Making Our Way to Marina Del Rey

 After eight long days we finally left Monterey. At 0557 I threw lines and we were ecstatic to be continuing our journey south. Today would be our longest day 119.5 mile to Morro Bay. Originally we had hoped to anchor at San Simeon to break up the trip a little bit but after the long delay in Monterey and having our first weather window we decided to push ahead. We had a mixed bag of weather from clear and sunny to thick fog. The seas were 2-6 foot swells with very light winds. The animals were all out as well. We spotted a couple of whales, sea-dogs and lots of cormorants. Our cruise led us around Big Sur and leaving San Simeon astern. Finally at 7:27pm we entered Morro Bay in the fog and dropped the hook with one other sailboat. It had been a very long day and we were exhausted. As the evening progressed the fog got thicker and thicker until we no longer could see our anchorage mate. We watched a show and retired to bed early. 

San Simeon

Tons of Cormorants 

Leaving Monterey in the Dark 

Adios Monterey 

Sunrise 

California Coast 

Big Sur 

Dinner Underway in Pilothouse 

Entering Morro Bay 

Morro Bay 

Morro Bay

Once again we awoke to fog but the seas and wind looked good so at 0630 we up-anchored and made our way out of Morro Bay. The seas were calm most of the day until right outside of Point Conception where we heard a small craft advisory announced on the radio for 3pm that day. You never like to hear unexpected weather announced while already en route. Fortunately we were scheduled to arrive at Cojo Anchorage at 2:55p.m. and were both hoping the anchorage would afford us enough protection during the blow. Of course it was my shift to round Conception and while Jeff napped I watched the white caps develop and a washing machine started it's cycle. We had the wind behind us and the confused seas had the boat challenged to stay on her course. Jeff woke up and noticed the change and helped keep watch through the rest of my shift. Crab pots hid in the wavelettes you could just feel the shift in the air. I was ready to be anchored. We were the only boat at Cojo probably due to the small craft warning and once we got the hook to stick the rolling and blowing began. Cojo offered some protecting from the NW winds but the waves made their way around Conception and swirled us around. Safe but not so relaxed we settled in for the rest of the evening. 

Point Conception 

Leaving Morro 

Point Conception 

Point Conception 

Entering Cojo Anchorage 

Cojo Anchorage 

Train Passing By Anchorage 

Cojo 

A little sleep deprived from rocking and rolling all night but small craft over we up-anchored at 0630 for our 44 mile cruise to Santa Barbara. The cruise brought with it more fog and lots of dolphins and sea birds. This was our third time stopping at Santa Barbara and it's always a favorite. They have a nice marina that is within walking distance to town full of shops and restaurants. Knowing this would probably be our only day there after lunch we threw on our tennis shoes then headed to State Street which is always nice to walk around. It has a little bit of everything. While we were out we scouted out a place to have dinner. Since we walked so much during the day (12,000 steps) we decided to have dinner near the marina at a place called Anchor Rose which has vegan options for me and outdoor seating. Check and check. Dinner was good and it felt like a nice treat after our big push to get this far down the coast. Nice for someone else to do the cooking. After dinner we headed back to the boat to relax and get ready for tomorrows cruise. 

CoJo 

Sunrise at Cojo 

Fog Bank in Distance 

Foggy Cruising 

Santa Barbara Marina 

Santa Barbara 

Dinner at Anchor Rose 

Timing and coordination can be a big challenge when boating with weather always being the dictator and you really have no say in when you will be stuck in port or have a good weather window. That's hard to understand for a lot of non boaters who want to pencil you in for your exact time and date when you will arrive. We did our best to give a decent timeframe to the kids in Los Angeles for when we could possibly arrive in order for them to get off work, be in town and just have a general idea. Somehow this was all working out. Izzy and his girlfriend would be landing in LAX on Sunday (two days from today) from a recent trip and Sami would be off work on Monday and Tuesday. Could it be possible? 

We dragged our feet ever so slightly making an additional stop in Oxnard which he hadn't planned but it made the trek to Marina Del Rey from Santa Barbara much shorter. The 33 mile cruise was uneventful. The smell of oil in the air from all the oil rigs digging offshore between Santa Barbara and Oxnard. In Oxnard we stayed at our sister marina and found comfort in a lot of the familiarity. We took a dip in the pool and cooled off then strolled around the basin remembering our time here in 2019 when we created our own SOCAL loop. We had a quiet evening onboard in anticipation for our departure for Marina Del Rey in the morning. 

We Moved to Monterey

Well not really but it felt like we did because we got laid up due to big winds for eight days. But I'm getting ahead of myself. We threw lines at Half Moon Bay at 0600 and headed out with the fisherman for our 72 mile journey south to Monterey Harbor. It was sunny (imagine that) and hot and we saw lots of muirs and pelicans en route. As we arrived in Monterey Bay we radioed the harbormaster and were instructed to go to a slip in the first finger. We were a little long for our spot as we noticed a lot of the other boats were too. Our 50amp power didn't work so we had to use one 30 and were greeted by a symphony of boisterous barking harbor seals that lined the adjacent docks basking in the sun and whaling. Welcome to Monterey Bay. On our way north we stopped here during the height of covid and didn't see a whole lot. The wharf was jam packed with people and we were too scared to wedge our way in there. This time would be different and we put on our tennis shoes and set out to see more of Monterey. We walked the wharf which again was crowded but at least we were outside. The restaurants and shops were filled with tourists soaking it all in. We also revisited cannery row remembering our walk there two years ago. Both of us worn out from our early departure we made our way back to the boat to watch Deadliest Catch and make dinner. We expected to depart early the next morning so we went to bed early. 

Early Morning Departure 

Cruising to Monterey 

Monterey 

Entering Monterey Bay

Entering Monterey Bay

Walk Along The Bay

The Wharf 

Monterey Bay Marina 

Sea Dog Swimming 

Harbor Walk

Walking Around Monterey 

Harbor Seals Adjacent From our Dock 

The next day we woke up to a small craft and gale warning so we stayed put. Again we put on our tennis shoes and went for a really long walk around downtown exploring and seeing some areas that we hadn't see the last time. We walked so much that day we got 12,000 steps. Jeff was in the mood to eat a nice lunch outside the boat which you would think would be easy but turned out to be a difficult venture between finding something that had outdoor dining and a vegan option for me. Who would have thought that being back in California there wouldn't be an abundance of vegan selections but in Monterey there was not. Just as we were about to give up and make our way back to the boat we stumbled on a hotel that had a lovely patio right on the water and a vegan option for me. Our dogs were barking from all the walking so lunch at Schooners was just what we needed. After lunch we made our way back to the boat and rested the duration of afternoon and evening. 

Otter Floating By Our Slip 

Downtown Walk 

Lunch at Schooners 

Full Moon 

Day three in Monterey and another small craft kept us from leaving. Today we lowered our bikes from the top deck and took a nice long 6 mile ride out of town toward an area called Seaside. There is a nice walking/biking path that goes in either direction from the marina. Along our route we found these really interesting sand dunes that butted up right to the water. We took the path and then sat on a bench and soaked in the view. Even on shore it was windy. On our way back to the boat Jeff stopped by the fish market at the end of our pier and scouted out their selections. That night I found a vegetarian restaurant a little out of town that we Uber'd to for dinner. They had the cutest make shift booths set up outside wound with vines of fake plants making the parking lot atmosphere quaint and peaceful. The food was great and even the restrooms were charming. It's fun to eat at a place where I don't struggle and have to finagle the menu. 

Fishing Boat in Monterey 

Bike Ride 

Riding Along the Sand Dunes 

Fish Monger 

Dinner at Julia 

Cool Restrooms

Day four in Monterey and it started to feel frustrating. As boaters we are use to being slaves to the weather and know that if it's bad we won't leave. Even knowing this after sitting for day after day its hard not to get antsy and want to move along. This time our gale warning lasted until 3a.m. which didn't fare well for an early morning departure the next day either. We made our way to Trader Joes and got some fresh food provisions in anticipation of leaving. Later in the day we took a second walk to a coffee shop and then finally back to the end of our pier where Jeff bought some halibut to bbq that night for dinner. 

Guess what? Still stuck in Monterey. Day 5 but at least today we had something special to look forward to. Our good friends Randal and Michelle were coming to visit us from Los Gatos. They arrived just in time for happy hour with a six pack of wine for us and pink champaign to toast our successful cruise down the coast. We haven't seen them in such a long time so it was really nice to sit on the boat and catch up a bit. After we drained two bottles of champaign and had some canapé's we made our way to Mission Ranch in Carmel for dinner. It was a lovely setting outside on a ranch that had sheep grazing around while we watched from our table. The food and company was excellent and it felt so nice and special. After dinner we headed back to the boat for a nightcap to finish off a wonderful evening. 

Randal and Michelle Arrive in Monterey 

Dinner at Mission Ranch Restaurant 

View of Mission Ranch 

Nightcap 

Night in Monterey 

It continued to blow off the coast of Monterey and the next day was spent again in port. Jeff made pancakes and we laid around the boat the entire day. Felt like we were never leaving. 

Day 7 and still in Monterey. We did some boat chores while we had the chance and set out for another walk around town. We stumbled upon this classic car auction that was happening and took some time to check out all the cars. We hit Trader Joes for the second time getting more fresh food and headed back to the boat for card playing and hoped to leave in the a.m. if the seas laid down enough from the small craft warning. 

Car Auction Cars 

Day 8. This was getting really old and frustrating. The seas were big and the winds continued to blow. We both are more then ready to go. I spent the day doing laundry and working on the blog. We took another walk and had an early dinner and early to bed. We really felt like tomorrow was our day to go.