Fourth of July and a delay

We had a great holiday here in Santa Cruz, what a lovely town! And a nice harbor too. We spent the day hiking and paddling (just me). I actually went out past the lighthouse, into the bay, and paddled towards the pier. It was probably lovely, but I wouldn't know. After about a half mile, I sank to my knees on the board, deciding that I really like the flat water on the Gualala River. Okay, I wish I had stood up and tried to surf in on some of the swells, but I didn't do it..........

Great salmon dinner on the boat, with fish bought right here, and cooked by Paddy. We walked into town and saw a terrific movie: Sophia Coppola's Bling Ring. Recommended all around.

The weather forecast began to change yesterday. I use Sailflow, in addition to the NWS. Sailflow forecasts more tightly, and has a paid service that allows you to see the "why" behind what is happening out in the ocean. The "why" started to change yesterday, and I emailed Shawn Weagle, who forecasts for the NWS. His response was to wait until Saturday. This morning's 7 a.m. report from Sailflow showed the big high to the east, which has been keeping everything hot, retreating rapidly. I know this is great in the bay area, it's cooling off.  I also know it's blowing like stink off the Sonoma coast, where a huge high is sitting. Right now it's way north of us, but the waves will likely travel down the coast. In addition, a low is coming in from WSW, complicating matters. When words like "occluded" and "cut off low" start getting flung around, I give up. It's just like paddle boarding, the idea of big waves is enough to make me drop to my knees. This morning, it was enough to make me cancel the sail until tomorrow morning.

Pearl - loaded, tied down, ready to go.....cancelled for today