A three hour tour...

OK, so things have been slow. REEEEEAAAAALLLLY slow. But I'll start from the beginning...

Starting from San Blas: Remeber how I said we met the local character? Well, he was certainly a character. San Blas itself was a little, well, dead. The bay was green and unswimmable, the town was past its peak, and the "noseeums" (biting bugs) are infamous. We're going to look at the positives though... We had a blast with our friends on Double Play regardless of the limitations. We started with the famous jungle tour up the river (on a panga), and saw some awesome birds (including storks and eagles), turtles, and tons of alligators (or crocadiles... I don't know the difference). The tour included a trip to the alligator farm and immediately after a trip to the swimming hole. They had a tiny cyclone fence erected on the water line to block off the spring from the beasts. Needless to say, none of us swam. As we watched a 16 foot alligator swim just outside the shitty fence we decided we valued our lives. After the tour we headed to the "must see" coffee town of Jalcocotan, a $50 cab ride with the 5 of us crammed in a mexican cab. When we finally got there, the cab driver must have thought we were nuts. There was NOTHING there, just a place to buy coffee. As Jay said, "anyone who had two tortillas and half a chicken left over from the night before became the best restaurant in town." We spend the 10 minutes it took to walk down the main street in town, then headed back to SB. As for the rest of our time in San Blas, we did meet some cool new friends, the sweetest old man named Johnny who watched our dinghy, watched the first precession of Guadalupe from a balcony bar, and had the BEST baked muffins/bread from a roadside stand.

We headed from there to Chicala, and as soon as we arrived we wondered why the hell we had spent 2 days in San Blas. Chicala was beautiful, much like Cane Garden Bay with it's palapa restaurants, colorful houses, and perfect beach. Jay and Kat spent a day in town (a non depressing town) and we had lots of beach time, swimming, and drinking. Unfortunately, we were a little stir crazy and the tiny cove didn't allow for long runs, and the snorkeling wasn't great. We spent a couple of days there and headed to Jaltemba.

We should have skipped Jaltemba. The first night we anchored off Isla Coral, which was beautiful if nothing else, but there was NOTHING to do. And here we were, stuck on a 42 foot boat with one another. All of us were bored out of our minds (complaints of the spoiled right? I know, I know) There is only so much you can read, and only so many movies you can watch per day. We were all wondering what we were thinking to have gone on this trip, and longing for company (DP had left), activity, and to get off the stupid boat (as we considered it at that point).

We finally arrived in La Cruz, thank god. Our first night was spent in the rolly anchorage, which didn't do much for our spirits. But the next day we headed down to meet up with our long lost friends SueBee and Eager Dreamer (we missed them terribly), and also got to reunite with Di's Dream. It was so good to see everyone! And we are off the boat, have things to do, and enough room to go for a run... thing are looking up!

So that's just what we are going to do... we can't wait to get back to California for a few weeks at Christmas! Miss you all!

BOOBIES!

We headed out of Mazatlan to Isla Isabella at about 6pm, deciding to try a new method of sailing through the night first (as oppose to after a full day of sailing). It worked out relatively well, we dropped anchor at around 9am the next morning and had the day to explore the island. Kat and Jay kayaked into shore to explore and take naps. I napped, snorkeled, explored shore and snorkeled some more (all by myself by the way, I even dove the anchor… I’m getting to be incredibly brave).

Isla Isabella is a tiny little tropical island that is home to a small, seasonal fishing village and more birds than you can imagine. In fact, you know you are getting close to the island when you can see the birds circling from miles out. The most exciting, of course, are the blue and yellow footed boobies (the bird kind of boobies). We arrived at the perfect time, the babies are hatched and these guys were actually entertaining to watch.

We had a pretty rolly anchorage, but the next day Kat went for a hike with double play. She came back with her bird saving story… apparently she rescued a frigate who got stuck in the underbrush. I woke up and went snorkeling to wake up. Just off our boat I saw a gigantic spotted eagle ray, about 5 feet in diameter, swimming about 6 feet below me. I swam with him for a while, it was incredible.

We decided to head out later that day in order to get a flat anchorage, so we pulled into San Blas just before sundown. So far so good… we met the local character Captain Norm, who told us the ins and outs of town. We had coffee and pastries at his home this morning, pretty interesting.

I’ll post more soon!

Mazatlan

Here are some more pics of our sea lion adventure…

We arrived in Mazatlan on Wednesday after a beautiful overnight sail. The winds held and the seas were relatively mellow, so we made excellent time. I decided to give the folks a break, so while they had a pool/nap day (they had graciously let me sleep in during the crossing) I took care of the laundry and grocery shopping. I LOVE the fact that they do your laundry for you here, we’re getting pretty spoiled with that. We were all ready for an early night to catch up on some sleep in the quiet and peaceful marina El Cid. Right as we crawled into bed the live band started less than 100 yds away… so much for peaceful. I swear the band knew one song, and they played it over and over and over again for the next 3 hours. Kat had the right idea, she popped a Benadryl and passed out, but even she couldn’t sleep once the fireworks started. Yes, there were also fireworks, and they were going off almost directly over our boat (fire hazard anyone?). Quite the welcome wagon.

We spend Thanksgiving day exploring and missing family. Our golf cart taxi driver was awesome, and drove us all over town to give us the tour. Old town Mazatlan is darling, we all fell in love with its narrow streets and European feel. This is where we decided to have our Thanksgiving feast: burritos and ceviche. The rest of the day was spent walking around the cathedral and open air markets, and calling the family. It was so nice to get a chance to talk to everyone (especially CAM), but it definitely made me a little homesick.

The next night Kat and Jay teamed up with Double Play and Calou for a night out on the town… from what I hear (and witnessed when they got home), they had a wonderful time. Apparently Kat performed onstage with the band and Jay had a dance off with some local kids while in the back of a pickup truck taxi.

More soon. We miss everyone lots! Can’t wait to see you all at Christmas!

La Paz, Islas Espiritu, and the Crossing

I must admit I have no idea where I left off last time, so I’m starting blindly (no internet, but if I don’t write now I’ll forget everything!)…

Our cruise from Ballandra to La Paz was short and sweet. We had one run in with some shallow water due to our inability to stay between the green and red, but corrected before anything to eventful happened. Pulling into Marina Palmira, we were greeted by our friends on Di’s Dream, as well as some other familiar Haha faces. La Paz is a gorgeous little city. The malecon (promenade) runs the length of the bay, and the sculptures that decorate it are absolutely beautiful. When I hunt down the pics I’ll post some, but again, you’ll have to forgive my forgetfulness when it comes to bringing my camera with me anywhere. We had a lovely dinner with Roger and Di the first night, where we were all serenaded by the local talent. Kat cried… of course. I think the guy was shocked that he could be so moving. The next morning I ran down the malecon to Marina de La Paz, where we went to breakfast and met up with the other cruisers. While Kat and Jay went to the hospital to x-ray Kat’s hand, I sat under a Palapa and welcomed Triumph in. Jamie, Gary and I went inland a bit to grocery shop and explore La Paz. When I finally got back to the Kat Den Rie, I was pleasantly surprised with the news that Kats hand is fine (they had a wonderful hospital experience), and that our friends on Beyond had come into Palmira. We met up with Triumph, Beyond, and Cameron from MorningCalm for dinner, all venturing inland for some authentic Mexican food. Gary and I had another run in with birds… I caught one with my bare hands (Toby was more worried about me getting some weird Mexican bird disease than impressed with my skills). After dinner we all walked down to see the rest of the sculptures and get some Fuentes for Jamie and me (its ice cream).

I jumped ship the next day, Conner and I both hopped on Triumph for our sail to Isla Espiritu, an island off of La Paz. It was really fun, we even had a little dip in the middle of the ocean on the way. Our first stop was Caleta Partida, where at low tide you can walk between the two islands, and can kayak between them at high tide, which is exactly what we did. Us kids had our kayaking adventure, then Gary and I hiked up to caves while Kat, Jay, Di, and Roger befriended the local fisherman. They traded a hat, two cokes, and a beer for about 5 pounds of fresh calamari, and with another similar trade gained a huge quantity of Dorado. They also discovered a great snorkel/fishing spot a couple coves up that they decided to share with us kids the next day. We had a fantastic hike up an old ravine and did some free diving, again, pics to come (my marine biologist is also the photographer so we’ll have to wait to get them from him in cali). We moved up the island that afternoon to Ensenada Grande, another perfect anchorage. Triumph had us all for dinner and Kat and Conner “jammed” on their guitars for entertainment. From Grande we took all took Triumph up to Los Islotes for the day to snorkel with the sea lions. I’m not going to lie, I was terrified, and even though no one else admits it but Jamie, I think everyone was a little scared. But they sea lions turned out to be pretty mellow, and spent the day playing around us and putting on a show. One little guy entertained us by playing around with a feather, and included Gary in his game. Jamie and I each had a scary moment, but Jay takes the cake. We heard him scream like a little girl and look around to see if we had heard him. When he realized we were all staring at him, he claimed that a little sea lion had bit him on the butt… I’m not convinced, there were no marks. In his defense, Kat did have to convince him to stay in the water, so maybe there is some truth in his tale. Di had a little bit of an incident, not sea lion related, getting back onto Triumph. All of a sudden, the dinghy wasn’t under her, wet hands were slippery, and long story short, she has quite the shiner. But being the good sport she is, she laughed it off. When we got back to the boats, the kids came over for some ceviche and beer, then we headed for Di’s Dream for rum cake and, of course, rum. The original plan was to exchange pictures on our last night together, but Jamie had us with her night dive suggestion. Hey, we had just overcome snorkeling with sea lions, why not jump in the ocean in the dark? (I had preciously claimed you couldn’t pay me to do that, I guess I was wrong). So Toby, Jamie, Conner, Gary, and I got all fitted up in wetsuits, and took the plunge. It was the most amazing thing. I cannot do the bioluminescence (spelling?) justice with any description, but it felt like we were swimming through stars that light up at the slightest movement. We all happily played around in them, then headed to the caves to check out the night crawlers. It wasn’t at all scary, it was just breathtakingly beautiful. A perfect way to spend the last night with Triumph. I hated to say goodbye, especially to my marine biologist Gary and Conner who are both headed home. But luckily I’ll see Toby and Jamie on the mainland in a couple weeks.

The next morning Kat Den Rie headed back to Los Meurtos with Di’s Dream. We had a lovely dinner at the restaurant and started our crossing of the Sea of Cortez this morning at 5 am. This is, hopefully, our last overnight for a long long time…

More when we get to Mazatlan!

Oh Mexico...

My last blog was a bit brief about Cabo... and a little premature. We spent a couple more days there provisioning, doing laundry, and recovering (yachting is a lot of work!). I also spent quite a bit of time sneaking into 5 star hotels to use their hot tubs and poolside bars. Kat needed some major recovery after taking a header down the compainionway... Our first day in Cabo we swam in to the beach, and I got stung by a jellyfish pretty bad. After begging for vinegar from the palapa bar, and being the good mom she is, Kat ordered us a couple of grade drinks to "ease my pain". Let's just say we needed an escort while swimming back to the boat (thank you Gary), and after deciding to strip down in the cockpit, mom "went down like a greased refrigerator" so to speak. Luckily nothing lifge threatening, but a couple of black butt cheeks and a bruised wrist made the next few days a little, uh, tender.

Our first sail out of Cabo was quite the beat. We set sail to Los Frailes, a beautiful little anchorage about 45 miles around the point into the Sea of Cortez. After a wonderfully relaxing day of running, snorkeling, and reading, the local, Phillipe, put on a fish taco and margarita party. There is absolutely nothing like a bondfire on a private, white sand beach. The next day we all headed to the reef to snorkel (Toby, Jamie, Kat, Jay, Gary, and me). The kids kayaked and spear fished, and Gary and I almost made friends with some Dolphins that were passing though. We had a wonderful dinner of fresh red snapper with Di's Dream (Suebee left us for Mazatlan) and met some other cruisers that we hope to see along the way.

Our sail to Ensenada de Los Muertos was perfect. We sailed the whole way in calm seas and good winds. We dropped our hook and went in to meet Triumph (and Torsen and Elka) for drinks and dinner at the charming little restaurant. We pulled our dinghy onto the beach and let Jay coach us on exactly how to beach it. He, of course, did not heed our warnings to tie off to a rock. Can you guess where this is going? Yes, we got back from dinner, in the dark, and found our dinghy was no longer on the beach. So the search began, and our new friends not only got up, but put their motor on and offered to drive us around to find the drifter. Just as we were about the pull up the hook to search the ocean blue, Toby pulled up in our missing boat, he had found it on his kayak. We are buying Triumph a lot of beer. Disaster averted.

We headed out this morning for Puerto Ballandra. It was another wonderful sail, a little lacking on wildlife and fish though... Aside from Dolphins, our most exciting discovery was a floating goat in the middle of the Sea of Cortez. This anchorage is stunning, the shoal is only a few feet deep for about 2 hundred yards off the beach. Tomorrow dad and I are free diving a 10ft bronze statue and sank right off the point (without my marine biologist/free dive instructor), it should be interesting. Then we're off to La Paz for provisions and then islands for some diving.

I'm not sure this counts with the family bet, but I am probably jumping ship in La Paz...

Not for good though, I just plan to join my Triumph friends for a couple of days of sailing and diving.

SD to Cabo!

So our true adventure has begun. I’ll do my best to make this a catch up blog… we haven’t had much of a chance to update in the last couple weeks…

We ended up in Sunroad Marina in San Diego, which was much closer to the action then our original Pier 32 slip. The first day in SD was spend tracking down visas and fishing liscenses. We fortunately finished the chores in time to spend the day touring Balboa Park and the Natural History Museum. The special was “Oasis: Baha California”. The video of the wildlife got us very excited to head down the coast, but all my newfound confidence with snorkeling was demolished (too many creatures), we’ll have to see if I can regain some by the time we get there. The rest of the weekend we spent with Suebee and we were lucky to visit with Jesse and Shanna, boating friends who moved down the coast.

On Friday we were set to fly home for a week to check on things and see Ceejmo, who got leave before shipping off to Alaska. It was nice to be home and see the dogs, the house, friends, and family, but I think we all found the short trip oddly stressful. I ended up changing my flight to head back to SD on Tuesday in order to take care of some final touches and have time to see some friends. It was so great to catch up with everyone… and also to have a couple days to myself before the folks came back into town and we headed down the coast. Once their plane landed the following Friday it was nonstop go. Who knew that this cruising thing got to be stressful? We made sure to break it up a little with fun stuff. Saturday night we joined the NorCal crew on MorningStar (a beautiful and luxurious motor yacht Patricia was nice enough to host on!) Haha, I don’t think I had ever had better food in a prettier place, so thank you very much Mimi and Patricia! Sunday was the infamous Baha-Haha costume party, and we also welcomed our fourth crew member Barry White (dads lifelong friend). I ran into my new friends Jaime and Toby, met their fellow crew Gary and even made another friend my age who went to De La Salle! Needless to say, I was THRILLED…

We headed south Monday, October 27. One hundred and eighty boats, all with colorful spinnakers, crossed the starting line at 11 o’clock. The sight was beautiful. The first leg was set to be 350 miles, 3days and two nights. The first 24 hours the sailing was fantastic. I had my first night watch, which was less scary than I had imagined and went by rather quickly. Day two the winds died and the motor went on. Again. But all wasn’t lost, we fished our hearts out. Apparently the Bonitos love us, we couldn’t put a line in the water without hooking one of those guys within the hour. Unfortunately, I came down with a terrible headcold and enjoyed none of it. I was condemned to my room so my germs wouldn’t spread and hated life for the next 24 hours. Luckily for me, the fish still liked us when I was feeling a little better. We even hooked a huge Dorado (Mahi Mahi anyone?) but it got away. I won’t go into specifics, but my Dad blames me. Too bad he doesn’t get that it was too big to fit in the net! Knowing that we weren’t going to make it to Turtle Bay in the daylight, we anchored off of Cedros Island for night three. It was a perfect spot. We witnessed a beautiful sunset, BBQed up some fresh Bonito fish tacos (Barry was pissed we threw all of the fish back after that, they were delicious!) and we witnessed a breathtaking lightning storm. The next morning we pulled up the anchor to a perfect sunrise and headed for the Bay. Day four marks the best day thus far in our fishing careers. Two Yellowtail before ten. Haha, Kat was trying to take a shower off the stern and behind the “curtain of privacy” when we hooked the second. We all rushed back, and had to inform her that fishing trumps privacy, so she should put her clothes on and let us bring in our catch! All was good, we brunched on fresh sashimi. Plus, pulling into Turtle bay the Dolphins decided to escort us in, and both my mom and I reached down off the bow and got to pet our new friends.

Turtle Bay wasn’t exactly what I expected. There wasn’t the clear, torquiose water I was expecting, and the red tide and dead fish (a fisherman apparently decided to dump his tons of dead bait in the water) weren’t convincing me to jump in and swim around. But the weather was nice and I got to hang out with my new friends and eat fresh Yellowtail steaks so I guess there can’t be any complaining. And I do love my new friends, I definitely lucked out.

Wow, this is getting too long! Baja Santa Maria was beautiful. We had an AMAZING hike to the top of the world and I went snorkeling and tide-pooling with my new marine biologist friend (very convenient huh?). After a couple of fun days and a rowdy party, we headed for Cabo!

Cabo has been wonderful. Aside from the hustle and bustle, whistles and drinks, I have snorkeled everyday, swam, tanned, and kayaked to my little hearts desire. It’s been a blast. Unfortunately, we had to say goodbye to some new friends we’ve met along the way (Cabo is the end of the official Baja Haha). But we’re still traveling with an entourage… Di’s Dream, Suebee, Eager Dreamer, and of course, Triumph will all be headed in the same direction so we plan to meet up at anchorages along the way.

I promise I’ll try and get better about this blog thing…

Miss you all!

Dana Point, Oceanside, and our arrival to San Diego!

Our stay in Dana Point was nothing short of wonderful, thanks mostly to our dear friend Mr. Watson. The first night was spent in ultimate luxury; Kat and I took turns enjoying a soak in the bath while Tom prepared us an amazing dinner. After a couple bottles of wine I was entertained with childhood stories from Montemar Street (always love to hear the trouble dad got into). Needless to say it was a pretty late night for all of us. The next morning, er, afternoon, we went to brunch and since Tom was kind enough to lend us his car, we had the opportuinity to re-provision and shop for snorkeling equipment, running shoes, and other necessities. We all met back up later to watch the Charger game with Bree, Bob, and little Tom (sorry Conman) and to celebrate Toms birthday. I can't tell you how nice it was to spend time with their family. We even got to do ALL our laundry there... no quarters necessary. The next morning the adults went out to breakfast, including SueBee, and I went for a run.

The sail down to oceanside was perfect, even with the Santa Annas blowing. Most of the trip we had great winds and flat seas. we couldn't have asked for better sailing. We even fished for the first time... and caught nothing. We pulled into Oceanside at fourish and got settled for the night. Oceanside is one of the cutest beach towns there is, and we enjoyed the fish'n'chips, great harbor, and beautiful weather. With the huge fire that was burning close enough to cover our boat with ash, we were relieved that the entire city of Oceanside didn't burn down. During my run this morning I watched the surfers, I've decided on my new hobby...

We apprently liked the city a little too much because we didn't pull out for San Diego until noonish, largely underestimating the distance of todays sail. It was a lovely sail, just a very long one. We had good winds most of the day, saw some whales, got a suntan, and sucessfully avoided the submarine, war ships, helicopters dropping divers, and million of crab traps. We even caught a fish! Very fun. Being the avid fisherman we are we had no idea what we had caught and decided we should let it go. It lived. After all the excitement, we didn't get into Peir 32 until after dark (thank goodness for Suebee leading us into our slip). I hear we haven't missed much of a view, apparently we're in the middle of nowhere. Haha, I even got a text message "Welcome to Mexico!"... I guess we're almost there :)

Avalon

So we pulled out of paradise yesterday at about one thirty and headed for Avalon on the east side of Catalina. Our hopes of sailing there were quickly dashed, and we had to disapoint Martin and motor most of the way. All six weather reports we agonized over were wrong, so we are still waiting for some wind. We have found the antithesis to the quaintness of Two Harbors in this port; the whitewashed, tile roofed buildings, paved roads buzzing with golf carts, mission bells on the hour, and a promenade that is a shoppers paradise. Avalon is definately charming in it's own right, but I am a little disapointed that the Harbor Patrol seems to consider a shirt part of their uniform... although I'm not sure I'd want to see these guys without one.

We went to shore to check things out and watch the Dodgers lose (yay!). I've decided that Avalon is the ice cream mecca, we passed a shop on every corner. There is much more to explore today so I will keep adding! Oh, and I forgot to mention... I found a 22 year old friend going on the Haha! She's lovely, I'm stoked.

I thought I would just add onto this one for now... Our day in Avalon was lovely. Kat and I did some window shopping in the morning, while Jay had the most EAGER helper he will ever have help him with some odd jobs around the boat. In fact, I'm pretty sure that he was making up some jobs just to keep Marty busy, but I'm sure he liked getting some stuff done. We had to say goodbye to our guest at 3 o'clock, and the crew walked up to the botanical gardens. There was an absolutely beautiful view, I would show you a picture (I was SO proud I remembered my camera)... unfortunately I hadn't thought to bring my memory card, so it's just another view we'll have to remember. The wind howled all night, making us antsy to sail to the mainland. We headed out and had a wonderful sail to Dana Point to meet Watson... we're actually having our first drink with him now!

More soon...

Catalina

I think the entire crew can now look back at our rainy day cabin fever and laugh... thank goodness. The weather cleared and we took off for Catalina on Monday, a good 8 hour motorsail. We arrived in Fourth of July cove, a picturesque little cove just west of Two Harbors. Sunny skies, warm water, and lots of fishies and sea life greeted us while we moored (a unique experience on Catalina). We headed into town for a refreshment, one which I didn't get to participate in because of my lack of id (I got ice cream instead, not helping to convince the barender of my legal drinking age). The good news is that I befriended the Harbor Patrol immediately and have spend the last few days getting a guided tour of this little island paradise.



Settling in, we have finally found our first relaxing and tropical spot. Kayaking, hiking, drinking, eating, swimming, and putting around town have kept us pretty busy. Today we had to bribe a diver to get my moms lost readers, my dad had made it to the bottom but failed to recover her favorites. And I have gotten to go snorkeling a couple times... yes, ME snorkeling. In fact, not only did I swim through a field of seaweed today with my newfound friend, I actually swam into a dark cave without crying. I'm apparently getting braver, although I was terrified. We have all even been lucky enough to witness the wonder of phosphoressence (sp?). Although we had planned to head to Avalon today, we have loved our spot so much we decided to stay an extra night and head over tomorrow.



We have been blessed with our good friend Marty's company for the next couple days. He took the ferry over and plans to sail to Avalon with us and keep us entertained. Maybe he'll even cook for us...



More soon!

Waiting out the storm...

We arrived yesterday in Oxnard to wait out the foul weather before continuing to Catalina and beyond. Despite its awful name (seriously, probably the worst name for a town EVER), Oxnard is a rather charming beach town. We spent the day hiding from the rain. I thought boats were small before, but now I have a whole new understaning. Luckily we traded off taking walks when there was a break in the rain, doing laundry, and visiting neighbors. Our plans to take the half hour dingy ride to the grocery store was also postponed, but it gave us something to look forward to tomorrow...

I finally gave in and went for a long run on the beach. By the time I got back Kat and Jay had gone out to the local watering hole. I was hoping for a younger crowd, so you can imagine how disapointed I was when I walked into the club where my parents were the babies. Ugh. Well, lucky for us the bartender had extra long pours.

More soon. We miss you all.

Channel Islands

Back to civilazation, meaning back to the blog. After spending one extra night in Santa Barbara the Kat Den Rie headed off towards the Channel Islands solo. Suebee had a water leak to take care of, so the three of us were on our own.

After our beautiful sail over, we nestled into Frys anchorage for the night. Kat and I immediately hopped onto kayaks and explored the surrounding caves and cliffs. Of course I forgot my camera, but we had a blast spooking each other in the caves and arguing over who found the biggest starfish orgy. The next morning dad took a turn kayaking the caves with kat (they got pictures), then we took a trip to shore for a quick hike. Pulling out of Frys, we headed out into the SB channel and got some, uh, practice with rough water manuevers. After that we also got some pactice cleaning up, drying off, and reorganizing the cabin of the boat. We pulled into Pelicans for some rest and realized what was meant by the "Pelican roll". Not the best nights sleep, but dramatically beautiful none the less.

The next day we took things a little easier and headed into Coches Prietos, my personal favorite. Perfect beach. Dad and I headed in to set the stern anchor (entertainment for everyone watching) and Kat headed in to join us for a little exploring. My only regret is not getting to spend much time there, a menacing weather forcast had us scrambling to head into the mainland today. We arrived in Channel Islands Harbor, Oxnard, early this afternoon and reunited with Suebee. We're looking forward to a couple of good nights rest before we head off.

San Simeon, Morro Bay, Cojo, and Santa Barbara

I have to apologize for my terrible blogging lately, the cruising lifestyle has really taken hold. Sitting here with a drink in hand looking at the Santa Barbara sunset, I had to force myself to catch up on my blogging duty. The last six days or so have been wonderful, and the whole crew is really beginning to get into the swing of things (although all of us could use some more sailing, 4 knots of wind just isn't cutting it).

We spent the night in San Simeon with a view of Hearst Castle lighting up the hillside. We woke up to soupy fog, but suprisingly warm weather. We pulled down the kayaks and dad dropped me off on shore to head off on a run. While I ran (and got kicked off of Hearst property by security), my parents took a paddle through the fog, into zero visibility and a world of their own. Our perfect timing put me back at the beach right as they pulled on to take a walk. Unfortunately I missed my dads not so graceful ride in on the swell, but I was witness to his sopping wet shorts and shoes. Getting back to the boat was a bit of a task with two kayaks and three people. Kat had given dad a lesson on kayak manuevers, so she opted to drop him off at the boat and come back with his kayak for me. Well, perhaps she spoke too soon, because as she rode in the swell, her kayak tipped and sent her all the way in, and she got nailed in the back with kayak 2. Being her, she laughed til she peed (well, I'm going to say she did, we couldn't tell because she was already soaked). We finally got back, rinsed off, and took off to Morro Bay in the fog.

Because of two days of thick fog and low visibility, I have zero wildlife stories. Morro Bay was as dramatic of an entry as you can have with the towering rock welcoming you in. We spent some time with Viva and SueBee, and I FINALLY got some kid time thanks to Nathan who came up to dinner and grocery shop. We pulled out of Morro Bay at the crack of dawn, we think, again it was too foggy to tell. The low winds and reasonable swells around the dreaded Point Conception made the most eventful part of our "scary leg" the sun finally coming out. Cojo was a wonderful anchorage and we got yet another sunset for the books.

Santa Barbara has been gorgeous. We arrived friday and have spent the weekend with sun and land. I've gotten lots of kid time, Todd has been kind enough to let me tag along and has shown me around SB nightlife. He was even a good sport while he spent his day off showing us to boat supply and hardware stores. We've gotten tons of fresh seafood and all the insider tips on the Channel Islands, our next stop. Maybe we'll even be able to catch some Lobster of our own (I'll let my dad do that, theres sharks down there!).

I'll try and get better about my updates, but I'm not promising anything!

Monterey- Stillwater Cove- and the infamous Big Sur Coast...

Our last day in Monterey was filled with foggy skies and mundane chores. I took a cab into town to find the nearest laundramat and explored the less touristy side of Monterey (which was MUCH better than organizing and reorganizing the "garage"). I was pleasantly surprised to return to company; Joan, Andy, and fam had come by to say hello, seranade us with the "pony on my boat" song, and give us an update on our beloved Hobie. Dad had decided to cook up some of his famous clams for dinner, so we enjoyed our fresh seafood dinner with the Raders.

One of the biggest questions we got before leaving on our trip was "what are you going to do all day on the boat?" I won't pretend that this isn't something I wondered myself, but after a week I'm discovering that there is never enough time. Monday was a rush as I scrambled to fit in my morning coffee, a kayak with my mom through the sea lion giants, and a run all before our noon departure. I couldn't believe that my 7:30am wake-up call would still be cutting things close. We did, however, leave right on time and had a gorgeous 4 hour sail to Stillwater Cove.

Weeding our way through the seaweed forests into the cove nestled right off the Pebble Beach golf course wasn't as scary as Sue had heard. We eased in and anchored within driving distance of the 17th hole (so it was a good thing there were good golfers on the green). The sunset was picturesque. Our fresh red snapper was delctable. All in all it was one of those evenings that made me think I could do this forever.

We pulled out of Stillwater at sunrise to glassy water dancing with pink highlights. It was easily the most beautiful sunrise I have ever seen (and no, it wasn't my first). I pulled a CJ and easily snapped 50 photos. Within an hour I had seen my first Humpback whale wave his tale, and soon after a school of dophins rode our bow. Halfway through the day another humpback spouted less than 20 yds off our starboard side, heading right into our path. My mom was screaming back to my dad to "stop the boat!" while my dad merrily ate his lunch and calmly informed her that the whale not only knew how to swim, but also knew how to avoid getting hit by a boat. We had our first potential overboard attempt, but after the evil eye from my mom and a nervous laugh from dad, all settled. The rest of the day we spent watching more dolphins, sea otters, and millions of jelly fish lead us into San Simeon.

We're all still here, safe, and happy (although maybe feeling a little bit crowded). More soon.

JK&K

Day 5: Monterey

I believe that everyone on board the Katdenrie has officially fallen for Monterey. Of course, we have had perfect weather, plenty of adventure, and it helps that we have our friends aboard the Suebee to share in our fun.

Yesterday we attended the "world famous" Monterey Jazz festival... Perhaps I should preface my critique with the fact that no one in our group would classify themselves as a Jazz fan. So now that we have that straight, I think I can speak for everyone when I say it was a little lacking. Where was all the music?? It was a good thing that we scalped arena tickets, otherwise the only live music we would have heard would have been from over a fence (actually, that was the BEST music we heard). Lets just say it was more of a shopping affair, and none of us wanted to shop. I think mom probably enjoyed it most, but she is a musician, so she has that artist appreciation thing going. I am glad we went and had the experience, but as our new friends would say, "Been there. Done that. Not doing it again." Good thing they served beer.

The rest of the day was lovely. After our 3 mile trek home (ok, maybe a little dramatic), we rested up, had some wine, and walked along the wharf to a fantastic dinner. We were feeling bad about having eaten all three meals out, at least until the food came. We walked home where I found a not so little seal looking to use the deck on the stern of our boat to sleep. I had to inform him he was just too big, but he could come back and visit anytime. Telling a 400 lb. animal "no" when he is within arm reach is not exactly something I wanted to do, but he was pretty understanding.

So far, so good. We have one more day here, then we're off. I think I am safe for today, if anyone is getting tossed off, I think it's going to be the captain for his finagling performance on the wharf last night. Hey, at least he is ready for Mexico, we'll just have to keep him away from the vendors until then.

K &JK

Monterey- Day 4

Our sail to Monterey was the best sailing we have had so far: sunny, warm, and 20 knots of wind. Pulling out of the Santa Cruz harbor, we put the boat at a beam reach and made a straight shot to the Monterey Marina. In fact, it was such an easy sail, I went up to the bow and found BOTH the captain and co-captain asleep. I guess they weren't too worried about leaving the swaby (sp?) in charge. Captain Jay did wake up in time to pull us into our slip (thank god). We met up with the Raders who cooked us a fantastic dinner and introduced us to some lifelong sailers with fantastic stories (they are our new neighbors until Sunday). Another fairytale day at sea.

We woke up late this morning, well I woke up late, and were blessed with sunny skies once again. We drank coffee, witnessed the sea lions play king of the morring ball, and watched a mamma otter with her pup. I went for a run along the beach and then went to the aquarium with mom. For those of you who have never been, it really is magical. And as mom pointed out, a perfect way to prepare for living on the ocean. Dad went with Scott to Macys home center... yes, really. They even walked half an hour to get there, by themselves (no girls and no excuses). Scott bought a red frying pan, dad admired the placemats, and both Sue and mom decided that maybe dad and scott shouldn't be allowed to spend so much, uh, quality time together.

Mom and I got back just in time for a charming visit from a Gene Grillo. We got to visit while cooking our first meal on the boat. I even did most of the cooking (although dad is the ultimate BBQer). The picture above is a sardine fishboat which headed out at about 8 pm... I'm not looking forward to their return and unloading at 4am tomorrow morning. (And the half picture of dad showcases my photography talent as well) We're in Monterey until Monday, at least thats the plan as of now. The Jazz festival is this weekend, so we're looking forward to a festivity filled weekend.

Still no overboards or attempts... I guess we still like each other. :). More later...

JK&K

Day 2-3

We slipped away in the darkness from Half Moon Bay at 6 bells. We had about 50 miles to Santa Cruz and planned to meet family around 4. We motor sailed then cut the engine and really sailed the last 5 miles. The weather in Santa Cruz was as good as it gets. It is wonderful to have family that shares our excitement for this great adventure and the Watt and Barrett clans showed up to "send us off".

Day 3
We just had morning coffee, some guitar playing and wild life watching. Life aboard is good. We are off to Monterey this afternoon when the winds pick up. We are meeting up with Scott and Sue on SueBee. Kensey would like to see the Aquarium and I wouldn't mind Kayaking with the Sea Otters.

Jay just invited me to go for a paddle, I'm off!

Day One

So there we were, six forty-five in the morning with everything packed and ready to go. We spent Monday packing in the six new cartloads we had brought from home- all the last minute necessities (we were all supposedly completely packed). Everything was set for our 7 o'clock departure, and then I realized I had forgotten to bring my toothbrush. Yes, I had planned on buying a new one for the boat, but that had yet to happen. After a quick store run (and I mean quick, the captain had threatened leaving me behind), we were back on track and casted off by the Stouffers.

The sail down to Half Moon Bay was incredible. Kathryn called the wildlife in our direction with her flute skills; we saw dolphins, seal lions, a million birds, and even heard the call about a dead body floating under the bridge. Well, they were "pretty sure" it was a dead body. After ample animal watching, we took turns cat napping, reading, relaxing and transitioning to our life at sea. We moored early enough in the afternoon to allow for a beautiful beach run/walk and caught an early dinner at a local watering hole. With another early morning tomorrow, we're all ready to call it a night (of course, after pops gets us all to watch Captain Ron).

All in all, the whole crew is excited about the rest of our adveture. With such an amazing day behind us, we can only hope to have many more like it.

End day one:

crew count: 3

overboards: 0

attempted overboards: 0

And to all those who bet I wouldn't make Half Moon Bay... pay up.

The final packing and scrambling has begun. We will leave Alameda between the 15th and the 20th of this month. We have the luxury of waiting for a weather window. We are really excited and hope that you will all enjoy the adventure with us through our blog. JK&K