SOUTHWARD TO POINT CONCEPTION

We’ve done overnight passages before, in the Caribbean with with our friends Alan and Joan on Moonstruck, their 49’ Hylas, but we were excited about our first overnighter on Tino Pai with just the two of us. It’s a literal and figurative rite of passage for sailors and, for better or worse, most will always remember their first night out there.

We calculated our passage timing conservatively to make sure we’d enter Morro Bay in daylight as it can be a tricky entrance if the tides are running strongly. We left Monterey mid-morning September 23rd in sunny weather and headed out into the north Pacific swells we’ve come to know so well. Turning southward out of Monterey Bay the winds were astern at 12-15 kts and strong enough to have the sails up, we ran for a few hours until it dropped below 10 kts at which time the apparent wind drops to a point that the sails start flogging. We’re not yet ready for the spinnaker so we spent a few hours under the jib alone, wishing we’d swapped out the Yankee for the Genoa (it’s in storage, we plan to put it on in southern California). We’d realized we were making too good time and would make it to Morro Bay before dawn, so we angled out into the Pacific for a while to open our sail angle and slow down our southward progress.

There was plenty of whale and dolphin activity and we could see regular whale breaches and flukes as the sun set, though at a distance. By dusk we had the engine and running lights on and prepared for the night watches ahead. We’d decided on a three-on, three-off watch cycle between 8pm and 8am which worked well for us. It was a quiet night with little traffic though we rolled around in the swell in damp conditions; we had drizzle through the night and both enjoyed getting off the tether and out of wet foulies when off watch.

The diversion worked, and as a foggy dawn arrived we were on approach to Morro Bay. It was dead calm as we motored into the channel, escorted by a couple of playful seal pups frolicking in our wake. Given the strong tides in Morro Bay we decided to grab a mooring ball and settled in for a few days as we watched for weather windows for Point Conception. It’s a famously challenging passage around the point – if you get the weather wrong – and we knew weather would dictate our next move.

Morro Bay was another great stop. Sea otters swam by the boat constantly; sea lions were around too, and their noisy nighttime accommodations were far enough away to keep Andy happy but too far for Shan. We swung cheerfully around the mooring ball on the tide once we worked out the “wheel hard over” technique, and enjoyed being off the dock as we viewed the contrast of tourists in town on one side, and Morro Rock and the sand dunes on the other.

We spent a few days reacquainting ourselves with town (we’d been here too, with Pai), exploring the dunes, paddleboarding around the bay, and meeting a few other cruisers including our favorite (with apologies to Chris, Lisa and all the other human crews) Seppin, the empress Weimaraner on Halara. Shan’s friend Emily and Jon came and stayed for a night, it was great to see Emily after too many years and they got to join our Polaroid crew list.

With so much to do we weren’t in any hurry to leave Morro Bay, but a weather window looked to be opening for Conception; on 29th September we decided to make a short hop down to Avila Beach to be 20nm closer to the point. We exited Morro Bay and – after an engine overheating issue in the channel – almost immediately sailed through an astounding marine feeding frenzy with whales, sea lions and myriad seabirds feeding around the boat. It was another magic moment, ahead of a nice sail down to Avila Beach; we needed the engine for about 45 minutes before the wind filled and we sailed all the way into the bay. We were greeted by a whale feeding just outside the anchorage and dropped anchor between the piers. We had a nice catch up with the crews of Wind Trail and Lucky Dog, who we’d met in Monterey and Morro Bay. It’s not hard to meet cruisers and we’re already recognizing what a great community we’ve become part of.

After paddleboarding into the cute seaside town of Avila Beach (we failed and both got wet in the surf) we prepped the boat for a 2am departure for the point. We wanted to make Santa Barbara by nightfall and with over 90 nm to go decided to have an early start to give us plenty of time. By 2:30am we’d left the anchorage and were under way for Pt. Conception. Shan loved the moment overnight when the USCG sector radio calls changed from San Francisco to Los Angeles – a new world!

At daybreak we were motoring toward Conception in benign conditions, and we rounded the point just after 10am. Sailors say that on rounding this point the foulies come off and the t-shirts come out. That was the case for us, and by 11:30am we’d stripped off and were enjoying the sun and our first dolphin bowriders – very exciting for Shan who’d been talking about this moment for years! Unfortunately, immediately after the dolphin high, we had the engine overheat again. We’d experienced this a couple of times already (remember the Golden Gate?) and Andy had planned to fix the likely culprit – our exhaust elbow – in San Diego. This was the final straw though and he had a new project for Santa Barbara. We sailed slowly for a couple of hours to allow the engine to cool and then ran under reduced revs into Santa Barbara. We arrived right on dusk and anchored next to the pier. We loved our time on the central California coast with its abundant sea life, but we’re also stoked to be in SoCal at last!