1.1.2015 to 1.3.2015
Mia and I got our second catalina island trip in! During one of the clearest and coldest few days in a long time. That satellite image shows how there were no clouds, the pictures show how completely flat the seas were, and other than bundling up and still shivering in the ~50 degree air, everything was great.
We left at 12:45 and were moored at 4:45. The following day we hiked north to Fourth of July cove, cherry cove and beyond, and when we returned to A Cenoura I was even able to relax outside in trunks it was so warm. For about an hour.
We woke up the next morning at 6:30 and it was bumpy, some small 6" waves were rocking the boat uncomfortably, we prepared to leave and got back in about 3.5 hours. This wonderful app called marine traffic shows you all the big boats and ships around you, also gives you a gps reading and speed of your boat. Hard to believe but it said we were up to 7.3 knots motor sailing on the way back… I’ll take it! It was an awesome trip and we were able to take advantage of the few free days left before I start my new job which promises long hours and some time even on weekends… We’ll see how that goes.
Sunday may 4 2014
Washed the boat, cleaned most of the tape adhesive residue from around the wood, and got ready for sailing all while Mia studied for finals. For a break, we went sailing in some wavy, but nicely windy conditions. Once we had enough of that we came in and anchored and I put all the covers back on, and relaxed. Mia was studying more, too.
We saw a pretty exciting free for all of a pod of dolphins, some sea lions, and hundreds of birds attack fish just at the surface.
Got up and joined friends for brunch at Simmzy’s. I had thought Sunday would be my day to sleep in and wash/wax the sailboat, but it became a Sunday-funday in the matter of one phone call. The group and I all wanted to relax and let the brunch digest and the fun continue, so we decided that taking the boat out and anchoring was a good plan. It’s awesome to bring people out and relax, hang out and listen to music in the sun, use the boat for its many intended purposes, and watch all the activity go by. After a couple of hours chilling in the warm protected channel, we unhooked and raised the sails and did a big loop out in front of Hermosa Beach and Redondo before coming back to the dock. When I imagined owning the sailboat and living on it, days like today and yesterday were what I most looked forward to.
After getting back, the dogs Wylie and Gus got to have some fun, too.
When you get a break from mild spring Southern California weather, and it’s summer-like awesome Southern California weather, you drop everything and head to the water. In this case, fortunately my friend Jon and some of the troops were having a beach day in Hermosa, and were able to snap a few photo’s of me sailing on by. I’m stoked on these pictures.
I invited my friends Robby, Kristin, and Ashley out to go sailing for a few hours. The wind was calm and I let the autopilot do most of the sailing that day.
We got back with about an hour to spare before my guests had to leave, so we anchored out, too. It’s great that Redondo Beach harbor allows people to drop anchor behind the break wall. You can sit there swinging on the hook, hang out around the boat, and watch all the other activity go by.
My job doesn’t really deserve to be mentioned often on this blog. But I wanted to point out that regardless of the complicated or long weekdays, it’s always a great relief to come back to A Cenoura. Maybe there’s something about knowing how much fun is waiting for me by just untying the dock lines. So Friday after a transitional and busy week, I got home while the sun was setting, popped open a beer, and waited for my friend to come over before going to meet others.
