.

Uh oh! The fog's out to get us again

Around midday the fog lifted giving us about 2 miles visibility for a short time before closing in again. The wind began to blow gently from the SE, as predicted. The flapping mainsail filled, the current was with us and we started to make good speed with a following sea and big swell. It was cold and damp all day and night. On Friday morning the visibility cleared as the fog became patchy. We creamed along at over 6 knots with the rare following winds reaching 20 knots. We saw fishing pots and touched one before the fog closed in again.

Our first glimpse of a bridge

We were going to stop at Half Moon Bay to wait for the right tide at the Golden Gate Bridge, just over 20 miles north. Jeremy worked out that if we kept going and averaged 6 knots or more (we usually average 5 knots) we’d catch the last of the flood tide into San Francisco Bay. We went for it. Sal Darago was amazing. The fog swirled in and out giving us glimpses of the coastline, which was rocky and inhospitable. A whale blew and dived just off the port bow.

It's red, not gold. Have we come to the right place?

At 1335 on Friday 23^rd June, we sailed under the Golden Gate Bridge. It was shrouded in fog and the fog horn was sounding non-stop. It was an exciting moment and we were elated.

That must be Fort Point under the arch

Then we were in San Francisco Bay, watching the fog lift off the waterfront, noting a misty Alcatraz Island on our port side. Surely, we were in a film. It felt surreal. We had to concentrate, keep our course, be aware of vessels of all sizes and head for the anchorage at Aquatic Park Cove, next to the Maritime Museum.

Another first for an elderly Westerly and her crew

The sign on the wall said “Watch Out for Swimmers”. We were surprised that we were allowed to anchor in a place where people could swim near the boats and we were shocked to see most of the swimmers were not wearing wet suits in water that was much colder than in Mull. Another sign told us that we must ring up for permission to stay overnight and the maximum length of stay was 72 hours. There was a bit of a glitch in the exchange of text messages, but we were given permission and there was no charge.

Four pelicans and the Palace of Fine Arts behind

Jeremy informed Customs and Border Patrol of our whereabouts and intentions and booked two nights at Redwood City Marina in the south of the Bay, only 20 minutes’ drive from Simon and Erin’s apartment.  We arranged to meet Simon and Erin on the beach on Saturday evening. They would come up by train and sail to Redwood City Marina with us on Sunday.

San Francisco skyline

That evening we celebrated our arrival with sundowners in our chilly, sunless cockpit wearing jogging bottoms, fleeces and woolly hats. Swimmers came past wearing only swimwear and goggles! They were from the Dolphin Swimming and Boating Club, which was next to the impressive Art Deco Maritime Museum building on the beachfront. The city of San Francisco rose up behind them. We were here, after sailing 10,655 miles from the River Deben. Well done, Sal Darago.

The Maritme Museum in Aquatic Park Cove. Can you spot SD?

Santa Cruz Island and Santa Barbara to San Luis Obispo

Sunrise

We weighed anchor in Smugglers’ Cove at 0600 on Thursday 15^th June. The sun was rising over the east end of Santa Cruz Island. As we passed San Pedro Point an arch opened up in the cliffs.

Santa Cruz Island arch

The first hazard we encountered was a Maersk container ship coming south in the TSS (shipping lane) just as we were about to start our crossing. The morning fog cleared and the ship passed by safely. Once across the TSS motoring in calm seas, dolphins arrived to play in our bow wave. We noted many oil rigs quite close to the shore south of Santa Barbara.

Jeremy on Stearns Wharf

Jeremy called Harbour Patrol to ask if we could take on diesel and have a berth for two nights. We had to tie up to the fuel berth first, then move to the nearby Harbour Patrol dock, tie up and go to the marina office. The cost was $1 per foot per night and we had to have dye put in our holding tank so we could not flush in the marina – another first. By midday we were tied up in our berth. In the afternoon we made good use of the marina laundry.

Friday was a sight-seeing and shopping day, after we had washed our No.2 jib in fresh water. There was a shuttle bus which ran along the waterfront and up the main street called State Street. Rides for seniors cost only 25c each. We got off at the historic Stearns Wharf and enjoyed reading a plaque which told us how Sir Francis Drake sailed to Drake’s Bay north of San Francisco, nailed a flag ashore and claimed all the land for Albion.

Kathy and view from the top of the Old Courthouse

We had been told we should see the Old Courthouse and go up to the viewing area at the top of a tower. The advice was good and the 360 degree views spectacular. We were soon down to earth for lunch and for shopping at Ralph’s supermarket. The shuttle bus took us back to the marina.

Simon and Erin arrived about 10.30pm after a five hour drive from Sunnyvale. It was wonderful to see them again after two years and to give them big hugs. We celebrated with drinks in the cockpit, chatting until midnight.

Simon and Erin dolphin watching

On Saturday, we left Santa Barbara at 0710. We took turns steering, making 6 knots on the 25 mile passage to Santa Cruz Island. We saw whales blowing and diving, tails up in the air and had to alter course to avoid being too close. Soon afterwards lots of dolphins arrived to swim with SD. Simon and Erin watched these amazing sights from the bows. Jeremy was first to spot a baby dolphin with its mother – a first for all of us.

Scorpion Bay with Little Scorpion in the background

We anchored at Scorpion Bay. Our first choice, Little Scorpion Bay next door, was fully occupied. Our bay was quite busy with trip boats bringing out campers and kayakers. We had lunch in the cockpit, celebrating our reunion properly with a bottle of champagne. We decided to weigh anchor afterwards and head for Prisoners’ Bay, where Simon and Erin had been before (but not gone ashore) in a charter yacht with the Worrell family. Here, we anchored and went ashore for a walk along one of the trails. Almost immediately we saw a Santa Cruz fox. Simon warned us about some wasp-like insects called yellow backs that were flying around the stony beach area. It was very hot ashore. Back on SD, we enjoyed sundowners in the cockpit and pasta Bolognese for supper in the saloon.

Erin, Simon and Jeremy at Prisoners' Bay

Everyone had a more leisurely start on the Sunday. We left Prisoners’ Bay soon after 0800 and had a good sail back to Santa Barbara. We saw more whales and dolphins on the way. Jeremy made bacon and egg rolls for everyone for lunch, which we ate on passage. We tied up to the Harbour Patrol dock in Santa Barbara just before 1400 and said a sad good bye to Simon and Erin. They had a long drive back home and we had an overnight motorsail to San Luis Obispo.

Hiking on Santa Cruz Island

On the way, the smell of fumes from oil on the sea was overwhelming at times. It was very calm and distant oil rigs could just be seen in the worsening visibility. Soon after supper, just in time for my three hour watch, the fog closed in and I had less than half a mile visibility until 10 minutes before Jeremy took over. He saw us safely round Point Conception, the Cape Horn of the Western Pacific, and I took us safely round Point Arguello. It was hard to distinguish all the lights from an oil rig to port, various fishing vessels and shore lights. I called Jeremy up to help and together we found a safe passage through.

Misty oil rig

Thick fog descended again on our dawn approach to Port San Luis Obispo. We made good use of our radar, chart plotter and GPS until we could see the entrance buoys and those that marked off lying rocks. We asked permission to anchor between the Avila and Cal Poly piers from Harbour Patrol. No problem except the Avila pier was condemned so we could not land the dinghy. To go ashore, we had to dinghy two kilometres to Harford Pier then walk three kilometres back to Avila – aarghh!

Kathy with Avila Beach behind

We spent the day ashore on Tuesday 20^th June, walking between piers, eating lunch in the only grocery store that sold bread, apples, eggs and small yoghurts (which cost $3.70 each), but little else. The sea was too cold in the bay for me to swim. Perhaps the seas and wind will calm on Wednesday in order for us to continue to San Francisco, 200 miles away.

Ensenada, Mexico, to Santa Cruz Island, California, USA

Sleeping sealions in Ensenada Harbour

All went well with clearing out at Ensenada. Baja Naval Marina prepared the papers we needed to take to the authorities. Immigration stamped our passports, we paid 270 pesos exit fee at the Port Captain’s Office and we were asked to return in two hours for our exit letter. We paid our marina fees and left Ensenada Harbour for a three mile choppy passage to Marina Coral’s fuel berth. After taking on diesel, we anchored outside the marina in a small bay and waited for the strong afternoon winds to ease.

Fuel berth at Marina Coral

Refreshed after a few hours’ sleep, we weighed anchor at 2350 and set off for San Diego, USA. The seas were sharp and bouncy, settling down by daybreak. Jeremy checked the engine after breakfast and was dismayed to find a fair quantity of oil in the bilges. An armoured oil pipe from our secondary oil filtration system had cracked and was leaking oil. We were close to the Mexico/USA border but still in Mexican waters near Los Coronados islands. The wind died away as soon as the engine was switched off, so we couldn’t sail. We drifted while Jeremy worked out a way to bypass the Filtakleen system.

San Diego waterfront

At 1400 on Friday 9^th June, we tied up at the Harbour Police and Customs Dock, Shelter Island, San Diego Bay. Jeremy walked up the ramp to an outdoor computer terminal and informed Customs of our arrival. He booked us into La Playa free anchorage for the weekend at the same terminal. After a while waiting at the dock, and a phone call from Jeremy, two Custom’s Officers arrived and asked to see our cruising permit. We didn’t have one, but they were relieved to hear we had visas. Arrangements were made to go to the Customs Office in town on Monday morning. There was very little paperwork; our passports were stamped and there were no fees to pay. We were free to go to the anchorage, which we did after taking on drinking water from the tap on the dock.

Jeremy had been told that the best place to leave the dinghy if we went ashore was at a fuel berth. Finding one was quite difficult in the forest of yacht clubs and marinas that surrounded La Playa (weekend only) anchorage. On Saturday morning as we prepared to leave SD, we saw a man sitting in his dinghy attached to a yacht called Better Days. He happened to be the Commodore of Silver Gate Yacht Club and as we were members of the Western Isles Yacht Club in Tobermory, Scotland, we could tie up our dinghy at Silver Gate’s dinghy dock. Thank you Greg for your hospitality and for the advice of where to go to buy new oil pipes.

La Playa anchorage, San Diego

 We needed a USA SIM card and someone suggested trying Ralph’s Grocery Store. They only had top up cards but there was an AT&T cell phone shop about 3 miles away. A woman at the checkout overheard the conversation and offered us a ride to the phone shop. The people here are very kind and helpful. We felt blessed because by the afternoon, we had a data SIM card for the USA, several addresses and phone numbers of companies that might have oil pipes and bags of groceries from Ralphs. We’d also found out about day passes on public transport for $7 each.

After a rare, relaxing Sunday, we weighed anchor at 0800 on Monday morning and headed for the Municipal Police Dock, where we’d booked (online) a pontoon berth for the night ($1 per foot per day). One half hour walk, one bus and one trolley (tram) later, we found the Customs Office. Taking the elevator (lift) to the appropriate floor, it took about an hour for our cruising permit to be issued at a cost of $19.

New oil pipes in place

Another trolley bus ride took us to a transit centre within walking distance of Kaman Industrial Technologies. On the way we passed many homeless people pushing shopping trolleys or sitting on the sidewalk (pavement). Some tents were under trees along side streets; some were sleeping in old vans. It was a sorry sight and the biggest congregation of homeless people we have seen in our travels. Kaman made up new oil pipes and provided the special ends needed to fix them on to the engine, while we waited. Wonderful. To celebrate we had lunch in McDonalds, where Jeremy bought me a Happy Meal. As a friend once remarked to him, “You know how to give a woman a good time!” We bought groceries on the way back and that evening, Jeremy replaced two oil pipes and tested the system for leaks. There were none.

Smugglers' Cove anchorage, Santa Cruz Island

The next day, Tuesday 13^th June, we left the Municipal Police Dock at 0620 for Santa Cruz Island, via Catalina Island, a distance of 150 miles. We arrived on Wednesday at midday and enjoyed a quiet evening on anchor, having scrubbed SD’s bottom. We were looking forward to meeting Simon and Erin in Santa Barbara on Friday night.

Fishing trip boat off our anchorage

Bahia San Juanico to Ensenada

Pretty water fountains son et lumiere on our arrival in Ensenada

We became nocturnal motorsailers, arriving at an anchorage mid-morning and leaving when the wind decreased, which could be any time from 2000 to 0100. The Moon gave us some light. It was cold. We saw the lights of a few fishing vessels and around dawn there would sometimes be fleets of pangas heading out to sea to catch the early morning fish.

We anchored off the village in Bahia Ballenas on 1^st June. We watched the returning pangas landing through the surf on the beach. My heart sank. We needed to go ashore for supplies, but would we remain dry? I put my beach shorts on and wrapped my rucksack in a large, plastic bag. We surprised ourselves and the watching fishermen by making a perfect beach landing, jumping out of the dinghy before the surf could break over us. Ashore, the villagers were used to tourists as there is a lagoon nearby that is a protected sanctuary for grey whales. All the roads were compressed sand. There were a few small shops and a supermarket. We asked directions to a café/restaurant and ate in somebody’s kitchen extension. Three children were playing and watching TV in the next room. The food was good: tachos for Jeremy, quesadilla for me with rice and salad.

Kathy in Bahia Ballenas before her soaking

We had water and food. All we had to do was return to Sal Darago. We were not so lucky this time. We thought we were clear of the surf and climbed into the dinghy. Jeremy started the outboard and immediately, a wave reared up in front of us. It broke over us like someone throwing buckets of cold water at us. Another wave arrived and we got a second soaking. The outboard kept going, the dinghy was half full of water and I baled as fast as I could. We were cold and wet, but still afloat. Once on board SD, we found that all the food was fine and the rucksacks barely damp under their plastic bags. Jeremy decided to have a quick swim and hot shower on the stern. I opted for a hot wash down. Jeremy said the water was the coldest he’d ever experienced and he was chilled in a few minutes. It took a long time to warm up.

The wind kept blowing and it was 0130 when it finally decreased to 10 knots. We weighed anchor and left Bahia Ballenas, only to find stronger winds outside the bay, which eased by morning. We followed the advice of Jim from Sea Level, and “sailed” to our VMG (velocity made good for our non-sailor readers) and our level of comfort.

Noisy sea lions argue over sun beds

On 2^nd June we anchored off Isla Asuncion. Jeremy heard the voices first. No, he wasn’t going mad; the noise was the distant barking of hundreds of sea lions ranged along the beaches. We arrived at 1.00pm and left at 10.00pm, having been offered a fish from two local men in a panga. Sadly, we had to decline as we had just bought supplies in Bahia Ballenas.

Costly fuel dock in Turtle Bay

 After a difficult 8 hours, rounding Punta San Pablo, the seas calmed and we arrived at Bahia de Tortugas and anchored off the fuel dock. To cut a long story short, we were charged nearly double the forecourt price for 130 litres of diesel. We used the dock again to go ashore and have a look round the windswept, sandy village. Back at SD, we watched with interest as a pick-up truck was loaded from a trawler on to an amphibious vehicle.

101 uses for an amphibian

On Saturday, at 8.30pm we left Bahia de Tortugas and motored in pleasant, calm seas the 258 miles to Ensenada, arriving at 0700 on Tuesday, 6^th June. On the journey, our GPS told us that we had completed 10,000 nautical miles since leaving the River Deben in Suffolk on 30^th July, 2016. I spotted a grey whale blowing about 150 metres away. It surfaced 3 times before diving. We saw three sports fishing boats heading north in the calm seas. Since leaving Chiapas, we had seen fewer than 20 pleasure vessels at sea in nearly 2000 miles.

It is a long way to Ensenada

Misty morning, but fairly calm

We chose to tie up at Baja Naval, a small marina close to the town centre. By lunchtime, we’d completed the paperwork and by the afternoon the laundry was in the lavanderia. Ensenada is the most northerly port in Mexico. Cruise ships call here and several streets are full of stalls and shops selling souvenirs. Away from this, it’s a pleasant town, where I had my hair cut for 50 pesos (£2). Later today, we hope to clear out of Mexico and head for the USA. San Diego is only 65 miles away.

Our cruise ship dead centre, Ensenada