Drake's Bay/Bodega Bay

Photos: The smiling faces are Peter Galle (no hat) and Brian Stafford (hat and backpack) BEFORE departure. The other photo is while underway and prior getting their "sea legs!"

Peter and Brian showed up full of piss and vinegar (as young men in their twenties are prone to be). Eager to embark on this grand adventure they ASSURED me that they didn’t get motion sickness…..We ran through a quick safety briefing and then a lesson on line handling. Once their gear was stowed we were off. They were thrilled with the Bay (their first visit) and all of the sights. The windsurfers were zipping around, ferries blasting by, sailboats everywhere…We passed under the Golden Gate Bridge and made the “no turning back”turn into the Bonita Channel and it was like hitting a wall. The seas were not too bad but we were also bucking a 3 knot current so the boat starting pitching up and down quite a bit….and thus started the frequent “gifts’ to Neptune. In spite of a rough first day, they remained fairly upbeat and didn't ask for the location of the nearest airport (although they did decide that Dramamine was in order!).
Since I was effectively singlehanding the boat at this point, I changed the plan and headed for Drake’s Bay (instead of Bodega Bay). Even so it was several hours of slogging upcurrent and upswell to drop the hook in 24 ft of water with over 300’ of chain out. Even so, I feared dragging with the 35kts of wind blowing through the anchorage.
I spoke briefly on the radio with a sailboat that was also anchored here and they joking asked if I could tow them to Seattle since it had taken them over 12 hours to make the run that we made in 5!
Tomorrow is supposed to be calmer and we’ll finish the run to Bodega Bay and take stock at that point. We may have to pull in for a day to let the crew recover!

[The Next Day]
We got up early to hear the sailboat “Jeannie Lynette” departing. By the time we got the anchor up and rounded the point we got into the big swells and saw the Jeannie Lynette heading back. The seas were too steep and confused to safely come about so we pushed on through the “washing machine” until we got some sea room and things calmed down to merely unpleasant. The boys curled up in the salon again and I slogged on up to Bodega Bay where we pulled in and docked in 35 kt wind (not a lot of fun). Once everything was tied down I checked email, did some work, and supervised the boys cooking lunch in the galley. With the recuperative powers of the young, they were ready to eat and explore!

On a side note, I am really going to try to avoid seas like that again but it is REALLY nice to know that the work we did on the boat improved its handling to the point that it can take more than I can (instead of the other way around!).