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Subject: Re: [worldcruising] First Passage
From: R Hepler (roberthepler@XXX.XXX)
Date: Fri Aug 03 2001 - 14:30:56 EDT
Good for you. I came down via essentially the same route last year, but
ended up motoring nearly the whole due to lack of wind and time constraints
(was expected on a job)
Recently came from SF to LA. If you get down this way, drop me a note and
I'll buy you a beer :-)
----- Original Message -----
From: <cmckesson@XXX.XXX>
To: <worldcruising@XXX.XXX>
Sent: Friday, August 03, 2001 5:08 AM
Subject: [worldcruising] First Passage
> Completed our first ocean passage last week.
>
> Family of three persons (Momma, Poppa, 13 yo Daughter) aboard 1968
Columbia 36. Passage was from Puget Sound to San Francisco Bay. approx 700
miles.
>
> We chose to go offshore and make the trip non-stop. My concern was that
the
> various possible intermediate ports all have troublesome bars at their
> entrances. It seemed to me that while I might be able to enter them in
fair
> weather, they would be dangerous in foul...and it would only be in foul
weather
> that we would need them anyway.
>
> We came down about 150 miles off the coast. The first two days were
uneventful
> - light to moderate NW winds making for a gentle broad reach for two days.
Then, off Oregon the wind blew up to 30-40 knots, building the seas to 15
feet
> with breaking combers. We tried lying to a sea anchor and couldn't get
the boat
> head to wind. So we rigged a storm jib and ran before it. Ended up
having to
> reef the storm jib down to about 20 sq ft (Boy am I glad we bought that
jib just
> before departing!) We also streamed warps to help yank her stern around.
Then
> we let the Cap Horn windvane do all the steering.
>
> Our watch plan devolved to what we called "prairie dogging." In this
mode,
> during the gale, we would set a timer for 15 minutes. We stood watch one
hour
> on and two hours off. Every fifteen minutes we would open the hatch and
take a
> visual 360. We would also engage the radar scanner on 12 mi mode and take
an
> electronic 360. Then back below decks for another 15 minutes.
>
> One point to being so far offshore was to be outside the shipping traffic
and
> this seemed to work.
>
> The boat was lightly pooped (three to six inches in the cockpit) about
four
> times. Also, during those times when she would broach we would
occasionally get
> a real solid wave slap on the weather side. I was afraid for the
structure of
> the old boat, but was very pleased with how well she took it. Indeed,
upon
> inspection after arrival I see that we broke nothing at all.
>
> The gale lasted about 3 days, then blew out. At one point we were afraid
it
> would blow us right past San Francisco, as we couldn't turn to any course
except
> due South.
>
> We made landfall at Drake's Bay (Point Reyes CA). A sloppy rolly landfall
with
> the storm's big swells but light winds. We have very little mechanical
> propulsion in the boat (4 hp electric drive) so we tried to sail as much
as
> possible, finally making the cove about midnight. In California pea soup
fog. We piloted and anchored under radar. Next morning up at dawn, drift
slowly
> toward Golden Gate, and the when the afternoon breeze came up get a
rollicking
> blast through this impressive and crowded waterway. Last Friday at 8 pm
we
> arrived and moored at a marina in Sausalito California.
>
> This was our first ocean passage. I think we handled it well, at least in
> retrospect. There were certainly some times there when we thought it
would be
> wiser to quit this nonsense and buy a farm. But I think we have all
gotten over
> that and are again enthusiastic for our chosen adventure.
>
> Thanks for listening.
>
> Chris McKesson
> s/v SUNDANCE
> San Francisco Bay, CA
>
>
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>
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>
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