September 29, 2000
Hey we're cruising! We cut the last dock line around midnight on the 6th of September after quite a panic last minute run through Ballard getting the final items to the boat and grocery shopping. We motored through the night to Port Townsend where we fueled up and checked out the boats at the wooden boat show. We left Port Townsend at 6pm so we would arrive at Neah Bay in daylight. The wind picked up around 3:00 in the morning and it started to rain so we had a wet but good sail to the entrance to Neah Bay. The weather report was for 17-20 foot seas so we decided to join the 10 or so boats already waiting to sit it out and work boat projects. The next day saw a forecast for 35 knots of wind out of the south again with large seas so we decided to sit another day. We were very glad we had decided to wait when the rain started coming down harder and the wind picked up to 20 knots or so in the marina about 3pm. The boats that did leave that day reported a wet and wild ride. It was very cozy on the boat! It also gave us the opportunity to install important equipment like the cockpit speakers and rearrange the food storage to make it more readily accessible in rough seas.
We are now in sunny San Francisco, the weather has been great! We had a very easy trip down the coast from Cape Flattery, light winds and generally no more than three foot swells. That was surprising as that leg has the potential to be rough, wet and cold. It was a shame also because we had two excellent crew members and it might have been good experience to sail in snotty weather. Suzette was secretly hoping at least for bigger seas while she had someone on watch with her. But it was great to be warm and dry all the way just the same. We did make a stop at Coos Bay Oregon for fuel and showers.
It was a bit choppy as we motored out of Coos Bay but we decided to make a nicer dinner anyway. I (Suzette) started to heat up a frozen chicken marsala in the oven and then went to work on a rice dish. Despite the choppy conditions I managed to get the carrots and onions chopped and sautéing the pan (chop one baby carrot and put it in the pan before it escaped on the galley floor). It was quite the sight to see the gimbaled stove tilting at such dramatic angles! Almost seemed like 90 degrees at times and everything stayed in the new high sided frying pan. Next I needed to take the top off the chicken for the second half of its cooking. I made the error of putting it on the counter and as I started to take the top off, the wonderful smelling marsala sauce started to slop over the sides (all over the counter above the fridge so that also meant down into the fridge). Finally moved it to the stove and completed the task with no mess to the stove. Using a gimbaled stove is a bit of a leap of faith. Next step for the rice dish was to add 2 cups of rice and 3 cups of water to the frying pan. Looked at the frying pan, back at the directions and just knew there was no way the rice and water would to stay in the pan. So we opted to add pre-cooked pasta to the carrots and onions instead and had a quicker, safer dinner. I am finding that cooking underway can be a bit of a challenge. And we weren't even in very big seas! Gosh I can hardly wait.
We arrived at the Golden Gate ahead of schedule so we sailed back and forth under the Bridge waiting for Suzette's mom to show up at Fort Point to get our picture. Turns out she was waiting farther into the bay and wondered who the boat was who was sailing in and out the gate. It was nice to actually sail a bit as we had motored sailed almost the whole way down the coast. When we were ready to go in to the fuel dock, the wind died and then of course the starter wouldn't start (we did get it started) so we had our first opportunity to buy new boat parts. We now have a nice new starter and we rebuilt the old one as a spare.
While we have been here its been great fun. We have been staying with the Port of San Franicsco at the Marina Green, great location, great price but the docks are a bit scary and as Joe (one of our crew) was looking for a ride for Big Boat Regatta, it worked out great for him. During Big Boat we saw a lot of friends and the latest high tech race boats. It was a bit strange to be here and not racing or connected with a boat. We have also had a chance to attend a Giants baseball game in the new San Francisco stadium, pretty cool and has a view of the Bay.
We've been visiting with Suzette's family and friends while working on boat projects. We just bought a watermaker, which we will install during the next week and we are trying to finish up some varnish work plus various other projects. The list goes on and on, just endless ways to spend our time and money. We apologize for being a bit tardy in getting this first message out but we have been sidetracked by the Olympics in the evening when we were near a computer.
We are planning to leave San Francisco on the 10th of October with stops on the way to San Diego at The Hearst Castle at San Simeon, Long Beach to visit friends and perhaps Catalina Island.
We did get entered in the Baja Ha-Ha, a cruiser's race from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas. I heard there are 128 boats entered so far, will find out more at a pre-race gathering here in the Bay Area on October 3. The race starts on October 31 with a send off Halloween Party on October 29 followed by a lay day (recovery?) on the 30th. We are working on our costume ideas for the party. If anyone has any suggestions please send them along. The nice thing about the race is that it gives us a date to leave San Diego. So Halloween will be the day we leave the USA for who knows how long. So long for now,
Paul & Suzette S/V "ALTAIR"