This is an addition to the last entry. I forgot to put the map of where we are and a picture of the yacht club from our boat. This club has a very active junior sailing program.
Archive for July, 2011
Saturday July 23, 2011
We left Monterey Marina at 11:20am, got to the fuel dock at 11:45. Unfortunately they were just going to lunch and would not be back until 1:00pm. We finally departed from the fuel dock at 13:25 after taking on only 15 gallons of fuel.
The first part of the trip was just trying to get out of Monterey Bay. It seemed to take for ever. Finally around 5:00pm started heading down to coast. Around 7:30pm the wind died down to about 3 kts. Larry took the helm at midnight to overcast skies, no moon, no stars, no boat traffic. All I could see was the traffic headlights from HWY 1.
Sunday July 24, 2011
We arrived at our waypoint outside San Simeon about 5am heading for San Luis Obispo. Weather is still overcast, foggy, and cold. We have yet to see any sea life.
At 12;45PM we spotted a problem with the Main Sheet shackle at the traveler and had to change it out with main still up. The problem with the shackle was it came loose and bent. No problem now.
Larry getting ready to cook dinner. I got everything out to make scallop potatoes and couldn’t find the potatoes. Joel and I looked for about an hour until we finally found them. Dinner was started and the seas started to get a little lumpy. The swells were 8-10 ft. at 9-10 seconds. A very bumpy ride. Dinner was great. Mixed green salad, three bean salad, scallop potatoes, and kielbasa sausage
Joel got the whale badge. He spotted a pod of 3 whales off our port bow about 200 yards away. They were swimming in our direction until they were about 50 yards from us and then dove out of sight. This was the only picture I got. If you look in the upper right you should be able to see his dorsal fin.
We reached Pt. Aguerro around 6pm. Seas confused, not too bad. Joel is even doing a Sudoku puzzle.
Four miles from Conception and Joel decided to scare the @#%& out of us by stepping on the kill switch for the engine. everything is A-OK.
midnight
Going around Conception we experienced very confused and high seas. Some waves we were surfing down at 12 knots. For those non sailors reading this blog, 12 knots is twice the speed this boat is supposed to go.
Monday July 25,2011
3am We are now in the Santa Barbara Channel Trying not to hit any oil platforms. No traffic has been seen for hours. We seem to be the only ones out here.
9:42am we arrived at the Ventura Yacht Club. Total time at sea for this leg was 44 hours 15 minutes. We tied up at the dock and went to bed. Nap time over at 3pm.
See you at our next up date.
Joel Tuttle and Larry Zabel
s/v Entre Nous
July 19, 2011
Monterey
Well, we are finding more things to do while waiting for a good weather window. Yesterday we went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. We spent all day there looking at and learning all about the marine life in the Monterey bay. They still have a great jellyfish exhibit with jellies as small as a pin to ones as large as 16” in diameter and 20’ long.
This is a picture of an electrical jelly. I can’t remember the exact name.
The following picture is of several lions mane jellies.
We also got a behind the scenes tour of the aquarium. We learned how they feed and take care of all the different sea creatures. One interesting thing we learned about the octopus was they are the smartest of the invertebrates. They can learn a complex problem by just watching another animal solve it and then solve it in seconds the first time through. They found that in the octopus tank they had to line it with AstroTurf to keep him in.
We didn’t get a picture of the octopus but this is a picture of the shark from the top of the tank where the public isn’t normally allowed.
If someone reading this blog is or knows a marine biologist please let me know what this fish is called. Joel or I didn’t catch what it’s name. It is an unusually ugly fish.
Today we went to town to find a UPS store. Joel has to send his flir in for repair. By the way, for those who are not up on the latest boating electronics, a flir is a night vision camera. The repair facility is in Santa Barbara and hopefully we will be there next week to pick it up.
Later today we are going to the farmers market that’s held every Tuesday downtown.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
The farmers market was 4 blocks downtown. Lots of fruits and vegetables, as well as arts and crafts of all kinds. Several food booths were there as well. What amazed joel and me both was the van parked in a stall. It was an oven truck full of rotisserie chickens and fried potatoes. This is a picture of the oven part of the van.
While walking the market Joel spotted a Supper Cuts that was open so he decided to get a haircut. He was actually over due and the stylist agreed.
After walking a good part of the afternoon, we came back to the boat and I made dinner, and we crashed.
Today, I don’t know what got into us but we decided to rent bikes for the afternoon. We rode past the Aquarium along the Ocean View to Pacific Grove Lighthouse, around Asilomar to Point Joe, then to bird rock, Up Spyglass Hill to Stevenson. Then we proceeded to get lost and wound up back at HWY 68 and over to Lighthouse rd. and back to Fisherman’s Wharf. I think that was about 25 miles. It took us 3 hours. Spyglass Hill was very steep. At several places Joel and I had to get of the bikes and walk them up the hill. It was a gorgeous ride.
This is a picture of 2 bucks just lounging on the golf course.
We are still planning to leave here on Saturday and arrive in Ventura on Monday.
See you in Ventura.
Larry Zabel
Co-skipper
Entre Nous
We arrived in Monterey on Wednesday July 14, 2011. The weather is better here. Anything is better than foggy, drizzly Half Moon Bay. We had breakfast at Lulu’s, a little restaurant on the pier.
Muggs is coming in on Friday for the weekend. We are planning to leave after Muggs leaves,
We had a great time this weekend with Muggs. Yesterday we drove to Seaside to shop for a few odds and ends. Then we came back to Monterey and walked around downtown. Muggs found 3 used book stores to spend time and money in. Later we went to the wharf for dinner. Joel and I had a half a crab and Muggs had a mixed sea food dish. It was all delicious.
We just looked at the weather and as usual, the weather is in charge. It is predicted to blow 15-20kts and wave height to be 10 ft. at 9 seconds. It looks like we will be here at least until Thursday. I could think of worst places to be stuck. Half Moon Bay comes to mind.
The experiences of Joel Tuttle and Larry Zabel on Entre Nous. A Tayana 42.
Sunday July 10, 2011
Well, we are sitting in Half Moon Bay waiting for weather. What else is new.
Our exit from Alameda was very smooth. Too smooth. Something has to go wrong.
We didn’t have to wait too long. The weather predictions were for NW winds10-14 kt, seas 6-8 ft. at 12 seconds. Not too bad. Unfortunately, when we got out the gate the winds were SW 14-18 kt winds, and seas 6-8 ft. at 9 seconds. For those of you who are not sailors, these are pretty uncomfortable conditions. After we got out there we figured we were in conditions the coast guard would announce as “Small Craft Advisories”. After we arrived in Half Moon Bay, we got a slip for the night, had dinner, and watched a movie.
We finally went to bed around midnight and slept until after 9am.
Monday July 11, 2011
We woke up to fog and Small Craft Advisories this morning. We decided to stay another day or two until we get a better weather window. We spent the morning walking around town. If you come to Half Moon Bay during the week, don’t expect to find too much open. We took a walk over to the mall and walk around for a few minutes around noon, and Exactly one store was opened. We will spend the rest of the day plotting a course to Monterey, and watching a movie or two. Hopefully, tomorrow will be nicer.