Still in Santa Barbara

We're still tied up at the Santa Barbara Marina, today is their Harbor Festival, there's lots going on at the marina. Yesterday we did boat maintenance and laundry, then rented a car to drive to the Ventura Harbor and the Channel Islands visitor center. Dinner was at the Santa Barbara Yacht Club, which is lovely, and definitely not the Berkeley Yacht Club. Like all clubs, the photos of the past commodores adorn the walls, but I've never seen a club that has NEVER had a woman commodore. But they do have a "ladies auxiliary"! Good food though, and a killer view.

The wind was really building while we ate dinner, and at one point a door blew open into their dining room, startling everyone in the room. The palm trees were whipping around, the waves crashing above the breakwater, and Pearl was busy clanging every line that could vibrate in the wind. It took about half an hour to figure out where all the sounds were coming from and get things tied down, but the results did allow us to get a good night's sleep. This morning, the jib sheets are out of the fairleads and velcroed to the lifelines, all the halyards are bungeed tightly away from the mast, and it's like a maze to get out of the cockpit. But it was quiet!

This morning it's calmer, the sun is shining, it's crystal clear, the forecast is good for departing tomorrow, and we'll be off to Channel Islands National Park. The plan is stay out until Friday, so today will be all about provisioning, refueling, checking filters, coolant, and oil, and then heading out early tomorrow morning. First stop will be San Miguel Island, Cuyler Cove if the wind direction allows us to anchor there. The visitor center was a great first stop, we're all really excited about getting out there.

This marina feels really sterile compared to others we've been in, no one is working on their own boats, there only professional detailing crews to be seen. We're in the midst of some beautiful boats, a lot of them race boats, but some cruisers too.

This morning I stood on the main walkway and sighted down the line of masts towards Pearl. Her mast was truly forward of all the others, almost seeming raked forward. I'm going to tension the backstay a bit and then check again when I leave the boat, but I've always suspected that my mast was not properly stepped. It's a big deal to change it, as it involves not only moving the mast, but changes in other rigging as well. Oh well, it's likely that the trip home will be mostly motoring, and upwind performance won't be a big issue.

The Verizon service (my source for internet) is supposed to be weak and spotty at the Channel Islands, so there is a chance I won't be able to post until we get into Marina del Rey on Friday. I'll try to post something if we find an internet worthy cell connection.