Saltbreaker

Point Conception certainly has built up a reputation. Cruising guides, internet forums, blog posts (including this one) all have the same quote: “Point Conception: Cape Horn of the West Coast”. Obviously the conditions aren’t anywhere near as treacherous as Cape Horn, but given the hype, and that this would be our first multi day passage, we decided to be extra cautious. We left Monterey just after noon, timed to put us outside Morro Bay at dawn. By then we would have fresh forecasts and a…

“What on earth is that noise?”. It sounded like someone had just turned on a dentist’s drill in the cockpit. It was 4am, and we reluctantly got (back) up to check it out. We’d just had a rough nights sleep, more of a nap really. The night before we’d been up plotting the best time leave Santa Cruz Island for the mainland. The hope was to make it to LA, but two fronts were forecast to pass through; a small one followed by a large…

They’re all yelling at me. I backpaddle, trying to decide what to do next, but the white noise caused by hundreds of voices screaming together prevents me from sorting anything out. More out of desperation than anything, I yell at them, “HEY! SHUT. UP.”. And to my surprise, they actually do… Well, at least for a couple seconds. The first row of 50 stops yelling and dives into the water, coming right at me. A wave of water enters the cave at it’s entrance 20…

You may have noticed that every once and a while our location gets posted to facebook. You also may have noticed that the last two weeks have been a bit sparse on the updates. Had I not messed up the spot-facebook link you would have watched us as we crept along the coast of Santa Cruz Island over the last week (we averaged 2 miles a day), but now we think we have spot all straightened it all out. Now instead of checking facebook for…

First, a couple definitions: mooring (ball) – a large metal ball with a hook in it that floats in a harbor, usually arranged in big rectangular grids, used for tying off for the night stern – the rear of the boat, or, shorthand, an anchor thrown off the rear of the boat Act I We arrive in Monterey the morning of September 21st, after a full day’s sail from Half Moon Bay. Within the harbor we look on in wonder at the number of sea…

I keep realizing, over and over, that this is actually happening. – We get onto Angel Island and we hike up the hill. Elmer, Dralle, Hannah, Erin, Pat look out at the North Bay. Elmer asks, “Is there any reason that sail boats are usually all white?” We spitball possible answers. – The owner of Kennedy’s Irish Pub and Indian Restaurant (a favorite over the past three years) asks us out front to take a picture for the photo wall. We’re wearing the following shirts.…

Somehow it didn’t feel real till the goodbyes started. 6 years ago Alex and I sat on a beach in Croatia watching cruising boats go wherever they pleased. 3 years ago I left for Korea with the intention of saving up as much money as possible. Last summer we started looking at boats, and this January Saltbreaker was purchased. The past few months have been nothing but work, boat work, food, and sleep. There really hasn’t been a whole lot of time for introspection. Suddenly…

“Haul in the line! … Wait, no. Let go of the line!”. We had just minutes ago passed under the golden gate, passing around our bottle of rum, toasting each other, the trip, and posing for the picture … which actually was several pictures. One was being taken every two seconds from the camera we had tied to a small kite behind the boat. Imagine, a time-lapse video of us leaving the gate from a camera 50 feet behind the boat! We had actually rehearsed…

Come join us for a send-off party this coming Saturday on Angel Island. We plan on heading out for the island around 10 am, claiming a handful of grills (right by the ferry terminal) and staying till after the last ferry (4:40pm). Our boat will be loaded with a ridiculous amount of hot dogs and beer, but feel free to bring along some additional snacks or libations. If you can’t make it to the island come stop by the dock and say farewell later that…

God. Why did Nick have to put that timer up on the site? I was having such a nice time imagining that this trip was still some crazy dream. Every time I look at that timer I realize it’s reality. 15 days 20 hours 31 minutes and 49 seconds until we go. There’s so much left to do. We’ll get it all done, but the enormity of it is just staring me in the face. In five hours, Nick and I are both officially unemployed.…