Le Chat Beaute: 2014

Sunday, December 28, 2014

Santa Cruz, California

As you approach Santa Cruz the old wooden coaster is a big part of the beach scene.

I wonder if they have enough life jackets?

From the anchorage next to the pier you get to see all the goings on. A big bonus is the sea lions are living under the pier so you get to enjoy their incessant barking all night

The sunsets on another great stop on the cruise.

View into beach from anchorage.

Santa Cruz Island

Point Conception

Another beautiful sunset.

Right after we anchored in Playa (A-1) these ducks made an appearance. The A-1 anchorage is only available on the weekends or holidays. The A-9 cruisers anchorage was not available when e arrived but by the middle of the week there were 12 spots available. The Glorietta Bay anchorage is good for 4 days , anyday of the week.

The A-1 anchorage or La Playa. The nachorage was a great place to run, although dinghy landing not the greatest.

Morro Bay

Approaching Morro Bay at sunrise.

The rock or el morro. Name derived from Spanish and thr rock looks like a moors turban.

As we approached the rock a few sea otters were doing what sea otters do.

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Half Moon Bay

The first thing we saw as we came ashore was this beautifully restored T Bird. The trip down from San Francisco was perfect. Offshore breeze and minimal wave action

View of the Pillar Point Harbor. The seas were flat and appears to be a good anchorage in the prevailing winds. Bottom was sand and holding very good.

Lots of historical reading abounds in the harbor walk.

Pillar Point and home of Mavericks. The Mavericks is a world famous surf break. The competition is held once a year and is open by invitation only. Competition this year is from January 1 until Marc h 31st. The twenty four Titans of Mavericks have 48 hours to be there when the 20 foot waves are forecast. Not for the faint of heart. check it out.

Different view that includes the Vandenburg tracking station. Used to track satellite launches from Vandeburg base ,south of Pt. Conception.

Leaving San Francisco

It has been a great stop , other than the crash. Could easily stay here if it was not so cold in the winter. The plan is to harbor hop down the coast and enjoy the cruising life style.

Saturday, November 1, 2014

LCB out of the water

The railway that will be used to haul LCB.

Different view of the carnage.

Placing the frame work under bulkheads to prevent anymore damage.

Yours truly making ladder secure so we can spend weeks climbing a ladder on the Hard.

The CRASH

Not exactly sure how many miles I have sailed but must be close to 20,000. Been pretty lucky until about Three weeks ago while transiting the Pinole flats. We struck number 10 buoy. All I can say is......not paying attention! Sailing with headsail off the wind and lost track of drift and well, there you go. Above is port bow. LCB has a crash bulkhead so no water intrusion but disheartening to say the least. Called some friends on Napa River, we were headed to their house, and they were sure we could get hauled at the Napa Valley Marina.

Looking down from the deck.

Thursday, October 9, 2014

Sausalito

Aaaah the old foggy bay. As we approached the gate the fog started to lift and made for dramatic scenery.

Finally after two days the skies cleared as we sailed under the Gate.

Sundown in Sausalito. Not as many boats in need of attention this year as the last time we landed. Have heard several went up on the rocks.

Moon rise over Angel Island.

Drakes Bay

After two days at sea since leaving Crescent City we were looking forward to Sausalito and the San Francisco Bay. Was not to be as the tide was wrong at the Gate. Full moon time and the max flood approaches 5 knots, so we decided to stop at Drakes Bay near Pt Reyes and spend the day and leave for SF in the morning, with the tide. We were in the fog for 30 plus hours so nice to see land and a little clearing.
Having the new radar and the AIS in the fog was a real help reducing skippers anxiety levels.

The standard welcoming committee was present during our approach to the bay.

Double click and enlarge to see the elephant seal beach. They bellowed most of the day

and night.

panorama of Drakes Bay

Couple we met on the trip down the coast from Canada. Gary and Karina of Sea Rover II.

More Crescent City

Went for a run one morning and discovered why it is called Crescent City! Beautiful crescent bay with nice beach just south of port.

Another view of the "crescent"

Mural outside of the bathrooms. Tile mosaic of the St George Reef Light on castle island. We were too far south of reef as it was dark to get a picture of the light . Gorgeous old structure.

As we were leaving Crescent City this schooner was c oming ashore.

Friday, October 3, 2014

Crescent City, California

Shortly after clearing the Umpqua bar we were sailing nicely in moderate seas at 5 knots. It was a beautiful Oregon Fall day. By the first dog watch the wind was blowing 20-25 and we were doing 8-9 knots. The gribs called for even more wind into the night so we shortened sail and still maintained 8-9 knots.

While underway my watches are the 1800-2200 and 0200-0600. So I get four hours sleep if all goes well. Before hitting the rack at 2200 I lowered the main and rolled in all but a handkerchief on the head stay. We were still doing 8.5 knots directly down wind. Prior to that we were doing a consistent 10 knots but the ride was a bit wild.

My wind instrument is defective so I estimated the wind to be 20-25 as it was dark it was hard to see the sea state. When we got to Crescent City the boat in front of us told us they recorded 33 knots sustained.

After crossing the Oregon border , heading South you have to go around Point St. George. The reef in front of the Point stretches for miles and lots of sailors met their end on this reef. Tough stretch of water.

Crescent City Lighthouse.

The marina was wiped out by the tsunami generated by the Fukishima earthquake and the port of Crescent City has just rebuilt with the latest and greatest in docks designed to withstand another tsunami. Notice how close together the pilings are and they are made out of schedule 120 plastic with Teflon slides.

Sunset view of light house from the marina.

Winchester Bay ,Oregon

When heading South from Astoria if weather is a bit dodgy, I will pull into Newport and visit the Rogue Brewery while waiting for conditions to settle. Weather was clear and cool. After a perfect crossing of the Columbia River bar, meaning six foot swells we sailed to Winchester Bay and averaged about 5.5 knots for the trip. The weather was supposed to bring rain so we chose to drop into Winchester Bay.

Bars on the Oregon coast are notorious for more excitement than I usually like while sailing but we timed this crossing with the flood so was a non event. An added bonus was Eldon Best, who I had not seen in 30 years. He is living aboard his boat in the marina.

Le Chat Beaute tied up to transient dock with storm clouds building in the back ground.

Playing with our new camera and another shot of the dock.

Not only is Winchester Bay a great salmon catching area but every year they have a huge chainsaw carving contest and several of the entries become a permanent part of the area around the small downtown.

Sometimes when it is time to go it is time to go! Such was the case after rain subsided and winds turn Northerly. Coast Guard posted no restrictions on the electronic board so at 1030 hours we headed for the bar. The Umpqua can be unpredictable and as we approached the bar all I saw was white water at 6-8 feet. I moved closer to the South jetty and saw the calm water. As we left the confines of the jetty there were 10-12 foot waves. Fortunately they were not breaking and only lasted a couple of hundred yards. The view heading South is of these high sand dunes. Quite popular with the four wheeler crowd.