Photos:
1 & 2 are the Murrays (Michael and Terri) cooking dinner for Jim and Lara's 25th Anniversary - YUM!
Photo 3: Humpback whale
Photo 4: Oil derrick off Oxnard - Jim wondered if we could pull up for a "top off!"
The Buoy reports and weather have been excellent. We still have experienced the typical first days at sea that are marked by a general sleepiness. Jim and Lara experienced that drowsy feeling on Saturday (we were reduced to scissors/paper/rock to decide who stood watch). The Murray’s joined us in San Diego on Saturday evening and it was their turn to nap on and off most of Sunday.
After a few more trips to West Marine and Vons (open check book) we left before noon on Sunday. We traveled as far as Newport Beach. We hooked up to a mooring ball at Newport Harbor and everyone was in bed by 9pm.
Monday we were up at 0400 and off toward Santa Barbara. Once again the weather was lovely. Not particularly warm but calm seas and clear skies.
Lara and Jim tend to the watch. The boat traffic is light in spite of the long weekend. We watched “Castaway” (with Tom Hanks) to sharpen our skills in preparation for rounding Point Conception tomorrow.
We encountered seals, dolphins and whales! See photos. No matter how many times I see the dolphin and whales, I am mesmerized. Today a couple of mother dolphins brought their babies with them to play in the bow waves. It is interesting that they keep themselves between the boat and the youngsters. We had an acrobat dolphin that did a couple of belly up leaps and barrel rows in front of the boat. It is also remarkable how little their tail fin seems wiggle in order to move them along so fast.
We came upon two humpback whales. Jim spotted their spouts just before they dove.
We have three self-imposed rules for this first part of our trip.
Rule 1: All Bouys must report GREEN. This means calm seas. The Coast Guard (God Love ‘em; note to self send check to CG Auxiliary) maintain a bunch of off shore buoys that provide status on the conditions they experience. This is reported on the internet at www.bouyweather.com. Other options for the Buoy’s are Yellow and Red. Lara does not like these (even though Jim keeps saying things like “Why have a big boat if you can’t take a Yellow.” Or “It doesn’t look THAT bad.”). This is usually an opportunity for improved marital communications!
Rule 2: We will only travel by day light. Since the SIMRAD radar is down (Jim is meeting the repair guy in Alameda). We are bending this rule slightly by leaving just before first light (0430) and coming in near sundown on the two long legs of the trip. The GPS provides some level of “blind” navigation but the radar is important for showing things that aren’t on the chart!
Rule 3: There can only be ONE captain! (Jim keeps saying “I’m the boss of you!”)
Report Cards thus far:
Boat handling/Docking: Jim – A+. The tight quarters at Santa Barbara required exceptional skill which Jim demonstrated.
Navigation: Jim – A+. Good management of the electronics and caution with the radar out.
Line handling and fender management: Lara C+. The goofy arrangement of the guest dock cleats is throwing her off a bit but she redeemed herself at Santa Barbara with the Starboard Tie to Port Tie switch over.
Cooking: Michael - A+. The crew is getting fat (so was Tom Hanks at the beginning of Castaway).
Mammal Sightings: Jim – A. A true hunter senses the animal.
Conversation: Terri – A. Terri is a fascinating person who is almost finished getting her PhD in some unpronounceable high technology discipline. She and Lara have wonderful technical conversations that are incomprehensible to Jim and Michael. They actually might be talking about feelings and knitting – which are equally incomprehensible to Jim and Michael!
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