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.