My friend Eric and his wife Valerie are sailing their 37' Cooper Seabird from Seattle to Calais France at present.
In light of the coming winter blues, I asked them if it would be OK to post their progress here. They're good with that, so...
They are currently in San Diego, departing Sunday to participate in the Baja-ha-ha Cruisers Rally from SD to Cabo. http://www.baja-haha.com/
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A couple previous updates to get you up to today:
Tuesday, September 15, 2009 Hey, sailors: we blew the bolts on the hatch and got the f*** out of town to try to get ourselves over to and across the Atlantic. We'll go as far as we can until the money runs out. We hope to make France by next June. Keep yer fingers crossed!
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September 27, 2009 (responding to my comment that big seas in a photo aren't done justice by still photography) I took the picture in the afternoon when it was becoming obvious that something was headed our way. It got worse over night, worse in every way with taller seas, stronger wind (30-35 kts sustained, gusts at +40 kts.), and more challenging steer in the utter darkness. Obviously, we couldn't capture this on film and I have no idea how to measure the sea size except with large error (or large exaggeration!). It is the night we tore our reefed mainsail in two places before seeking shelter in Drake's Bay.
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Oct 9, 2009 We're already in Monterey and leaving for a 24-hour slog to San Luis Bay in the next hour. We're doing the overnight because another overnight will be necessary to get past Point Conception (the Cape Horn of California) the following night. Transit is best at night when it is calmest in that area. Hey, I like my comfort as much as the next guy. We left San Francisco last Sunday and have made stops in Half Moon Bay and Santa Cruz before arriving here.
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Most recent update:
Oct 21, 2009 BTW, we ended up tagging another night onto our trip from Monterey and went straight through to Santa Barbara. Just before logging off after writing you, I saw the forecast of a pacific storm in the coming days and wanted to get some distance south before returning to shore to tie up. The prudent mariner abides by the forecast. Good thing, too as the storm turned out to be a whopper. It is much better to watch these things safely tied up in a secure harbor. The alternative was riding it out at anchor in a less protected bay further north. Ick. As it was we were able to dodge the storm and get to Oceanside on time to meet up with some friends to spend a relaxing weekend (friends with privileges at the local Four Seasons are good friends to have!).
More to come...
Pacific Mystic
Last edited by Lucky Dawg; 11-10-2009 at 05:09 AM.
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