September seemed to be vanishing before us and our goal was San Diego by early October. So, after a short stay of only a few days in Half Moon Bay, our itchy feet were telling us to keep moving south. We set sights on a stopover in Morro Bay, CA. We'd heard good things about this place and were excited to see for ourselves what the all the fuss was about. It did not disappoint!
This 165 Nautical mile sail was a somewhat slow and uneventful one, passage wise. However, we were treated with a show put on by some passing Humpback Whales just outside the harbor entrance into town! This added to the beautiful picture being painted by the landscape as we began to catch our 1st glimpses of it through the fog. Morro Rock, the iconic landmark stands as a prominent visual beacon to let you know you've arrived in this neat little part of the world.
Morro Bay's bay itself was filled with mooring balls tightly packed together and heavily influenced by the tidal currents, switching directions every 6 hrs or so. It was interesting to watch all the boats in the bay dance around to the rhythm of this tidal influence. For $10 a day, you can moor your boat and use the dinghy dock at the yacht club in town for access to town.
The members of the Morro Bay yacht club were all so accommodating and helpful. They even host a potluck style dinner & drinks every Friday night. This provided a great opportunity to mingle with fellow sailors, local yachties & southbound cruisers alike.
While here in Morro Bay, we scored a great deal from new southbound cruiser friends Adam & Ingrid aboard their boat, Captain Musick. Long story short, we ended up purchasing their very lightly used Rocna Vulcan 55lb anchor. This was a significant upgrade to our ground tackle setup, something that I'd been strongly considering for some time.
We spent almost a week enjoying ourselves in Morro Bay. There were beaches & sand dunes to explore, thrift stores to visit, and the yacht club at which to socialize. But, ever feeling like we're behind schedule, we had to keep venturing south.
We are signed up for the Baja Haha sailing rally from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas, which begins on November 1st. We feel like there's still so much to do and/or acquire before leaving the country. San Diego is a great place to get all things boat, and to get things done. Hence our desire to keep scooting south.
Despite our time crunch, no southern California sailing adventure would be complete without at least a little time in the Channel Islands. We knew little about these islands before arriving, so our expectations were held in check. What a beautiful, isolated, rugged place these islands are!! It's such a contrast to the rest of southern California, one of the most populated areas in America.
Lorien, along with our friends Elliot & Margot on Favignana, made a nighttime departure from Morro Bay in thick fog to ensure a daytime arrival at the 1st of our Channel Island stopovers. Up until now, our sailing has been cold and wet, wrought with fog, and either too much, or not enough wind. All this was finally to change as we rounded Point Conception (West of Santa Barbara), just as many had told us. Suddenly, there were no more clouds or fog, and for the 1st time since leaving Neah Bay, WA, the temperature allowed for TSHIRTS on passage!!
Cuyler Harbor on San Miguel Island was about a 90 mile sail. I know there are countless beaches ahead of us, but I have to admit, the beauty and grandeur of this one will be hard to beat! While here we witnessed our 1st real thunderstorm aboard. It was a pretty good show.
We spent a couple days here hanging on the beach and exploring the inland trails. We made our way up to the ranger station (complete with it's own dirt runway!) but found it to be unoccupied.
A quick day sail lead us to Santa Rosa Island where we would give our new anchor its 1st real test. We spent one night hiding behind the island during a blow with a farily constant 20-25kts of wind and our new hook held wonderfully. We didn't make it to shore on Santa Rosa, but instead weighed anchor for the south coast of Santa Cruz Island.
After a nice daysail we dropped the hook in a really tight anchorage called Coches Prietos. We spent a couple nights here and enjoyed some more hiking into the islands interior.
Although our time in the Channel Islands was shorter than we would have liked, it was still great to experience these amazing islands. For the 1st time we are starting to feel more like we've 'arrived' rather than feeling like we're trying to get there. We're really getting to know our boat, and ourselves better and better.
looks like so much fun!