After a hectic weekend moving all of our precious belongings into storage in San Diego…we finally made it back to Morro Bay late Monday with plans to sail on Wednesday. San Diego was a busy weekend, but time for fun was included~ Brent & Will managed to take in a Padres game on Sunday- of course the hometown won!
Brent & Dad @ the game
The weekend went by too fast… and we were back in MB. My sweet Mama met us here and we spent a few wonderful days enjoying each other’s company. After rushing and rushing and hurrying up, we arrived here to a storm warning and gale force winds, gusts up to 45 knots, and combined seas up to 14 feet. Not exactly prime sailing conditions. Thankfully, my beloved Grandmother had planned to spend her birthday week at the beachhouse (Happy Birthday Grandma!!), and as such, we have cozy lodging with all the creature comforts one could want while we wait out the tempestuous seas.
Tonight, I learned how to do chartwork. Brent & I spent the day on the boat, organizing, rearranging, and securing for sea.
Progress- the TV is installed
Hard at work… doing what? No se.
This evening, we opened a bottle of wine, and Captain Travis gave this swab a crash course in plotting waypoints and calculating time and distance. Pretty cool stuff, really.
Brent found an outboard motor for the dinghy yesterday also. It’s old school- a Sears Ted Williams 7.5HP with not one, but TWO cigarette lighters on it. Just in case one person can’t wait to light up. With the Ted Williams 7.5, there’s no worries- the classy host will light both cigarettes at the same time. Ha.
The NOAA weather forecast continues to call for winds between 15-35 knots and seas between 7-12 feet for the next few days. Right now, it looks like the ideal weather window will be Sunday morning. Tomorrow we’ll continue preparations, and if the opportunity presents itself, we’ll be off!
She’s ready… but the Ocean says “No.”
Our plan is to sail first to Port San Luis, drop anchor, and stay overnight. That should be a short 20mi sail, which will take about 3-4 hours. After Port San Luis comes the “Big Day,” when we sail around Point Conception. It’s sometimes called the Cape Horn of North America… but I’m sure that doesn’t mean it’s dangerous. Brent says there is nothing to fear, since we have a motor and the “hotline” to the Coast Guard: Channel 16. I just hope Mindy Lou doesn’t throw up all over the boat.
She’s ready to sail.
Working on a short video of our boat preparations- keep your eyes peeled for it next time. And while you’re at it, please pray for good weather.
Til next time,
Mela, Brent, & Mindy Lou