Salt

We're now in San Simeon anchorage, right below the Hearst Castle, anchored and waiting out this afternoon's big winds. The energy should begin dissipating from the water during the night, and in the morning (4 a.m.?) we'll resume our slow northward crawl. This is the slow, safe version of a San Diego to San Francisco passage.

Last night we were in Morro Bay, at the yacht club, showers, dinner out and a good night sleep. Barring any weather surprises, we'll continue straight home, arriving in Berkeley late on Sunday.

Pearl is proving to be a surprisingly salty boat, in multiple ways. The standard definition of "salty" is a boat that is strong and well prepared for open ocean sailing. Pearl fits that definition well, and we are feeling safe and comfortable aboard, even in rough seas. But we also have real sea salt everywhere.....leaking through the dorades (now plugged shut), down the mast, in through the hatches, portholes, companionway.....but it's not too bad. Just like making lemon from lemonades, we're thinking about margaritas.

The long passage of Big Sur is ahead of us, and the weather should be favorable. There's plenty of food, the water tanks are full (I checked twice) and we have a full tank of diesel. This morning we sailed with a Santa Ana easterly powering us on a beam, the boat was doing over 8 knots, at least 7 consistently, on a double reefed main and 95% headsail. The big, fairly gentle swells were coming from the northwest, and 1 to 2 foot wind waves from the east. It was sweet. The big swells are wonderful to ride over, especially with a lot of power in the rig. We watched the sunrise, and then were treated to an amazingly crisp, clear coastline view.

A former Berkeley boat was at the Morro Bay Yacht club last night. Marionette, a Cheoy Lee that had been in the Berkeley Marine Center for some time and was now heading south to Mexico and eventually on through the Pacific to her new home in New Zealand. The boat left this morning just before we did, heading south to Conception. The owner came aboard Pearl last night and we went over the Sailflow forecast for Arguello/Conception today, but he decided to go for it. With an extensive ocean crossing coming up, he wanted the chance for a good shakedown passage before committing to crossing an entire ocean.

Sailing north along the California coast makes a great lesson in wind and current patterns caused by protruding headlands. Not only do we have to head west into the higher offshore winds while rounding, they also cause an acceleration of both air and water as they pass by. The air is squeezed between the offshore trough and the headlands, causing an acceleration as it the pressure releases on the far side. Not avoidable though, and right now we're in the shelter of Piedras Blancas. Upcoming: Cap St. Martin, Point Lopez, Point Sur, Point Lobos.