Diving - Woohoo!!!

So finally it was time for our first dive. With the water temperature at 19C, it was within a degree of what is deemed freezing by the tropical diving community and so we were determined to get wet. Even Johnny put his shorty on deciding having internal sexual organs was for Emma not for him. The dive we chose was at Casino Point which has been a marine reserve for over 50 years and boasted an impressive array of UW wildlife as possible sightings. On arriving at the shore with all the other divers in 2 piece 7mm wetsuits we certainly looked like the tropical special brigade, especially with Johnny in shorts!

The Indian Summer crew knew the score though and were tough enough to go 20m for 50 minutes (even when the thermocline got down to 14C!). The sight itself was very nice, kelp forests, Garibaldi, sea bass, sheepheads (tusk fish to any Ozzies reading) and all very friendly. This may have been due to the area being protected from fishing or because Johnny had brought a bag full of mackerel to feed them. As well as the usual suspects we were able to sea one of the Giant Black Seabass (like a potato cod) that live on the site and an unknown ray/shark thing (see picture below). All in all a very successful and satisfying re-entry into the water!

Catalina – Finally some nice weather!

So after our brief flirt with LA life we felt a change of scenery was needed and so we headed for some R&R where the Southern Californians like to play – Catalina Island. We arrived in 2 harbours and after washing the salty taste out of our mouths due to the extortionate nightly rates, moored up within spitting distance of the pier.

Our first order of business after nearly 2 months of dry land was to get wet. Finally the water was warm enough to swim in (well 18C, so ok for 10 minutes if you're a seal). We were pleasantly surprised by our snorkelling, seeing about 30 bat rays and some shovel nose rays in addition to the many Garibaldis and sea bass we were expecting to see amongst the kelp.

After a couple of nights we moved on to White's Landing, the première spot for Halibut at Catalina. At last we were to fulfil our great white hunter potential and justify the amount of gear we had on board dedicated to catching fish. As it went, the area proved to be an excellent spot for mackerel, providing both great entertainment and a delicious lunch on the BBQ as they readily committed suicide on our bacon rind baited hooks. Our efforts to catch a halibut however were less successful but we did catch and release some huge rays that took our bait off the bottom instead.

Our next port of call was Avalon, with the happiest harbour master in the world (probably because of his huge bank balance from the mooring fees he went round collecting). The view held by some of Catalina being the Capri of America could be understood on arriving in Avalon, with it's steep cliffs and Mediterranean style buildings. However the rest of the island seems more like it should be called the Rottenest of America with its barren landscape and hundreds of mooring buoys.

The town of Avalon was nice enough and a big night out was had on Friday leading to the crew of Indian Summer being “Wicky Whacked” in Luau Larry's. See photo below for details.

The LA area – La la land it surely is!

Our first port of call in the Los Angeles area was Santa Barbara. As an anchorage it left a lot to be desired with a very, very rolly sea under the boat, sleeping was about as difficult as not falling out of bed. A fellow yachty that came and told us he'd spent the summer in this particular anchorage had a kind of crazed insomniac look in his eyes with bags like santa's sacks under them! The town on it's offical website is self described as the equal of London, Paris or Rome condensed into 1 square mile with the world's most perfect climate. To us it seemed a bit laughable when looking at the top 20 things to do in Santa Barabara, 19 were restaurants. Not to say that we were expecting the Louvre or the Colosseum but a cloudy town with a street full of chain stores and restaurants was what we got. With the added bonus of the most homeless people we've ever seen. One who we saw drinking the dregs from coffee cups he found in three different bins and another that was singing at the top of his voice from cue cards with 80s classic lyrics on them?!

2^nd port of call was Venice Beach – wierdo central for the whole world. If anyone would like to be shocked at the human race then I suggest you walk along Venice boardwalk and take in the rich tapestry of dysfunction. A personal favourites had to be the no toothed, red hot pant clad runner up to Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1978 Mr Universe contest who now spends his days walking around muscle beach semi naked charging 2 dollars for a picture of himself in an arthritic Hulk Hogan style body building pose. Another highlight of human tragedy amongst the tattoo faced, medical marijuana dispensing, dog dressing up crowd, would be a 65 year old hippy in orange tracksuit pants and bobble hat dancing to a Bob Dylan cover band while balancing a bottle of water on his head?!

Our personal favourite impression of LA had to be given at our 3^rd port of call, Redondo Beach. After anchoring we were instructed to go and see the harbour master to fill out the appropriate paper work (a form to drop anchor!!!). Upon leaving his office we were confronted by a most disgruntled looking gentleman in a fire department T-shirt. He first told us that the place where we had pulled the dinghy out was for launching canoes only. Hence we would not be allowed to put it back in the water where we just pulled it out from. Instead we were made to carry it across the marina to the area he deemed suitable for launch. Not content with making us move our dinghy double the distance it originally was from the boat, he went on to say that as we didn't have any life jackets in it we would not be able to make the 100m row back to Indian Summer without getting a ticket from the charming gent himself. What an absolute jobsworth. 2 dive instructors and an ex-fireman/advanced diver not being allowed to row in calm shallow water back to their boat! As if the chemical factory directly opposite the marina and the cheap version of Blackpool feel to the place hadn't put us off staying enough, fireman twat certainly did.

Point Conception – The Cape Horn of America

You can't go very far down the West coast without being warned or told many a tall tale about sailing round the dreaded Point Conception. The merging of wind and currents making it the most infamous patch of water within 1000 miles. To the crew of Indian Summer it posed an extra challenge, in that due to the distance between Port San Luis and Santa Barbara, our next anchorage, the journey would take around 18 hours! This being the case Conception would have to be navigated at night – dah dah daaaah! A very thorough checking of the weather was done in preparation for the voyage. In fact we delayed ourselves a day due to gale warnings around the point. The plan was to set off at 8 pm, doing 4 hour shifts through the night, sailing with the wind at our backs we should be at Santa Barbara by tea time the next day. Unfortunately as has been the case with almost every long journey we've attempted, the weatherman got it wrong again and instead of brisk North Westerlies we had a strong Southerly that eventually petered out into nothing. In the end Point Conception far from making us shit ourselves could have just as easily been called Point Constipation. Not a breath of wind meant motoring round in glassy waters! Arriving in Santa Barbara we were a bit bemused and jet lagged but most importantly in one piece! A very welcome surprise was still to come before putting into port when, in the words of Sir David Attenbourgh "the largest animal to have ever existed, the mighty blue whale", paid us a visit at very close quarters. 

There was no doubt in the ID department this time with the huge blow and grey/blue colour, Johnny had finally ticked this one off his list. On anchoring we were all happy to see some clear skies and for the first time were able to sit out and watch the sunset without shivering!

Dolphins, Seals, Birds and America's Sardine Run!

After a day in fog yesterday and waking up in San Simeon to more of the same, the decision was unanimous to keep going. Although it may have been nice to stay and see Hearst Castle the possibility existed that when we got there the fog would be so thick we couldn't the building! Instead we would take the short hop down to Port San Luis where hopefully we would find some warmer weather and better anchorage.

In the end our decision was rewarded and when we arrived we were greeted by bright sunshine and about 30 crazily barking seals at the fuel dock. Our anchorage was even more amazing, being as there were about 100,000 birds just chilling out and relaxing on the surface. That is until this happened:

The next day on popping into town we asked why there were so many birds (and also fishermen) and apparently there was some sort of sardine free for all going on in the bay. To our amazement we were to see dolphin, seal and bird feeding frenzies over the next day all targeting the poor sardines. Even Johnny got in on the action catching his biggest fish of the whole trip.

Here's 1000 seals going ape shit over some sardines

San Simeon – A beginners guide to anchoring in dark and fog

After failing once, we were more determined than ever to reach our goal of San Simeon from Carmel. Finally we could get out of the cold fog that had been following us down the coast. Today, the wind (what little there was to speak of) was at least going our way. Although filling the sails was a big ask for a breeze that probably would struggle to blow out the candles on a 3 year old's birthday cake. It didn't matter with the pig turning (“engine on” in Mike speak) and the sails up we were at least on our way. An enjoyable sail it was not though as the fog was in for the duration. Had it not been for the compass and GPS we could have been driving in circles and we'd have never known. No views of the Big Sur coast line to tempt us down South – ho hum!

The journey was as uneventful as it was long and having left at first light we realised than we'd be getting in after dark! Not only that but if anything the fog was thickening and San Simeon bay was only lit by one small green buoy that flashed every 6 seconds. To each side jagged rocks (and expensive repairs). Getting into the safety of the bay and anchoring was to be a nerve racking half hour. On our approach the fog gave us less than a quarter of a mile visibility so we were virtually on top of the buoy by the time we saw it. Not being able to see anything beyond it was very disconcerting as we had to trust the charts and Mike's navigation to guide us into the bay and not a big rock. Turning North about 200m after the buoy we continued forward and could see very faint lights – the pier! Inching our way forward we found our spot in about 5 fathoms and dropped the pick. Job well done. With enough chain out to hold the Titanic the Indian Summer crew breathed a sigh of relief and had a well deserved night's sleep.

Carmel to Point Sur then back to Carmel

Well yet another pain in the bum long leg day gone wrong. All the best intentions and positive weather reports were good for nothing as we sailed out of still water cove in flat calm conditions (the clue is in the name I suppose). These were to be our most favourable conditions of the day as the wind turned first Southerly, then started blowing 20 knots from the South East!!!! The phrase “pushing shit uphill” came to mind and after 6 hours of tacking into it we were still 19 hours from our next anchorage. This would not do and wisely we decided to turn back and at least use the wind to get back to where we started. With the fog thick we didn't even see any of the coast line but what we lacked in grand vistas we made up for in whale and dolphin action. Literally seeing dozens of humpbacks and having 3 species of dolphin riding the bow for over 2 hours! White sided pacific dolphins, Northern right whale dolphins and Dall porpoises.

It was at least some consolation on a day of disappointments and as we drove back into still water cove after 10 hours at sea, the fog so thick we had to retrace our GPS track in order to not crash, everything didn't seem as bad as all that and at least we had a safe place to sleep that night.

Carmel and Pebble Beach

After talking with the harbour master the day before we decided to walk along the golf course into town. What a walk! When we arrived at the shore we were basically in the middle of Pebble Beach Golf Links! We first went to the clubhouse – plush! Looked in the stores – Johnny nearly bought Emsy a diamond necklace (on sale down to $120,000). He decided against it as it was nearly worth as much as the boat. After this we walked the length of the course watching (and distracting at times) the golfers. The next day there was a tournament that Clint Eastwood and George Bush Sr. were playing in! Don't think we'd have been allowed to wander round so freely then.

We finished our walk to town along the beach where we saw a surfing otter! God knows why he was there but you could see him swimming in the waves as they broke on the shore. The town itself was lovely, a bit on the expensive side. Emma was to find this out going from ecstasy to agony when she found a shop selling all UK chocolate bars...and then saw the prices. A good meal in the A.W. Shuk's Oyster Bar followed by a gentle stroll back along the golf course ended a great day though in what has to be the most stunning anchorage on the West coast of America.

Monterey to Carmel

After 3 fabulous days in Monterey it was time to move on. Although the wildlife was incredible we were all a bit reluctant to get in and swim as the water temp was about 8C!!!! That's fresh by anyone's standards and for those owning just a shorty and with vis of 1m we all decided warmer, clearer waters were calling us down the coast. Before that though the task at hand was to make our way just around the corner from Monterey, a mere 17 miles to the very scenic town of Carmel. The idea behind this was as ingenious as it was lazy and beautiful. Our next anchorage after Monterey would have been San Simeon and that was 85 miles down the coast. By having a night in Carmel we would cut nearly 20 miles off this distance and would get to anchor off the 18^th hole of the world famous Pebble Beach Golf course. The journey from Monterey was not one of the most pleasant however as the fog had well and truly set in meaning that visibility was about 50 metres! This rather than bad navigation or seamanship will be what we attribute nearly running into the only buoy within 10 nautical miles to. With the fog really sucked in we missed all of the coast around Cyprus Point and 17 mile drive. But as if the gods were smiling on us, as we approached Still Water Cove (our anchorage for the night) the fog burnt away and bright blue sky sunshine took its place leaving us with the most spectacular views of the Pebble Beach 18^th, Club House (“The Lodge”) over the still kelpy waters. As we anchored the harbour master came out to greet us (the only boat in his harbour) and a moment in time was shared between he, the man with the cushiest job in the world, and Mike, the man with the cushiest retirement in the world :) The rest of our night was spent exchanging superlatives as the sun went down about the light on the mirror like water and lush green grass under such a deep blue sky. That is when seals and otters weren't popping up all around the boat distracting us.  

Monterey - More wildlife than you can shake a stick at!

Considering we weren't planning on staying long, Monterey really got it's hooks into all of us. Definitely Emma's favourite place on the west coast. Possibly one of the only places you can see sea lions everywhere you turn, harbour seals, otters, pelicans, cormorants and all sorts of other wildlife in and around the main part of a town! It's amazing. What's even more amazing is the amount of free clam chowder someone can eat just walking up and down Fisherman's Wharf. We all must have had at least a bowl after walking 100m!

One of the best things about Monterey though has to be the aquarium. As divers we are sometimes a bit apprehensive about going to aquariums as it's always better to see the animals in the wild (and it's wrong to keep whalesharks and mantas in tanks!). However the Monterey Bay Aquarium is very well done. Not like most other aquariums as the exhibits are almost all about the local environment, so instead of lots of tropical coral species, there's kelp and seven gill sharks! Undoubtedly the highlight of the aquarium is the outer bay exhibit where you can see the biggest Pacific Bluefin Tuna you could imagine (DON'T EAT THESE FISH THEY ARE ENDANGERED!!!), as well as hammerhead sharks, Galapagos sharks, huge mahi mahi and more. The only let down was that on the website it was advertised they had a Sun Fish (Mola Mola) in there as well but when we arrived they said it had been released as they were preparing to do maintenance on the exhibit. Mike's curse of the Sun Fish had followed him from Bali (or so we thought). The aquarium is absolutely worth a look if anyone is ever in Monterey.

Our last day in Monterey was a surprise even to us as we weren't planning to go on a whale watching trip, however after hearing about the blue whales and orcas that had been sighted we were determined to take “Indian Summer” out there to find them. What we didn't expect was when telling this to someone in the pub the night before, they would insist we come on their whale watching tour for free instead! Who were we to argue with Keith (the drunkest man in Monterey). He made a call and bang, we were on their 10am tour :) It was a nice trip on the biggest boat in Monterey, we saw some humpbacks feeding (something we had never seen despite seeing about 10,000 humpbacks). 

One thing we were definitely not expecting though was to see a SUN FISH!!!!! Unbelievable, just floating at the surface in 2000m of water, maybe it was the one they let out of the aquarium! Finally Mike could get the monkey off his back he had seen the biggest boney fish on earth.

Half Moon Bay to Monterey

After an early start the day before the skipper allowed us a lie in, this time until 6am :) We woke to a decidedly cloudier morning to the one we were expecting. However it didn't matter, the wind was from the North West and that was exactly what the doctor ordered. For the first time we were gonna sail! After leaving the harbour it wasn't long until the wind was strong enough to allow us to turn the engine off and cruise at 6 knots with nothing but wind power :) As this trip was gonna be a 12 hour marathon, Johnny, in a burst of unbridled optimism broke out the fishing rods. In the rich waters of the Pacific Ocean, what chance did the fish stand! A good one if anyone has ever seen John fishing. After 9 hours of trolling the closest thing to a fish being caught was when one of the lures got caught on a piece of weed. However the combination of Mike refusing to slow down or stop the boat and the bit of weed being a giant kelp plant meant it was a good fight. After 10 minutes and Johnny's reel nearly being spooled, he began to gain ground on the big green beast and eventually won the battle. 

The highlight of the day had to be once we got into Monterey Bay where we were greeted by a huge whale. Debate still rages on the boat as to species, whatever it was it was a big boy, moving fast, small distinct dorsal fin and with a big tall blow. Some say blue, some say fin and others say sei. We'll never know cos we don't have a photo. Some more familiar cetaceans we were able to see were the distant breaches of humpback whales. Fabulous. On coming into Monterey harbour we were all amazed at the hundreds of sea lions lining the outer rock wall and seeing wild otters frolicking off the back of the boat, diving down then lying on the surface cracking clams on their tummy's. We all drifted off to sleep listening to the honking of hundreds of sea lions.

San Fran to Half Moon Bay

So the day had finally arrived, we were to leave our base of over a month, Emery Cove Yacht Harbour, for the big blue ocean. We all had mixed feelings about leaving. On the one hand we had met some fantastic people that had been amazingly helpful in getting us ready for the big day and the marina was really nice. On the other hand we had spent over a month on a boat that seemed to be self destructing by itself (or whenever Mike tried to fix something). We had repaired the sails, generator, toilets, fuel tank, nav instruments, dinghy...scratches, winches, scuba tanks...batteries, water pump, macerator...needless to say we had all worked hard. We were ready to go sailing and have some fun. So we set the date, we planned to go from our base in Emeryville all the way to Monterey. What a first leg it would be, sunrise sailing under the Golden Gate, whales and dolphins welcoming us to Monterey Bay, sea lions and otters playing around our boat and by nightfall we'd be sipping champagne in Cannery Row eating fresh oysters. However, if you've read the title of this blog you'll have noticed that we don't end up in Monterey :)

Our intentions were good, we checked the weather, all seemed fine, we knew it would take a while to get there so we set off at 4am...Yes 4am!

Unfortunately, as with weather forecasters the world over, they don't know what they're talking about and the wind was blowing a nice strong Southerly (the exact opposite to the weatherman's prediction and the exact opposite to the way we wanted to go). Incidentally the exact opposite to the prevailing wind on the Californian coast and the exact opposite to the way it had been blowing for the month we were in Emeryville! So, there you have it, fate handed us a cruel blow. After 2 hours of motoring we reached the start of our journey in time to see the sunrise under the Golden Gate Bridge and after another 6 hours we were 20 miles down the coast (60 short of Monterey).

We decided that it was better to cut our losses and try again the next day when the wind would hopfully be blowing our way. We anchored up in Half Moon Bay at 12.30 after an eight hour day of motoring, we didn't even get the sails up. Tired and a little disappointed we were cheered up by a few playful sea lions barking and playing around the boat. It wasn't long until we were all like nodding dogs and dropped off to sleep to the rocking of the boat.

Meet the Crew

Skipper – Mike Boss

Loving father, yacht master, renaissance man, firefighter and all around hunk. Mike retired from the fire service 3 years ago and has been travelling the world ever since (preaching the gospel according to the Welsh). Mike has literally been to every corner of the globe, from Fiji to Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, America, Cyprus, Hong Kong...the list goes on. Mike decided that in order to continue his globe-trotting lifestyle he either needed to buy an airline or Thomas Cook. In the end he opted for the cheaper option of a yacht and that is how “Indian Summer” came into our lives – 45 feet of fibreglass and class, the picture of oceanic splendour!

Crew – Johnny & Emsy

Loving children, dive instructor & master, pre-employment retirees, fiancées and a great couple to boat with. After spending and idyllic few years working as divers in Australia and Indonesia, John & Emma decided it might be time to come back to reality and settle down (why? nobody knows). However before doing this one last adventure was needed. Luckily fate agreed and Emma's dad just bought a yacht that needed a crew to sail it from San Fran to Mexico, with as much fun as possible to be had on the way! Mike was more than happy to have his little girl with him for “Indian Summer's” maiden voyage and was able to look past Johnny's      Englishness and allowed him to come along :)

About the Blog

To our family and friends at home and all the great people we've met on our journey so far, we hope this blog brings you a smile or even a laugh as you follow our little adventure on “Indian Summer” into the big blue ocean and beyond. For those who don't know, the mission we have chosen to accept is as a father, daughter and future son in law team, we will sail “Indian Summer” out of the Golden Gate, turn left and won't stop until we see cliff divers in sombreros :) On the way we hope to meet some lovely people, see some exotic wildlife and not sink the boat or crash into anything!