Monterey
I felt a little sad leaving Santa Cruz. It felt too soon given all the people we connected with, but I also felt excited to discover a new place. This will be the furthest south we’ve sailed Salacia. Going into the unknown always feels a little daunting, doesn’t it? Not knowing what to expect exactly. Where are the buoys that mark the channel? Where exactly is the entrance? Will we get a slip or will we need to anchor? What will the conditions be like? We looked at the weather and waves, studying the charts more closely so we would feel more prepared and hopefully less pressure in the moment.
We got our boat ready to set sail. Peter worked on taking the sail cover off, preparing the jack lines and the main halyard, securing the anchor, and uncovering the electronics, while I prepared the cabin. It always feels like a lot to get ready for the sea, but we’re getting it down to a process. I make sure everything is buttoned up on the inside, and Peter focuses on all we need to sail the boat safely on the outside. It seems to work well for us in a yin-and-yang kind of way. As it’s time to leave, I get on the dock to untie the lines, leaving the spring line for last, and then push the boat before climbing onto the deck from the side.
We leave the harbor, waving good bye to our friends on “E” Dock. I then take off the fenders and all the lines, which I wrap neatly to be stored in the lazarette.
We’re off! Heading out of the harbor, into the deep blue waters of Monterey Bay.
It looks like we have wind so we put up our sails and shut off the engine. It’s a beautiful day and we’re on a close haul for a while before we turn slightly away from the wind to a beam reach. Then the wind swings behind the beam into a broad reach.
We’re sailing!
All is going as well as can be. Some time passes and we get hungry so I go down to the galley and pull out our already made sandwiches. The waves are about 3 to 4 feet in height so our stomachs are not queasy at all. We gobble down our sandwiches and sit down to enjoy the ride. As we continue South, across the bay, the wind picks up to about 13 to 15 knots and the waves get a little bigger.
We’re sailing!
I go downstairs to use the head and I hear Peter yell out, “Oh shit!”
I quickly jump up into the cockpit as fast as I can, and he says,
“Our topping lift is no longer attached to the boom! The shackle must have come undone.”
My heart starts to race as adrenaline shoots into my veins. I look up and see a thin line floating up in the air away from the boom. The topping lift holds up the dutchman which is used when we take down the sail. The dutchman controls the big mainsail, so it can neatly flake over the boom. Without it, the sail can end up falling onto the deck if we’re not careful or if the wind is blowing too strong. This is not ideal and obviously can create a challenging situation.
“Uh oh… now what?”
“It’s ok. We can come head to wind, to bring the boom back over the cockpit, and maybe we will be able to catch the topping lift, so I can lash it back to the boom.”
That makes me feel uneasy because that means we have to also head into the waves and the boat will feel less stable. It’s always more hectic when we face the wind and I’m already feeling anxious going to a new harbor. But I understand, we need to try to fix the situation so I agree to do it.
Peter pulls in the jib and I cancel the autopilot and turn on the motor. I then turn the boat to starboard, while Peter pulls in the main. I point Salacia towards the wind until the mainsail starts to luff. We look up towards the topping lift only to see it flying high in the wind. Ok … so now we have to wait until it’s actually time to take down the mainsail closer to harbor.
“I think it will be fine. We’ll be in more protected waters so it will be easier then.”
I think to myself. Ok…that makes sense. Let’s see what happens. We can always take our time bringing down the sail?
The wind is picking up more as we get closer to the harbor but doesn’t get above 15 knots. I call the harbor master to see if we can get a slip for a couple of nights. They didn’t take reservations so they asked that we call about an hour out. Luckily they have an end tie for us on “E” dock! Funny, that’s already our second “E” dock of the trip!
We are past the channel markers and move closer to the harbor, so we decide to bring in the jib before pointing upwind again to take down the main. I’ve got the wheel and Peter sets up to bring in the main. When he calls it, I finish turning the boat into the wind and he eases the main halyard. The main comes down but stops about halfway down the mast. Peter has to get up on deck and climb the mast to help it along.
“So far so good!
We don’t see the main falling onto the deck so I think we’re going to be fine!”
But then I see the main halyard get stuck at the winch.
“Darn it!”
I have to put the boat on autopilot so I can move away from the helm to untangle it under the dodger, so Peter can keep bringing the sail down. Never did that before…
Ok… now we have to figure out where exactly the entrance is to the harbor. It’s not easy to see the opening as it looks the same as the retaining wall. Peter has it figured out and soon we are inside calm water.
Coming into Monterey we came in on the swell. It didn’t feel like calm water until we were inside the harbor walls and I didn’t relax completely until I got Salacia secured to the dock.
We arrived!
We are docked across from SandBar Grill, a place we had dinner the last time we were in Monterey, and the Monterey Yacht Club.
After we docked, Peter worked on securing Salacia while I went to find the Harbor Master’s office to check in. The Harbor master was very friendly and said we could stay as long as we wanted since the weather can change our plans. I was pretty set on us only staying a couple of days but I’m still new to living a life of sea travel, so I tucked that thought away in case we needed it. We then set off for a walk on the path next to the water that passes the old fisherman’s wharf.
Past the wharf we hear a lot of bird calls. We see pelicans and black cormorants, sea gulls and what is that on the rock? Oh wow! It’s a seal laying on the rock and keeping his tail and head out of the cold water? Too cute!
We walk for a long time until we reach Cannery Row, which is a street of shops. We stop into a dive shop to look for snorkeling masks. He shows us one that is great for free diving and recommends another store that has a larger selection of them. We walked there and bought two new masks! Very exciting. We want them now in case we need to dive under the boat to free our rudder or propellor from fishing line or kelp.
At the end of our walk we make it back towards the marina and hear live music playing Give me Shelter from the Rolling Stones. We walk in the direction of the music until we come across a band playing in an outside brewery. We thought we died and went to heaven! We found a seat under a heat lamp and ordered two drafts!
Leading up to our trip, we kept in touch with our friends, Jill and Lior, who were planning a week off around their wedding anniversary in Santa Barbara. They were hoping it would cross the time we would be in Santa Barbara. We loved the idea of getting together with them but it’s so hard to plan to be in a place at a specific date when sailing. We were still in the throws of boat projects in Brisbane when they made their plans. So we left it up to the universe and said we’ll see what happens! At some point I got a text from Jill saying their plans changed slightly and they decided to leave Santa Barbara a little early to stay in Carmel for a night or two. I texted back and said that might work better for us because we hadn’t left yet!
Low and behold, the timing worked out perfectly. They were scheduled to come into Carmel on Friday which was the second night of our stay in Monterey!
What made it even more perfect was that our reunion fell right on their anniversary date! It was a special day for me too as the officiant at their wedding. It was also the night before Peter’s birthday so it was an extra celebration with Jill and Lior. Thank you both!
The next day of Peter’s birthday, we were to set sail for Morro Bay! Unfortunately, I woke up in the middle of the night with what seemed like a bladder infection. I went to urgent care in the morning and got it diagnosed with a prescription. So needless to say, we decided not to leave that day after all. We really wanted to go then as it was the perfect weather window and it was before a major blow was predicted to come for a couple of days starting on Sunday night. But there are some things that are simply out of our control. So we let it go and began to embrace our extended time in Monterey.
The next morning we started with a long walk along Del Monte Beach. There was a small sailboat regatta happening in the bay. It was a beautiful stroll and it felt good to stretch our legs and breathe in the clear air.
In the evening we decided to go to Sandbar Grill for dinner to celebrate Peter’s birthday. It was an Italian seafood restaurant across from where we docked. We sat at the bar and ordered some wine and split some calamari, wedge salad, and pork schnitzel. The place was lively as most of us in the bar were watching the San Francisco Giants beat the Los Angeles Dodgers! Yay!!
After dinner we went for a walk on the Municipal pier which was above the restaurant. We walked all the way to the end and could see where boats were moored outside the harbor, rocking to and fro with the swell. We also passed fishermen on the side enjoying their pass-time chatting about whatever. On the other side we passed an old Fish Market called Gina’s. It really showed how old the pier was and we imagined a time when the whole area would only buy fish from the local fishermen.
The crab pots were stacked on top of each other. It wasn’t quite crab season but the fishermen must be gearing up for it as it starts on November 1st.
The next night we watched the Giants play the Dodgers at the Monterey Yacht Club. We were going to head back to the boat for the night, when we saw a tv flickering in the club’s window. We knocked on the door and the man watching the game let us in and we all watched the game together. His name is Jeff and he asked us if we sailed in and where from. He asked what boat was ours and we pointed to ours which we could see from the window. He then said, oh, you’re the ones who came in on the Santa Cruz 53. He then proceeded to tell us all that he knew about the boat and the boat builders! It was a fun evening! Oh, and yes, the Giants won!
We’re still in Monterey. We expect to leave now on Friday and sail down to Santa Barbara instead of Morro Bay due to the lost time. We wanted to explore the channel islands but we’re on a schedule to meet with Peter’s co-workers for a going away celebration on our boat either in Marina Del Ray or Long Beach.
We’ve enjoyed our time in Monterey. It felt good to take the time to heal and explore more deeply what Monterey has to offer.
What an adventure! Although I must disagree with your comment on lost time. I think you found time, it was just to explore Monterey a bit more :-)
I love reading your posts, they’re really wonderful!
Such great team work! I'm so glad you are getting to see old friends and make new ones.