Family and friends cast off our lines in Alameda on a Wednesday, as we hurriedly installed and stowed gear of every sort, and at the 13th hour we were off!
Leaving the Golden Gate Bridge in our wake.
The twenty-foot seas outside the Golden Gate kept us in the Bay a few more days and we enjoyed the hospitality of friends at Hyde Street Pier, Angel Island and the Dolphin Club. And then, just under a week later, we sailed under the Golden Gate Bridge, poured some rum into the water for Poseidon, and headed south to Half Moon Bay.
In the days that have followed, we’ve bashed through 12-foot seas under rainy skies, motored through calms, and sailed a glorious broad reach along the Point Sur coast, sometimes at 10 knots.
Arlo and Alma and friend Glenn have been excellent crew. And the seas and skies—in good weather and bad—have surrounded us with so much beauty. And so many birds!
Check out a few pix from our first days below:
Sailing away from Alameda.Early morning departure out of Santa Cruz.Already so many beautiful sunrises and sunsets.Looking ahead . . .we leave tomorrow morning at 4 am to round Point Conception bound for the Channel Islands.A & A exploring Pillar Point in the dinghy.After night watch.Arlo, suited up. Note the harness and tether, attached to the boat. We all wear harnesses when things are boisterous and at night.In this pic, you can see our white dinghy upside down on the deck–it has a tan canvas cover. You can also see two of the yellow “jack lines” that we clip into when we go forward to handle sails.Alma, suited up.Smaller boat, taller boat.To Arlo’s right, you can see tan canvas “weather cloths,” which help to keep spray out of the cockpit.When Jason’s taking the pictures, you gotta end with more beautiful sky photos. Especially if there are birds in the pictures.
Although today is our 6th day out of San Francisco Bay, last night was the first time we sailed though the night. And I liked it. Sailing through the night felt slightly mysterious. The moon was really bright and the stars were really clear because we were away from city lights.
In the beginning of the night, I was on deck with my dad for a little bit and then came down below to sleep. At about midnight I woke up when big waves were causing the boat to lurch wildly. I had a lee cloth, which is a rectangular piece of webbing that you tie up at the edge of your bunk to keep you from falling out, but we hadn’t tested out our lee cloths yet, and when I woke up in the middle of the night, I felt like mine was in the wrong place and that I might fall out. On top of which I felt seasick. That was scary. So I got out of my bunk and came out on deck. It was my mom’s watch, so I hung out with her for a while, until I felt I could go back down below. This morning we anchored in San Luis Obispo Bay.
Arlo’s working on math
We’re starting homeschooling slowly, as we get used to the boat. We’ve been doing math and art and we’ll add English next. After I take a swim this afternoon, we’ll do some more lessons. Tomorrow will be a no school day because we’re getting underway at 4:00 a.m., bound for the Channel Islands.
