We woke up to a foggy harbor but that was not going to deter us, as long as the engine started. With much gratitude to our mechanic Kevin and the Monterey Boatyard staff, Malo started on the first try.
Malo is sitting in the "ways." (The dock where the boats are taken in and out via the travel lift.)
We motored out slowly, passing the Coast Guard dock and tied up fishing boats. There were a number of small fishing boats in the harbor that we kept a watchful eye on.
As you can see in the picture below, it was a very calm morning and our visibility was limited. We motored for a little while.
Eventually the fog lifted, the breeze picked up and we raised the sails.
Dan did a little reading, while I did some helming.
The weather was damp and a little cool. I had to get dressed warmly. Our boat has an open cock pit and the helm has little protection. We prefer it this way, but it does mean we are more exposed than many cruising boats who like to have a closed in cock pit.
The winds were light around 8 knots, so Dan thought he would try to put the Code One sail up. For some reason, it did not go as planned and after I had hauled the halyard up, he had me lower it again. This is what happened to Dan and the sail, as he tried stuffing it back into the bag. Meanwhile the winds were picking up and the rolling waves were rocking the boat. We will try it on a calmer day and in calmer conditions to get the tangles freed up.
It is difficult to show, but the winds are picking up to a solid 15 knots.
Dan takes the helm. Notice how he uses a wide stance, as the boat rolls with the swells.
Dan also helms from the side. This is something I am practicing to do as well. Because Malo is such a responsive, lively boat, she reacts to every little thing. It is more difficult for me to keep a good coarse. All in time and with practice.
The day had been cloudy without much sun and our batteries were running a bit low. In order to keep the batteries charged sufficiently we had to start the engine and run it for two hours. We have 3 great solar panels that provide 480 watts of power. The energy provided is not unlimited and we must balance our usage with the amount of energy stored in our batteries. This requires us to keep a watchful eye on our voltage gage. We try never to go below 60% of our battery capacity.
The following items use power: refrigerator, auto-helm, navigation instruments, bilge pumps, lights, 12 volt chargers for our phones, InReach and fans, and mini power inverter for our lap top computers. When we run low, we limit the use of some of these - mostly the refrigerator and auto-helm.
In the photo below, you will notice the sails are down and rolled up. But why? We lowered the main sail in preparation for a night of sailing. Because we are sailing with the wind and on a very broad reach, the jib alone moved us steadily along at a nice 4 - 6 knot pace. The swells rocked the main sail so much, that it was simpler not to use it. The boat balanced out nicely this way.
While we ran the motor to charge the batteries, the jib was flapping around so much, not providing much pull, so we rolled her up for those 2 hours of motoring.
When I am at the helm and have things under control Dan can escape to the aft cabin and read a book.
This is how I have to sleep, with industrial head phones, so the noises of which there are many, don't bother me. Actually this was my original solution to a snorring partner and it has continued to be helpful with boat noises. I know, they are rather silly looking, but they work. Not very comfortable when side lying, so my solution was to cut holes for the ear muffs in a solid foam pillow. It works pretty well, and the main thing is, I can get some sleep.
We stay away from these babies! Big freighters!
This three day passage, which just happened, is already a blur in my mind. The days roll into one another, time just moves along at its' own pace, Malo sails along and we move along with our little routines, checking battery levels, helming, watching for whales, dolphins, napping, eating, watching the waves, the clouds and being sort of mellow.
We were happy when the sun finally came out, which I believe was on our third full day.
We finally got to take our warm clothes off and settle on tees and for me, even shorts for an hour or two. Notice how Dan can helm with his toes.
Bev at the helm!
Here I am practicing helming from the side.
We all have our little "quirks" in life and I have a few more than most. One is: my feet sweat, then I get cold. (I suspect 7 foot surgeries have contributed to this dilemma.) My solution has been to change my socks often. While sailing in cold weather this is even more important and eventually I have to dry out my socks. Here is my solution: to dry them under the dodger. (Sadly, this is only day two of the passage and I've gone through a lot of socks!)
When it is time to lower the sails, we do a maneuver called "heaving too". This allows for a temporary stalling of the boat. (I'm still trying to wrap my head around this one, but it works).
We had some very magical moments. One that I sadly did not photograph, was at night and seeing massive bioluminescence in the water. It was like snow on top of every wave crest, in a dark black sea. Then the dolphins arrived! They were glowing and left a swirly tail of luminescence as they darted back and forth and around the bow of our vessel. It was like nothing I've ever seen before.
Dan's blog gives a nice description of this. https://onemoretimetosail.blogspot.com
Originally we were planning on going to the Channel Islands. We altered our plans because of the unexpected long stay in Monterey and because we heard the anchorages there were getting very rolly from the swells as the fall/winter seasons approaches.
We did pass the eastern most Channel Island which is called Anacapa Island.
We've spent 3 nights and 3 full days at sea for a total of 295nm (nautical miles) travelled. It is early morning and we are finally approaching Catalina Island.
Calm waters! Very majestic!
The harbor master greets us and checks us in. We are staying on a mooring ball in Isthmus Cove on Catalina Island.
Here is this quaint little village called Twin Harbors.
Malo is moored quietly in this beautiful and empty harbor. Stay tuned for more. We're off to explore the island.
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