We're here!

Southern California! It wasn't all that bad, although we never saw another boat moving today. I guess they all must have listened to the forecast and stayed home, not like us. We're in Cojo Anchorage, just around the corner from Point Conception. It's fairly windy right now, and we're bouncing around, anchored in 30 feet of water, just out from where the swells start approaching the beach. A railroad track runs right along the shore here, otherwise it's pretty desolate. One other sailboat and a tug.

We had plenty of wind once we got near Point Arguello, and big breaking waves all around us. Lucky we were going downwind, I can't imagine trying to turn into those waves. The top boat speed today (Catherine at the helm) was an 11.4 knots, surfing down a wave front. And with a double reefed mainsail! Doug says he got a paltry 10 again, and I was too absorbed in concentrating to watch my speeds. I think we're all a little relieved, and perhaps dissapointed, that we didn't see more wind. The waves were large, 9 feet every 9 seconds and larger, but they were generated further out in the Pacific, and we never saw more than low 20s for wind speed. (Handheld anomometer.)

We'll go into Santa Barbara tomorrow and reprovision, pick up a couple of small marine store things, and wait for a calmer weather window to head out to the Channel Islands. Likely it will be the weekend before we leave Santa Barbara.