Safely around Point Conception!

We rounded the point a little before 11am and I immediately celebrated with a shower. I don’t like to tempt fate with a shower BEFORE rounding the big capes along the west coast. Last year when we got beat up around Point Conception, everything was going great until Lara said “This is really calm” and she took a shower. Bad things followed. So now I stay focused at the helm and don’t mention anything about sea states until AFTER we’re safely around!
This is a huge milestone for us. Point Conception is the last of the 10 (or 11 depending on how you count) major capes that are so dangerous on the west coast. From here on down to Ensenada we’re pretty much in protected waters that are generally calm in the summer months (that banging sound you hear is me knocking on wood).
We’re planning to anchor tonight in Smuggler’s Cove on Santa Cruz Island in the Channel Islands. By the time we drop the hook this will have been the longest continuous passage for Antipodes. Dale has been a real trooper. He basically jumped on the boat and we took off for 48 straight hours at sea. Fortunately, he read our blog ahead of time so he was well prepared with various motion sickness remedies. I think he combined Dramamine, a wristband and some sort of voodoo oil behind his ears (the smell was…. interesting). Whatever. It worked and everyone was a lot happier!
Tomorrow we’re headed to Catalina Island for some much needed crew rest and relaxation. It will be my first trip to Catalina and I’m looking forward to one of their famous Buffalo Burgers!
Dolphin off the Bow