We actually were able to leave Newport on Thursday morning. Our intention was to head for San Francisco, with no stops. So with only 3 crew members, we took 2 hours watches, with 4 hours off. The first 20 of our 40 hours were basically uneventful, which is always a good thing on a sailboat. Very little wind, so we were motoring, although had our mainsail up for some stability. Around midnight, unbeknownst to us, the outhaul let go and the main sail began scooching up the boom. Around 3:00AM, a big gust of wind hit us and the main, which was flapping wildly, tore loose from the foot. So everyone had to come up top. Sandy took the wheel, steering us into the wind, while Chris and I went to the foredeck to take down the main. At the time we didn't realize the damage to the sail, but managed to drop the main and tie it to the mast, just to secure it. The next day, we decided we needed to find a marina to do some repairs. So we headed for Eureka, California, and are now in the Woodley Island Marina.
Chris and I spent all day yesterday retrieving the outhaul which had disappeared into the boom. We took the main off and have it tied behind the cockpit, and will be searching for a sailmaker to do repairs once we get to San Francisco. Sigh...
The marina we're at is very nice. It's located on an island, which is a bird sanctuary, so there are tons of different birds, including pelicans and egrets so close you can almost touch them! The marina's quiet, our slip is not far from the showers (which flow for a LONG time on 50 cents, I might add), and several new found friends from our "Newport Days" are also here. Last night we were invited to happy hour aboard Trudy and Delbert' s big power boat. Very nice. This afternoon we had a visit from Dick who sails a Passport 45'. We're going over there later today for a tour.
Tomorrow we'll fuel up, and head south again. We're thinking 28 hours to Bodega Bay, which will put us about 8 hours north of San Francisco. We'll be picking up Finn and Michael around September 30, and plan to leave SF on October 1. Well, That's our PLAN anyway!
1 comment:
Hi Patty,
Isn't there an adage that describes something that is going well.....? Oh yeah... "smooth sailing". When will you be able to use that to describe this adventure? Gads! What a trip! The marina sounds lovely! Great pics and a great post! I hope the trip to San Fran is uneventful!
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