We are now in Oxnard, California. The end of our journey. It's been a real struggle.
We left Santa Barbara on September 28th. We never could get our motor fixed so we had to motor down here using our dinghy motor. It took twelve hours to go thirty miles. A Honda 2 horse is a great little motor but doesn't move a big sail boat very fast. Ha! Of course, no wind in our favor. Just more butt pain stuff. Now we our trying to get our boat settled in a slip until we can return for her. We will be back in a few months with a trailer to haul her out. In the mean time, we will rest up and get a few things fixed. Until our next voyage...I wish you all peace, and may the odds, be ever, in your favor.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Thursday, September 15, 2011
THURSDAY----
This morning, we saw a terrible sight. One of our fellow anchored neighbors boat, either dragged anchor or he lost his anchor....ran aground. Captain just got out of bed and looked out the hatch. He said "Looks like that boat is going toward shore". By the time I got out of bed, it hit the beach!!
We turned on the radio and heard the may day. The guy was calling the harbor patrol and just wanted to get off of his boat! It was slamming back and forth.
Harbor patrol came to the rescue but couldn't do much. It was too far stuck. The poor guy got off his boat and had to sit on the beach all day and watch it break apart. As his stuff was washed ashore, he put it in a pile.
We went to shore and I caught a bus to go find a decent grocery store that doesn't charge an arm and a leg for provisions. What an adventure that was. First off, you have to really pay attention to where you are going so you can get back. Second, you have to be on the lookout for a store. Hopefully, you can get off of the bus before you go way past the store and have to hike back. Anyway...I did it. This is the first time I had to do it all by myself. It's not alot of fun to pack all the groceries by myself. I'm not doing it again.
This morning, we saw a terrible sight. One of our fellow anchored neighbors boat, either dragged anchor or he lost his anchor....ran aground. Captain just got out of bed and looked out the hatch. He said "Looks like that boat is going toward shore". By the time I got out of bed, it hit the beach!!
We turned on the radio and heard the may day. The guy was calling the harbor patrol and just wanted to get off of his boat! It was slamming back and forth.
Harbor patrol came to the rescue but couldn't do much. It was too far stuck. The poor guy got off his boat and had to sit on the beach all day and watch it break apart. As his stuff was washed ashore, he put it in a pile.
We went to shore and I caught a bus to go find a decent grocery store that doesn't charge an arm and a leg for provisions. What an adventure that was. First off, you have to really pay attention to where you are going so you can get back. Second, you have to be on the lookout for a store. Hopefully, you can get off of the bus before you go way past the store and have to hike back. Anyway...I did it. This is the first time I had to do it all by myself. It's not alot of fun to pack all the groceries by myself. I'm not doing it again.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
We are feeling alot better today. I did some fishing! Caught three!! We ate them for supper. Pretty good too! We've been doing some work on the boat. Bob & Bart come out once-in-awhile in his dinghy. He always brings a bottle and some mix and we have a drink with him. He is amazing.
I don't mind being out on this boat all the time. The hard part is going to shore in the dinghy. We take R.J. with us and she is a pain to get back on the boat. She likes to go to shore. She wants to stay on land. Can't blame her. At night, the rocking & rolling of the boat makes it impossible to sleep.
I don't mind being out on this boat all the time. The hard part is going to shore in the dinghy. We take R.J. with us and she is a pain to get back on the boat. She likes to go to shore. She wants to stay on land. Can't blame her. At night, the rocking & rolling of the boat makes it impossible to sleep.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Today...we are both sick with colds. Lots of coughing going on. We are anchored out in Santa Barbara Channel. When we got back to the harbor, our motor quit. The boat nearly hit some boats that were tied to the dock. Captain was yelling alot, again, so as soon as we got close to a dock, I jumped off the boat and ran for help. A gal at the office radioed for some guys to go help Captain.
They escourted the Ruby Jean right into the nearest slip. It was impressive.
Now we are waiting for pay day. The weather is cold and the boat rocks & rolls all night long. Not much sleep again.
The people that are anchored around us are interesting. The biggest boat out here has two big ole dogs aboard. The dogs never get to go to shore. A young couple are on the boat and I think they have some personality problems. There's another boat close to us with a strange fella aboard. He starts his noisy generator up at about dark and leaves it running most of the night. One night, he cooked something on his bar-b-q that smelled like trash. All night long....it was so grose. I have my suspicions about what he was cooking. The next day, he sure had alot of visitors stop by in their dinghies. His boat is named "Jolly Mon". Everyone stopping by yells "Hey Jolly Mon!!!! Sometimes he must be passed out cause they can't get him to come out of his cabin.
They escourted the Ruby Jean right into the nearest slip. It was impressive.
Now we are waiting for pay day. The weather is cold and the boat rocks & rolls all night long. Not much sleep again.
The people that are anchored around us are interesting. The biggest boat out here has two big ole dogs aboard. The dogs never get to go to shore. A young couple are on the boat and I think they have some personality problems. There's another boat close to us with a strange fella aboard. He starts his noisy generator up at about dark and leaves it running most of the night. One night, he cooked something on his bar-b-q that smelled like trash. All night long....it was so grose. I have my suspicions about what he was cooking. The next day, he sure had alot of visitors stop by in their dinghies. His boat is named "Jolly Mon". Everyone stopping by yells "Hey Jolly Mon!!!! Sometimes he must be passed out cause they can't get him to come out of his cabin.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
BEAUTIFUL SANTA BARBARA
We have arrived at Santa Barbara. It has been 3 days since we left Santa Cruz. THREE DAYS out on the ocean! It felt like we were in a washing machine. Pt. Conception and Pt. Arguella can be and were nasty!! While Captain was doing some navigation with the laptop, a big wave spashed over it and that was the end of that. Actually, I have to admit that was my fault. Captain's cell phone got the front of it cracked too. That was his fault. Then it started raining. We got down in the cabin and closed the hatch cover. We have an alarm that goes off when the auto pilot is in trouble. It went off but we just huddled together and stared at the auto pilot. It was just to dangerous to get out there. No sleep all night long cause I figured we would have to abandon ship at any time!
Actually, it's not possible to abandon ship. Where are you going to go? At the time...I had to face the reality of sink or swim? We had our storm gear on, life vest, even R.J. had hers on. Captain had our water proof bag that contained our passports, I.Ds and money. I had my pockets full of candy. Did a little repenting. I was ready to die. The Ruby Jean stayed afloat though!! She really impressed me.
That was the first night. We finally got threw the storms. I fell asleep and when I woke up, the sun was shining in my face. It was calm and I was one happy First Mate. Captain wasn't as happy as I was.
There was no wind, and we were almost out of gas.
We decided to wait around for the wind to blow. Not much choice about that either. We were next to an oil rig. I still can't believe how prettily lit up they are at night. They look like Christmas trees. I took some pictures but they didn't turn out well. We bobbed around the rig all day, all night and half the day after that. No wind! I was enjoying myself sun bathing and reading a good book.
We kept trying to call Bob as he should have been in Santa Barbara by now. Captain decided to use what gas we had to get closer to Santa Barbara. Engine started and we were off!! After a few miles, my phone rang and it was Bob!! Hey!! I told him our situation. He told me to call him when we ran out of gas and he would dinghy us some gas. Hey Again!!!
Believe it or not, we made it to the break water of Santa Barbara!! Gave Bob a call and then we waited. When we saw him coming in his dinghy, it was one of the best sights I've seen. It still chokes me up to think about it. He and Bart!! Even R.J. was glad to see Bart! We finally got to the harbor. I think I did kiss the dock when I got off the boat.
After checking in and getting a slip, we got to rest up. I like this place alot. It's such pretty country and a clean harbor. Our auto pilot seems to be done for. Now we have to steer by hand.
A cruising ship came into harbor one day. Well...they can't really get into harbor. They anchor way out where the water is deep and they boat people to shore. That was interesting. A couple of days before the ship arrived, the harbor put up flyers all over to tell us of the arrival of the ship. Lots of people would be coming to shore. I've never seen so many people in one place that don't speak English. People from different countries. One thing I noticed about them...every one likes to party. Also, alot of tall people. The ship stayed two days. Then...just like that, it was gone.
Here are some pictures of the party bus/boat that the tourist party on. They have food, drinks and music. Dancing and all that. First, it's a bus and they drive all over the harbor and parts of the town. Then they drive right into the ocean and motor all over playing music and having a great time. One night while we were walking R.J., the bus drove into the water and broke down. Couldn't get the engine started. They had to call a tow truck to get it out of the water. All that time, people just kept dancing and having a good time.
On Thursday, September 8th, we headed for the Channel Islands. What a ride that turned into! I got to steer the boat for about an hour and a half. Then we got to "windy lane" and things got wild! It was what they call exellerating. We made it to Smugglers Cove and anchored. One other boat was there. We were getting hammered by the wind. After awhile, lots of boats started coming in. Some people were frantic. Couldn't get their anchors set. One guy lost his dinghy on the way in. People do strange things when they're stressed. It got dark and we all tried to get some sleep but it was ruff all night. The next morning, all was calm and sunny & warm. We did some fishing and sun bathing. Captain ran around in the dinghy, looking for fishing spots. It was sad to see that the kelp beds were all gone. No kelp beds...no fish. We stayed another night. It was rock & roll all night again. Come daylight, everyone was packing up and heading out of there. Us included. Back to Santa Barbara we headed. Stopped at Ventura harbor but decided to go back to Santa Barbara. At least we could spend some more time with Bob.
Actually, it's not possible to abandon ship. Where are you going to go? At the time...I had to face the reality of sink or swim? We had our storm gear on, life vest, even R.J. had hers on. Captain had our water proof bag that contained our passports, I.Ds and money. I had my pockets full of candy. Did a little repenting. I was ready to die. The Ruby Jean stayed afloat though!! She really impressed me.
That was the first night. We finally got threw the storms. I fell asleep and when I woke up, the sun was shining in my face. It was calm and I was one happy First Mate. Captain wasn't as happy as I was.
There was no wind, and we were almost out of gas.
We decided to wait around for the wind to blow. Not much choice about that either. We were next to an oil rig. I still can't believe how prettily lit up they are at night. They look like Christmas trees. I took some pictures but they didn't turn out well. We bobbed around the rig all day, all night and half the day after that. No wind! I was enjoying myself sun bathing and reading a good book.
We kept trying to call Bob as he should have been in Santa Barbara by now. Captain decided to use what gas we had to get closer to Santa Barbara. Engine started and we were off!! After a few miles, my phone rang and it was Bob!! Hey!! I told him our situation. He told me to call him when we ran out of gas and he would dinghy us some gas. Hey Again!!!
Believe it or not, we made it to the break water of Santa Barbara!! Gave Bob a call and then we waited. When we saw him coming in his dinghy, it was one of the best sights I've seen. It still chokes me up to think about it. He and Bart!! Even R.J. was glad to see Bart! We finally got to the harbor. I think I did kiss the dock when I got off the boat.
After checking in and getting a slip, we got to rest up. I like this place alot. It's such pretty country and a clean harbor. Our auto pilot seems to be done for. Now we have to steer by hand.
A cruising ship came into harbor one day. Well...they can't really get into harbor. They anchor way out where the water is deep and they boat people to shore. That was interesting. A couple of days before the ship arrived, the harbor put up flyers all over to tell us of the arrival of the ship. Lots of people would be coming to shore. I've never seen so many people in one place that don't speak English. People from different countries. One thing I noticed about them...every one likes to party. Also, alot of tall people. The ship stayed two days. Then...just like that, it was gone.
Here are some pictures of the party bus/boat that the tourist party on. They have food, drinks and music. Dancing and all that. First, it's a bus and they drive all over the harbor and parts of the town. Then they drive right into the ocean and motor all over playing music and having a great time. One night while we were walking R.J., the bus drove into the water and broke down. Couldn't get the engine started. They had to call a tow truck to get it out of the water. All that time, people just kept dancing and having a good time.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
TEN DAYS AT SANTA CRUZ
Anyway, here we are. We came in on Friday evening and had a very nice cruze from Half Moon Bay.
Low and Behold we saw the Molly O docked on the other side of the channel from where we were.
We are glad that Bob made it. But we soon found out, not without trouble.
Remember when Bob was using a pole to clean off the rudder on his boat? Well, when he left us in the FOG...and motored hard...he burned out his motor. He had to be towed in by the Harbor patrol. He was three hours out from the harbor. Coasted him some bucks! Now he's waiting to get things fixed. I feel for him as it's no fun to have trouble on the water.
We have seen two other boats come in with some damage. One nice BIG boat had dropped the anchor just enough to bang back & forth across the front of the boat and make a nice gash all across the front.
Looks bad. Another fellow had his deck plate torn out for the main sheet. They were all layed up here for days.
I like all the people standing up on their surf boards, paddling. They call it paddle boarding. They boogy all over and hardly ever get wet. They come right up to our boat and start talking. A person needs good balance to do that.
We've met two very nice people from Chili. Ben and MaElena. Actually, they live in Berkley, Ca. But originally from Chili. Ben is quite the character and MaElena is very pretty. We have exchanged phone numbers and promised to stay in touch. We got the tour of their boat. Very nice with about everything in the world on it.
We have stayed here for ten days. I've enjoyed the stay, but time to head for the next destination. Santa Barbara!!
Monday, August 22, 2011
BEAUTIFUL BODEGA BAY
This is a beautiful harbor. It too, is fenced with locked gates. A safe harbor. I love walking from dock to dock, looking at all the boats. There's a nice little sandy beach for R.J. to run around on. She doesn't seem to notice the waves crashing down. She's an "ole seadog'' already!
There's a very long fishing dock over by the beach. A person can actually go fishing over there with out a license. Matter-of-fact...people can fish without a fishing license on lots of docks in California.. I bought an out of state license as soon as we got to California. That cost me over $100.00! That was stupid. Didn't do the research.
Lots of folks out on that dock. Bar-b-q's, ice chests, lines going every directions, kids screaming and running up and down the dock. Maybe fishing off the boat is a better idea.
Back at the boat. Captain and Bob have made plans for us to travel together down to Santa Cruz. They call that "Buddy Boating". That's interesting. Captain is worried about crossing the shipping lanes. It's like a freeway for ships and all travelers of the deep. There will be alot of fog and we don't have radar. Bob has radar so we will follow him. Captain is especially worried about the San Francisco area.
I love San Francisco. I would like to stop and visit. Bob would like to stop and visit. After alot of discussion....we're not stopping. Oh well....maybe another time. The plan is to leave on Thursday.
While sitting at the laundry mat, I spy a wonderful looking boat coming in to harbor. Every time a new boat sails in, everyone stares at it and wants to go see who has arrived and hear some new stories. It's like "Little house on the prairie" episodes. As the boat reaches the fueling station I see Captain and Bob heading over there. I assume I'd better get over there too. Don't want to miss anything. The boat's name is "Mischief". Bob and Sharon are on board. They are on their way to the Ba ha ha ha. That's a funny name! It's what my Grandma would call "a gathering". Grandma was a Chickasaw citizen. I spent many summers with her in Oklahoma. She sure could throw a knife. Anyway...back to my story....we all introduced ourselves. Then we all went back to what we were doing.
I'd never heard of the Ba ha ha ha until these days I've been sailing. Just to explain a little about it, it seems to be a gathering of boats, no smaller boat than a 27 footer. Owners pay a set amount fee to travel together to certain destinations. They moore their boats and go to shore for food and intertainment along the way. Their final destination is down at Baja, Mexico. Sounds like alot of fun. I think they begin in San Deigo, California. I could be wrong about that.
THURSDAY MORNING 06:00
We are motoring out of the harbor this morning. Bob, on the Molly O, is leading the way. It's a little foggy. I wish I would have taken more pictures. Bob asked me to take some of his boat as he doesn't have any while it's sailing. So, here are a couple so you can see what a nice boat the Molly O is.
I must practice on getting the whole boat in the picture. It's actually not an easy job to take pictures on a 26 foot, moving boat. I'm learning so much! I watch Bob cleaning kelp off of his rudder with a pole. I should have gotten a picture of that.
This water is rocking my eyelids closed. It's peaceful. The fog gets thick in spots and Captain keeps telling me to watch for boats! Finally I must have given up the ghost cause I get awakened by the Captain and he is fit to be tied! Turns out it's been several hours and Bob has tacked up and left us out of sight. No call on the radio..not even a good bye wave. Just gone. Wonder what's up with that?
We are probably 50 miles out. Captain motors at full speed ahead. Sometimes that can be traveling about 7-8 knots. Trying to catch up with Bob or find some sighting of him. Finally...we realize we've been abandoned. Captain gets out his chart and computer. We have a chart plotter in the computer. It's nothing fancy but it works to save our butts. "Whatever happened to Bob?"
So now my job is to watch for boats. No sleeping. We are closer to shore and I actually see a tug boat pulling a ship! How awesome. I see another ship of some sort. I've been lisening to the radio too but nobody speaks English. Finally, we are past the shipping lanes and Captain calms down some.
Glad that's over with. Seems like he always has good excuses for being anal.
We are past San Francisco and we are both so tired. Captain says we will stop at Half Moon Bay.
This stop hasn't been planned so I get out one of our trusty books to find the harbor entrance. Good luck with that by flashlight. It's after dark now. We get past the jettys and turn into what looks like the entrance. It turns out to be the mooring balls with alot of boats with sleeping passengers on board.
We try to go through quietly. I finally get harbor patrol on the radio and he tells us what dock to go to.
We have to do that by flashlight too. My advise is....get to where ever you're going..before dark!
Shortly before turning the radio off, we hear a voice come on saying, "Santa Cruz harbor master, harbor master...this is the Molly O.
We got ourselves settled and went to sleep. Good night.
This is a beautiful harbor. It too, is fenced with locked gates. A safe harbor. I love walking from dock to dock, looking at all the boats. There's a nice little sandy beach for R.J. to run around on. She doesn't seem to notice the waves crashing down. She's an "ole seadog'' already!
There's a very long fishing dock over by the beach. A person can actually go fishing over there with out a license. Matter-of-fact...people can fish without a fishing license on lots of docks in California.. I bought an out of state license as soon as we got to California. That cost me over $100.00! That was stupid. Didn't do the research.
Lots of folks out on that dock. Bar-b-q's, ice chests, lines going every directions, kids screaming and running up and down the dock. Maybe fishing off the boat is a better idea.
Back at the boat. Captain and Bob have made plans for us to travel together down to Santa Cruz. They call that "Buddy Boating". That's interesting. Captain is worried about crossing the shipping lanes. It's like a freeway for ships and all travelers of the deep. There will be alot of fog and we don't have radar. Bob has radar so we will follow him. Captain is especially worried about the San Francisco area.
I love San Francisco. I would like to stop and visit. Bob would like to stop and visit. After alot of discussion....we're not stopping. Oh well....maybe another time. The plan is to leave on Thursday.
While sitting at the laundry mat, I spy a wonderful looking boat coming in to harbor. Every time a new boat sails in, everyone stares at it and wants to go see who has arrived and hear some new stories. It's like "Little house on the prairie" episodes. As the boat reaches the fueling station I see Captain and Bob heading over there. I assume I'd better get over there too. Don't want to miss anything. The boat's name is "Mischief". Bob and Sharon are on board. They are on their way to the Ba ha ha ha. That's a funny name! It's what my Grandma would call "a gathering". Grandma was a Chickasaw citizen. I spent many summers with her in Oklahoma. She sure could throw a knife. Anyway...back to my story....we all introduced ourselves. Then we all went back to what we were doing.
I'd never heard of the Ba ha ha ha until these days I've been sailing. Just to explain a little about it, it seems to be a gathering of boats, no smaller boat than a 27 footer. Owners pay a set amount fee to travel together to certain destinations. They moore their boats and go to shore for food and intertainment along the way. Their final destination is down at Baja, Mexico. Sounds like alot of fun. I think they begin in San Deigo, California. I could be wrong about that.
THURSDAY MORNING 06:00
We are motoring out of the harbor this morning. Bob, on the Molly O, is leading the way. It's a little foggy. I wish I would have taken more pictures. Bob asked me to take some of his boat as he doesn't have any while it's sailing. So, here are a couple so you can see what a nice boat the Molly O is.
I must practice on getting the whole boat in the picture. It's actually not an easy job to take pictures on a 26 foot, moving boat. I'm learning so much! I watch Bob cleaning kelp off of his rudder with a pole. I should have gotten a picture of that.
This water is rocking my eyelids closed. It's peaceful. The fog gets thick in spots and Captain keeps telling me to watch for boats! Finally I must have given up the ghost cause I get awakened by the Captain and he is fit to be tied! Turns out it's been several hours and Bob has tacked up and left us out of sight. No call on the radio..not even a good bye wave. Just gone. Wonder what's up with that?
We are probably 50 miles out. Captain motors at full speed ahead. Sometimes that can be traveling about 7-8 knots. Trying to catch up with Bob or find some sighting of him. Finally...we realize we've been abandoned. Captain gets out his chart and computer. We have a chart plotter in the computer. It's nothing fancy but it works to save our butts. "Whatever happened to Bob?"
So now my job is to watch for boats. No sleeping. We are closer to shore and I actually see a tug boat pulling a ship! How awesome. I see another ship of some sort. I've been lisening to the radio too but nobody speaks English. Finally, we are past the shipping lanes and Captain calms down some.
Glad that's over with. Seems like he always has good excuses for being anal.
We are past San Francisco and we are both so tired. Captain says we will stop at Half Moon Bay.
This stop hasn't been planned so I get out one of our trusty books to find the harbor entrance. Good luck with that by flashlight. It's after dark now. We get past the jettys and turn into what looks like the entrance. It turns out to be the mooring balls with alot of boats with sleeping passengers on board.
We try to go through quietly. I finally get harbor patrol on the radio and he tells us what dock to go to.
We have to do that by flashlight too. My advise is....get to where ever you're going..before dark!
Shortly before turning the radio off, we hear a voice come on saying, "Santa Cruz harbor master, harbor master...this is the Molly O.
We got ourselves settled and went to sleep. Good night.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
SAILING WITH WHALES!!
Who would have thought I would ever..in my life..go sailing with whales? That's what happened today!
I have a girlfriend that went swimming with sharks while she was visiting Hawaii. I'm pretty sure I have her beat! Only thing is...I couldn't get a picture of them. There were alot of them. Moma's with their babies. There was one...as long as our boat!! I think he was "Big Daddy". They are awesome! I can't get the sight out of my mind.
It's something that most people on this earth will never get to experience. I feel special.
We are going around Pt. Arena right now. Everything is perfect. Time for a nap.
When I wake up...Captain has just started the boat engine. Seems he hove to during the night and got a little sleep. He woke up in the middle of a whale pod. He seems a little agitated. He told me if we get between a cow and her calf, we could be in alot of trouble. So..we got out of there fast. Well....as fast as the Ruby Jean will motor. Which is just a little better than 2 knots. And that's on glassy water. From what I saw earlier, there's not gonna be an escape if we get on the wrong side of one of those whales. We can hear them talk to each other. NEAT!!!
There's not any wind so we will motor on in to Bodega Bay. I love the sight of these California hills.
They seem to roll along forever. No trees on them. They are strange looking.
So...we motored into the harbor at 7:00 AM. Right away, we spot The Molly O. Our buddy Bob from Eureka is still here! We figured he would be gone already. We also have a dock buddy sitting on the dock next to ours. He's not sharing either!
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
FIVE DAYS AT FT. BRAGG
We left Eureka marina on Tuesday, August 16th at 7:00 a.m. The fog and wind waves were bad!
We sailed when we could and motored when we had to. All day and all night. We didn't get much sleep as the ride was terrible! Knocked around all night long. I took my turn at watch, a couple of hours before daylight. As the Captain layed down to get some rest, he said we better stop at Ft. Bragg. I was happy to hear that.
I have started to sing while I'm on watch during the dark hours. It keeps the brain awake. Seems like the songs that come to my mind are hymms that we sing in church. It could be,I'm trying to make points with the Lord. It gets spooky out on the ocean at night!!
So.....I'm singing away and notice that the waves have smoothed out and the ride is nicer. It's also getting real warm. I like it. Captain wakes up, looks at the depth finder and says we are in 12 feet of water!!! Boy! That's scarey. He says we're heading toward shore! Boy! That's really scarey!
Of course, we head out to deep water real quick. The fog is so thick. I got a big lecture about keeping a watch on the depth finder. Now I realize how important that peace equipment is.
Captain checked our location with the GPS and navigation equipment. We were about to the Ft. Bragg entry, it was still so foggy. We both strained our eyes...looking for the bouys. We finally passed some fishing boats heading out for the day and we started feeling better. It's such a helpless feeling when you can't see where you're going. We finally saw the bouys and entrance. It's a very narrow entrance. We were looking around so much, we came to an abrupt stop. Stuck in the mud again!!
We were able to reverse out of it this time. The depth finder said 2 feet of water but I'm pretty sure that wasn't right. Anyway...this is the coolest little harbor. We passed behind a restaurant that has a little skinny dock on the back of it, with a sign that says "Visitors Dock". So..we pulled over to it and tied up. This little restaurant is so cute! We find out that it belongs to the Corrine family for 65 years and has quite a history. There's a rickity walk that goes from the little dock up to the restaurant's side yard. I wasn't sure R.J. was gonna make it up that walk way. She doesn't see well any more and hates high places. After a time or two, she did fine. I got some good pictures of "Corrine's".
They serve Italian seafood. Lots of pictures of movie stars hanging on the walls, that have visited and eaten here. I like this place. The Coast Guard is across from us and they get us up early every day with the raising of the flags and they start the boat engine. They march around and yell orders. It's just liked being back in school. There are divers going out in their boats every morning. It's a busy place. Sea lions wake us up every morning too. They chase each other and blow water all over the place. Sometimes..they get under our dock and fight. Now... that...is scarey! We will be here awhile cause the small craft warning flag is up every day.
This is the Noyo Fishing Center. They have fishing charter boats a person can go out on.
We left Eureka marina on Tuesday, August 16th at 7:00 a.m. The fog and wind waves were bad!
We sailed when we could and motored when we had to. All day and all night. We didn't get much sleep as the ride was terrible! Knocked around all night long. I took my turn at watch, a couple of hours before daylight. As the Captain layed down to get some rest, he said we better stop at Ft. Bragg. I was happy to hear that.
I have started to sing while I'm on watch during the dark hours. It keeps the brain awake. Seems like the songs that come to my mind are hymms that we sing in church. It could be,I'm trying to make points with the Lord. It gets spooky out on the ocean at night!!
So.....I'm singing away and notice that the waves have smoothed out and the ride is nicer. It's also getting real warm. I like it. Captain wakes up, looks at the depth finder and says we are in 12 feet of water!!! Boy! That's scarey. He says we're heading toward shore! Boy! That's really scarey!
Of course, we head out to deep water real quick. The fog is so thick. I got a big lecture about keeping a watch on the depth finder. Now I realize how important that peace equipment is.
Captain checked our location with the GPS and navigation equipment. We were about to the Ft. Bragg entry, it was still so foggy. We both strained our eyes...looking for the bouys. We finally passed some fishing boats heading out for the day and we started feeling better. It's such a helpless feeling when you can't see where you're going. We finally saw the bouys and entrance. It's a very narrow entrance. We were looking around so much, we came to an abrupt stop. Stuck in the mud again!!
We were able to reverse out of it this time. The depth finder said 2 feet of water but I'm pretty sure that wasn't right. Anyway...this is the coolest little harbor. We passed behind a restaurant that has a little skinny dock on the back of it, with a sign that says "Visitors Dock". So..we pulled over to it and tied up. This little restaurant is so cute! We find out that it belongs to the Corrine family for 65 years and has quite a history. There's a rickity walk that goes from the little dock up to the restaurant's side yard. I wasn't sure R.J. was gonna make it up that walk way. She doesn't see well any more and hates high places. After a time or two, she did fine. I got some good pictures of "Corrine's".
They serve Italian seafood. Lots of pictures of movie stars hanging on the walls, that have visited and eaten here. I like this place. The Coast Guard is across from us and they get us up early every day with the raising of the flags and they start the boat engine. They march around and yell orders. It's just liked being back in school. There are divers going out in their boats every morning. It's a busy place. Sea lions wake us up every morning too. They chase each other and blow water all over the place. Sometimes..they get under our dock and fight. Now... that...is scarey! We will be here awhile cause the small craft warning flag is up every day.
This is the Noyo Fishing Center. They have fishing charter boats a person can go out on.
Captain Mike on Main Street
Today is Sunday. We've been here five days. We are rested and ready to get on down to Bodega Bay. The small craft warning flag has been taken down and the weather is calm. We are leaving at noon.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
ARRIVED AT EUREKA MARINA AT 7:30 A.M.
We left Brookings harbor at noon yesterday. We had a nice short trip. The waves were not bad at all. I never got sea sick. I have discovered that eating alot of potatoe chips, keeps my belly from getting woozy. I believe it's the salt. I've tried the ginger candy and cookies. I like the ginger snaps. I found some the were gluten free, as I have celiac disease. I was eating them left and right until the boat went one way and I went another. The bag flew out of my hand and landed right under the captain's foot as he stepped down! All the contents instantly turned into crumbs. So....those went over board. I've learned one thing on a small sailboat....you can't have nothing nice.
This is a pretty nice marina. It's the first one we've been to that is gated. Everything is locked and secured. Now we have to keep track of a key. It lets you in and out of the gate. It gets you into the bathrooms and showers. Also..the laundry mat. We had to put up a rather large deposit for the "key". So that means...don't drop it in the water or leave it unattended any where. And...don't forget it when you walk down a couple of docks to the gate. That way...you don't have to use your cell phone to call the Captain to bring you the key. Or you can walk back to the boat and get it.
I never dreamed I'd get so much walking done while traveling by boat. I love learning new things!
I have to tell you about the new people we've met. We are docked in front of Bob and Margaret on the "Molly O". They are from Washington. Bob has retired and is heading to San Diego. Margaret has to go home soon. They were kind enough to bar-b-q some salmon and we had a feast! Bob has a wonderful Jack Russell puppy named " Bart". He has a cast on one of his hind legs. All he needs is a patch over one eye and he could pass as a pirate. R.J. isn't real thrilled about that puppy bugging her. She growls at him but he doesn't notice. She doesn't like him coming on her boat, drinking her water and eating her bones. She goes to the cabin when he comes on board. HA!
There is another couple across the marina from us. They have a rather large boat, 60 foot, and are docked out where the action is. I hope they can sleep with all the boat traffic. They are Peter & Molly. They have seven children. You should see the kids playing on that boat! They swing around like little monkeys! It's amazing to watch. Wish my folks would have had a boat!
They are heading north to Washingon and onward.
We walked to town to get provisions. BOY HOWDY! We had to pass by a fish packing plant. You talk about stink! WHOOOOOOO!!! I put my hanky over my nose, but after two minutes or however long it takes to get use to a smell....it still stunk. That fact doesn't seem to be true with dead fish. Only thing that worked for me was to walk faster.
We will be leaving here on Monday, August 15th. There's alot of bad weather going on all around us. I'm not looking forward to this next cruise. Destination.....Bodega Bay.
We left Brookings harbor at noon yesterday. We had a nice short trip. The waves were not bad at all. I never got sea sick. I have discovered that eating alot of potatoe chips, keeps my belly from getting woozy. I believe it's the salt. I've tried the ginger candy and cookies. I like the ginger snaps. I found some the were gluten free, as I have celiac disease. I was eating them left and right until the boat went one way and I went another. The bag flew out of my hand and landed right under the captain's foot as he stepped down! All the contents instantly turned into crumbs. So....those went over board. I've learned one thing on a small sailboat....you can't have nothing nice.
This is a pretty nice marina. It's the first one we've been to that is gated. Everything is locked and secured. Now we have to keep track of a key. It lets you in and out of the gate. It gets you into the bathrooms and showers. Also..the laundry mat. We had to put up a rather large deposit for the "key". So that means...don't drop it in the water or leave it unattended any where. And...don't forget it when you walk down a couple of docks to the gate. That way...you don't have to use your cell phone to call the Captain to bring you the key. Or you can walk back to the boat and get it.
I never dreamed I'd get so much walking done while traveling by boat. I love learning new things!
I have to tell you about the new people we've met. We are docked in front of Bob and Margaret on the "Molly O". They are from Washington. Bob has retired and is heading to San Diego. Margaret has to go home soon. They were kind enough to bar-b-q some salmon and we had a feast! Bob has a wonderful Jack Russell puppy named " Bart". He has a cast on one of his hind legs. All he needs is a patch over one eye and he could pass as a pirate. R.J. isn't real thrilled about that puppy bugging her. She growls at him but he doesn't notice. She doesn't like him coming on her boat, drinking her water and eating her bones. She goes to the cabin when he comes on board. HA!
There is another couple across the marina from us. They have a rather large boat, 60 foot, and are docked out where the action is. I hope they can sleep with all the boat traffic. They are Peter & Molly. They have seven children. You should see the kids playing on that boat! They swing around like little monkeys! It's amazing to watch. Wish my folks would have had a boat!
They are heading north to Washingon and onward.
We walked to town to get provisions. BOY HOWDY! We had to pass by a fish packing plant. You talk about stink! WHOOOOOOO!!! I put my hanky over my nose, but after two minutes or however long it takes to get use to a smell....it still stunk. That fact doesn't seem to be true with dead fish. Only thing that worked for me was to walk faster.
We will be leaving here on Monday, August 15th. There's alot of bad weather going on all around us. I'm not looking forward to this next cruise. Destination.....Bodega Bay.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
BROOKINGS HARBOR-OREGON
It only took us thirty hours to get here. It was a nice cruise. We got boarded by the Coast Guard as soon as we got to the guest dock. That is.... as soon as we got the Ruby Jean straightened up, next to the dock.
I'm sorry.. but I couldn't get off the boat fast enough to grab the aft dock line! Captain Mike jumped off and held the bow line while the back of the boat floated on out away from the dock.Wouldn't have been so bad except I was standing on the dock with Captain watching this happen. So, while we are swinging our boat around, the Coast Guard is demanding to go aboard. Hey...go ahead if you want to get wet!
I was thinking, "what's wrong with these guys?" Captain finally got things the way they were suppose to be and started talking about being in the Navy and Vietnam. Pretty soon, the CG fellas got real nice to us. We passed inspection and I felt good about that.
Brookings Harbor was in need of alot of repair. The Tsunami had done some damage. There was no water, no power and no showers. They had free wifi. Some of the docks were totally gone!
One neat thing I found here is, biologists inspect the fish brought in on the fishing boats. They collect data about the fish caught, to help determine what steps need to be taken to improve the fishing. They work hard all day long running around after fish. It's impressive.
We had to order a new, bigger battery charger. It's good to be here with no shore power. We found out that our battery charger isn't big enough. Glad we found this out before we got some where out on the water, in the dark, with no lights. God has His way of watching over us.
We had some family come over for lunch and spend the day with us. We really needed the company.
Also, needed their car to get provisions and gasoline.
I got to try out my new washing machine while we're here. It's one of those "Wonder Washers." Hand crank. Works good. I love clean clothes. We've been here for eight days and will leave tomorrow. I'm ready!
It only took us thirty hours to get here. It was a nice cruise. We got boarded by the Coast Guard as soon as we got to the guest dock. That is.... as soon as we got the Ruby Jean straightened up, next to the dock.
I'm sorry.. but I couldn't get off the boat fast enough to grab the aft dock line! Captain Mike jumped off and held the bow line while the back of the boat floated on out away from the dock.Wouldn't have been so bad except I was standing on the dock with Captain watching this happen. So, while we are swinging our boat around, the Coast Guard is demanding to go aboard. Hey...go ahead if you want to get wet!
I was thinking, "what's wrong with these guys?" Captain finally got things the way they were suppose to be and started talking about being in the Navy and Vietnam. Pretty soon, the CG fellas got real nice to us. We passed inspection and I felt good about that.
Brookings Harbor was in need of alot of repair. The Tsunami had done some damage. There was no water, no power and no showers. They had free wifi. Some of the docks were totally gone!
One neat thing I found here is, biologists inspect the fish brought in on the fishing boats. They collect data about the fish caught, to help determine what steps need to be taken to improve the fishing. They work hard all day long running around after fish. It's impressive.
We had to order a new, bigger battery charger. It's good to be here with no shore power. We found out that our battery charger isn't big enough. Glad we found this out before we got some where out on the water, in the dark, with no lights. God has His way of watching over us.
We had some family come over for lunch and spend the day with us. We really needed the company.
Also, needed their car to get provisions and gasoline.
I got to try out my new washing machine while we're here. It's one of those "Wonder Washers." Hand crank. Works good. I love clean clothes. We've been here for eight days and will leave tomorrow. I'm ready!
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
OUR TIME AT CHARLESTON MARINA-COOS BAY, OREGON
This is one of our favorite places to be. The needs of a person can be found here. Mike's folks lived here during the 1960's. His dad had a commercial fishing boat. I like to be around commercial fishing people. They have good stories to tell.
We've had lots of wind and gale warnings nearly every day. I did get everything that was wet from the knock down, dried out. It's a long walk to the laundry mat. On our walks, we found a couple of handy little stores and a church. A window on the church has a stained glass picture of a sea captain at the helm. Jesus is standing behind the captain with His hand on his shoulder. I wish I would have taken a picture of that to share with you.
I did get a picture of, The Charleston Fisherman's Memorial. Here it is...
This memorial commemorates local fishermen lost at sea and those who worked in the commercial fishing industry. There's a list of names of those lost at sea. It's very spiritual.
We have public crabbing down our dock. Loads of people coming down. They carry their crab traps and bait, ice chests, kids and bar b q's with them. It's really amazing! It seems like it's different people every day. They catch crabs and mussels. I love to watch everyone. They are friendly people and they love their families. They kiss and hug each other and play together all day long! It's a scene to restore your faith in human beings. I'm honored to have spent time with these people.
I like when a tuna boat comes into dock to unload. I am impressed with the fish! All the fish! I guess it's an every day thing to some, but I have never seen this. I watched one little boy, about 8 years old, dolly his first 55 gallon barrel of tuna down the dock. He was so proud of himself..not to mention his dad taking a roll of film of the whole thing. I love things like that!
We've been waiting for a weather window and tomorrow, August 3rd, we will be shoving off for Brookings Harbor. We hope they have the marina up and running. They took a hard hit from the lastest Tsuname from Japan.
This is one of our favorite places to be. The needs of a person can be found here. Mike's folks lived here during the 1960's. His dad had a commercial fishing boat. I like to be around commercial fishing people. They have good stories to tell.
We've had lots of wind and gale warnings nearly every day. I did get everything that was wet from the knock down, dried out. It's a long walk to the laundry mat. On our walks, we found a couple of handy little stores and a church. A window on the church has a stained glass picture of a sea captain at the helm. Jesus is standing behind the captain with His hand on his shoulder. I wish I would have taken a picture of that to share with you.
I did get a picture of, The Charleston Fisherman's Memorial. Here it is...
This memorial commemorates local fishermen lost at sea and those who worked in the commercial fishing industry. There's a list of names of those lost at sea. It's very spiritual.
We have public crabbing down our dock. Loads of people coming down. They carry their crab traps and bait, ice chests, kids and bar b q's with them. It's really amazing! It seems like it's different people every day. They catch crabs and mussels. I love to watch everyone. They are friendly people and they love their families. They kiss and hug each other and play together all day long! It's a scene to restore your faith in human beings. I'm honored to have spent time with these people.
I like when a tuna boat comes into dock to unload. I am impressed with the fish! All the fish! I guess it's an every day thing to some, but I have never seen this. I watched one little boy, about 8 years old, dolly his first 55 gallon barrel of tuna down the dock. He was so proud of himself..not to mention his dad taking a roll of film of the whole thing. I love things like that!
We've been waiting for a weather window and tomorrow, August 3rd, we will be shoving off for Brookings Harbor. We hope they have the marina up and running. They took a hard hit from the lastest Tsuname from Japan.
Monday, July 18, 2011
LEAVING NEWPORTI snapped this picture at Newport marina
It's Monday afternoon and we are sailing out of the harbor. Next stop...Coos Bay! I'm still pretty tired but I did sleep like a corpse. The captain is in good spirits and ready to go. This time before leaving.....
we ate a huge supper and fixed alot of extra food that we can easily heat up and eat. It's no fun to be bounced around while trying to keep a pan on the burner.
I've given R.J. her tranquilizer pill and she ate alot. I'm hoping she will feel better this trip. It will be dark in a few hours and she will go to sleep. We have a nice breeze and will be able to sail.
As the darkness comes, I cannot stay awake. My body loves the rocking of the boat and wants to sleep. Captain is not too happy about it. He yells alot and that's not like him. Oh well....blissfull sleep.
I was barely awakened during the night when Captain started the motor. I was thinking now we have to smell that stinking thing again. The boat seemed to be rocking and rolling harder than when I went to sleep. I had to hook a shoulder under the back rest on my bunk to keep in my bunk. Captain kept hollering about a confused sea...whatever that means. I dozed off again. Next thing I knew, I was laying down on the bilge and my head hurt badly! Captain was yelling for me to get up and help him cause we just took a knock down! It was a real struggle to get up as the boat was pitching bad! I had hit my head on the step to climb out of the cabin. A nice knot!
Everything was thrown around in the cabin and it was wet! Had about 2 inches of water on the floor.
I got R.J. tied on to one of the bunks so she would stay in one place and then I fought like hell to get out of the cabin and into the cockpit. All this time I had all my storm gear and life jacket on and was very glad of that. Of course, we all stayed strapped to the boat.
We fought the sails, the sheets, cockpit cushions, the movements of the boat and the cold. I kept asking myself..Did that just happen? For a long time the wind and waves were holding us in one spot. It was awesome! We checked and rechecked to make sure nothing critical was damaged by the knock down.
I was never so glad when daylight came. The wind and waves finally died down. We made it to Coos Bay at 9:30 a.m. Captain and I were beat to death. So tired. It seemed like we were home at last.
We got across the bar and when a person is too tired, they sometimes make poor judgements. Captain tried to take a short cut and guess what? Stuck in the mud. Yep...come to a complete standstill. Now what, Mr. Smarty Pants? I was wishing I had a video camera as Captain was very upset and embarrassing me with the things that came out of his mouth.
He told me to work the tiller back and forth while he hung off of the port side and then the starboard side, rocking around going back and forth. Good thing he weighs 200 pounds cause that sure came in handy! The motor was reved up and smoking real good. After 20 minutes...we were free!!! That was another mess he got me into. Anyway...we motored on in to the marina with out anymore problems.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
We left the harbor at Warrington, Oregon on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
Warrington had been our home for the past month. We lived on our boat, The Ruby Jean, and prepared her and our selves for the following voyage.
We had been waiting for a good day to cross the Columbia River bar. This was to be my first time ever to sail. I was quite nervous but yet excited. I had been told that the Columbia River bar is about the worst bar to cross, just about any where. Looking back now....I'm glad I was ignorant of just how rough it would be. I might not have gone.
Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Brenda Teaford. My husband is Michael. Michael has been a sailor for most of his life. We have only used motor boats for fishing since we've been together. The Ruby Jean is a Haita 26' sailboat. She's small but we loaded so many provisions on her, I couldn't believe it. So...off we went. We brought along our dog that had never been on a boat in her life. We call her R.J.
At first, all was going pretty well. Then the waves got higher and higher as we got farther from shore. I tried my best to "enjoy the ride", as I've been told to do. I got sicker and sicker. So did R.J.
Captain Mike, as I was told to call him, began to shout alot of orders for me to do that sounded like a foreign language to me. I finally had to leave him up top and go get in my bunk. Sleep was my only refuge. I noticed R.J. was totally not moving except when she puked. She stayed in the cockpit with the captain.
I was awakened sometime just before dark, to help R.J. down in the cabin as it was raining. Captain Mike was in his rain coat & hat and had his fishing line out. He was actually singing! He was so happy and I thought I was dying. He even caught a nice sized salmon! He didn't get it into the boat though. He was a little too excited and he couldn't keep ahold of it. All I could do was sleep.
I was aware that the captain cooked some food and made coffee. It smelt so bad to me. I really wanted to get off this boat!!
At about midnight, Captain woke me up to stand my watch. He needed to sleep. I drug myself out to the cockpit. I was still so seasick. After Captain layed down, I noticed the waves weren't nearly as rough as they had been. I fixed myself a cup of chicken broth. That was a miracle for settling my belly. I began to feel much better. My watch lasted about two hours. I could hardly wait to get back to my bunk and go to sleep! When day light came, I felt well enough to drink some coffee. I still could not get myself together and function properly. The ocean was beautiful. I'll never forget how it looks into the horizon at a distance. I understood at that moment why people love the sea.
On Sunday afternoon we motored into Newport Harbor. What a nice place. Very clean with the widest docks, made of concrete, I've ever seen. Walking on those docks was a different story.
R.J. and I could hardly wait to get out of the boat and to the rest room. We did our share of staggering around. We were on land but I felt like I was still swaying back and forth like the ocean.Yes....I had a lot to learn.
Me & R.J. at the beginning
Warrington had been our home for the past month. We lived on our boat, The Ruby Jean, and prepared her and our selves for the following voyage.
We had been waiting for a good day to cross the Columbia River bar. This was to be my first time ever to sail. I was quite nervous but yet excited. I had been told that the Columbia River bar is about the worst bar to cross, just about any where. Looking back now....I'm glad I was ignorant of just how rough it would be. I might not have gone.
Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Brenda Teaford. My husband is Michael. Michael has been a sailor for most of his life. We have only used motor boats for fishing since we've been together. The Ruby Jean is a Haita 26' sailboat. She's small but we loaded so many provisions on her, I couldn't believe it. So...off we went. We brought along our dog that had never been on a boat in her life. We call her R.J.
At first, all was going pretty well. Then the waves got higher and higher as we got farther from shore. I tried my best to "enjoy the ride", as I've been told to do. I got sicker and sicker. So did R.J.
Captain Mike, as I was told to call him, began to shout alot of orders for me to do that sounded like a foreign language to me. I finally had to leave him up top and go get in my bunk. Sleep was my only refuge. I noticed R.J. was totally not moving except when she puked. She stayed in the cockpit with the captain.
I was awakened sometime just before dark, to help R.J. down in the cabin as it was raining. Captain Mike was in his rain coat & hat and had his fishing line out. He was actually singing! He was so happy and I thought I was dying. He even caught a nice sized salmon! He didn't get it into the boat though. He was a little too excited and he couldn't keep ahold of it. All I could do was sleep.
I was aware that the captain cooked some food and made coffee. It smelt so bad to me. I really wanted to get off this boat!!
At about midnight, Captain woke me up to stand my watch. He needed to sleep. I drug myself out to the cockpit. I was still so seasick. After Captain layed down, I noticed the waves weren't nearly as rough as they had been. I fixed myself a cup of chicken broth. That was a miracle for settling my belly. I began to feel much better. My watch lasted about two hours. I could hardly wait to get back to my bunk and go to sleep! When day light came, I felt well enough to drink some coffee. I still could not get myself together and function properly. The ocean was beautiful. I'll never forget how it looks into the horizon at a distance. I understood at that moment why people love the sea.
On Sunday afternoon we motored into Newport Harbor. What a nice place. Very clean with the widest docks, made of concrete, I've ever seen. Walking on those docks was a different story.
R.J. and I could hardly wait to get out of the boat and to the rest room. We did our share of staggering around. We were on land but I felt like I was still swaying back and forth like the ocean.Yes....I had a lot to learn.
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