Flight of the Blue Eagle

hardee · Posted: Wed Sep 05, 2012 12:09 pm Post subject:

What a trip. Sounds really special. keep being carefull and Enjoy,

Harvey
SleepyC Moon

mailbox101 · Posted: Thu Sep 06, 2012 7:55 pm Post subject:

Left early, an hour before sunrise, the top of the grand dome of Morro Rock disappearing into swirly fog and blackness. Nominal coastal chop, a coast guard boat with what looked like a serious boarding crew on deck, but they ignored us.

A puff of mist and a brief glimpse of the first whale we've seen in over a year. Then, a few hours later, just inside Monterey Bay, we came across a pod of whales! Not just a bit of whale at the surface, but at least four whales. Two of them breached, one of was entirely out of the water, spinning onto his back, and landing with a resounding splash. This was the first time either of us had seen anything like this, and it was truly amazing.

We will take advantage if the good weather to cross Monterey Bay today, and put in at the Santa Cruz marina. It will be our first time there since the tsunami, and we look forward to seeing how they have rebuilt it.

David and Donald

mailbox101 · Posted: Sat Sep 28, 2013 9:19 pm Post subject:

It is 6:19pm and Blue Eagle is full of fuel (170 gallons) and food.

The weather, here in Marina Del Rey, is beautiful. Point Conception is reasonably calm, after a month of unseasonably high wind waves, but there is a winter storm bearing down on us from Washington.

If conditions and fuel safely permit (I always allow 1/3 extra as a reserve.), we will attempt to reach Monterey, sometime tomorrow evening. If not, we will stop at Morro Bay.

David and Donald

mailbox101 · Posted: Sun Sep 29, 2013 6:52 pm Post subject:

We stopped at Coho, a calm anchorage just south of Point Conception, for a few hours of rest. The moon had already set, so we had to rely on radar to ensure that we were anchored far enough from the other boats. The catch was that I couldn't go forward to deploy the anchor while the radar was on. We resolved this by setting a waypoint for where we wanted to drop anchor while the radar was on, and then using that as a point of reference once it was off. The anchor set fast without trouble, and we were about to go to sleep when "Frontier Control" at Vandenburg AFB announced that zones 6-9 would be closed for 6 hours (Coho is in zone 9). We contacted them on 16, explaining our situation (tired and small craft advisory), and they were able to make an exception. As a side note, calling for "Frontier Control" on channel 6 or 16, is apparently the best way to find out about closures by radio, but they only monitor when a closure is imminent.

A couple hours later I had the neat experience of waking to a loud roar, poking my head out the hatch, and watching a rocket climb skyward. Wow!

We woke up in this pristine oasis of calm water, watching the seals playing in the kelp fields as we refueled the boat from cans, cooked breakfast, and weighed anchor. Onward we go, to Points Conception and Arguello.

David and Donald

kmcclish · Posted: Mon Sep 30, 2013 11:23 am Post subject:

Hi David and Donald,

We also saw Elon Musk's rocket in flight. We were driving south on US 101, a little north of Pismo Beach and got a spectacular view of the rocket in the southern sky. We see frequent launches but don't recall seeing so much exhaust flame. It was a thrillling sight!

I'm becoming convinced that Elon Musk is a modern day Edison. I had an opportunity to drive his Tesla roadster and I felt that I was driving a rocket. His ideas for Tesla super charging stations and high speed rail transportation for California show considerably more insight that our state's politicians.

Good luck on your cruise back home. Hopefully you'll get a good weather window!

Now that our health is improving, we'll look forward to seeing you on some of next year's C-dory adventures.

Regards,

Kent and Marcia
MARCIA JANE

mailbox101 · Posted: Wed Oct 02, 2013 11:22 pm Post subject:

Hi Kent and Marcia,

If I'd known you were so close we could have put ashore for lunch.

We were able to get as far as Morro Bay before having to turn in due to the huge swells reported to be coming our way from a huge storm offshore of British Columbia and Washington. The last little bit, rounding the point near the Diablo nuclear plant took forever. The final 6nm were done at reduced speeds of 4-5 knots, due to conditions, and we didn't have many alternatives as conditions were worse further out, and there are rocky outcroppings closer in. Eventually we made the corner and were surprised to discover what, based on the NOAA maps, was the only smooth section of water between Vancouver and Santa Barbara. The trip into the bay was completed at full nighttime speed.

We are glad to hear that your health is improving and look forward to seeing you at next year's adventures. Drop us an email if you'd like to get together off the water sometime.

David and Donald
Blue Eagle