Waiting and Exploring Crescent City

We have been spending time in Crescent City while waiting for the UPS delivery of our sail slides.  It has been pleasant weather, and having the bikes has made all the difference in the world for me.   I took a ride along the jetty and discovered these interesting shaped Doloes which are used to help hold the water and disperse the waves.  Apparently some even have sensors in them that measure the movement activity.  Most of this "protection" of the harbor was done after Crescent City was hit by two tsunamis in 1964 and 2011.

As I rode my bike back on the jetty, this was the view: not bad!   The light house is called Battery Point Lighthouse and is one of the oldest on the Pacific Coast.

As I continued to bike along Pebble Beach, I was able to see a different view than when Dan and I had biked it in the fog.  There were many rocks protruding just off shoreline.  This was why Crescent City Harbor has such a specific entry point.  It would be fun in a kayak, but not for Malo.

As I continued on my bike trip, I decided to find the Walmart in town - about 2-3 miles out.  Naturally I would stock up on a few supplies.  The problem of how much I could carry was resolved when I found a cheap, foldable pannier set for my bike.  I was very proud of myself for figuring out how to put them on and not having them rub the sides of my bike (by using cardboard stuffed on the inside).  I am not sure Dan was equally impressed, because I did get a reminder that the boat can only hold so much stuff.  The reminder was taken well, but we do need to get food provisions and this seems like a good way to me.

Tom is our neighbor at the dock, since we decided to relocate the boat to H dock or the "transient dock".  He has had an interesting sailing life, and this is the latest boat he is working on.  It is a yawl. Because of health challenges, he will be selling it shortly, but she is a beauty.

Then we had the pleasure of Captain Chris Couch arriving at our dock with this cabin cruiser! He delivers boats now, but spent 20 years in the Coast Guard, some of the time in Crescent City.  Very knowledgeable about the Pacific Coast and shared a lot of stories.  He has even written several books, one of which he gave us.  As a result, we have even subscribed to buoyweather.com - which is the weather forecast he likes to use.





One afternoon, this interesting 47ft Aluminum "Swing Keel" Cutter showed up on our dock.  The owners and co-captains are Victor and Judy Raymond.  They bought their boat in Venezuela (a risky place to buy a boat) but it was originally made in France.  The name "Rajah Laut" means "King Of The Water" and rugged it was.  They are also sailing to Mexico this year and were very nice, knowledgeable but down to earth. (or should I say, as salty as the sea?)  Either way, I sure hope our paths will cross again.

On another bike ride with Daniel we went by Battery Point Lighthouse.  Because it was low tide then,  we were able to cross the beach, which is often covered with water and we climbed the hill as the building was open for spectators. We even got on a guided tour!  The following are photos of this experience except the water was high for this particular picture of the lighthouse.


















As we approached the lighthouse, one could see it was built very strongly to withstand heavy winds and perhaps waves.



A friendly person from Idaho Falls offered to take our photo.  Sure why not?



Below is the view from the top of the lighthouse., with part of the lens showing.



The next morning it was calm so Daniel suggested we try to rig the Code One Gennaker Sail that we had made at a North Sail Loft in Portland, Oregon.  It is stored in a snuffer tube like sock and that is hauled to the top with the spinnaker halyard. Below Dan is taking it out of the sail bag and then it gets raised and the wind fills up the sail.  It is meant for lighter air and can close reach.

Now all we have to do is untie the dock lines.    But wait, we still need to get the UPS delivery of sail slides.  Once that happens, and the new sail slide is put on the sail we will do things like:  refill the water tanks, stow away any loose articles, food etc, put the fiddle boards in the cupboards and most importantly empty the port-a-pot.  This was how we did this; with MY bike!  (It was the only one with a back rack on it.)

Bev the poop deliverer

The plan was to leave Crescent City around 5 Pm, and head 65 nautical miles to Eureka, California.  We left by 4:30Pm......
To be continued on the next post.