We left Coos Bay, bright and early the morning of the 11th. We motored, as planned, for 26 hours. No wind on the forecast or in reality. Instead, it was us, millions of jellyfish, dense smoke, and relatively smooth seas, which was nice as I was finally able to cook a gourmet dinner at sea.
Around 10 am on the 12th, the wind kicked up and we threw up our sails. All-day Saturday we enjoyed calm seas and enough wind to clip along at 5-6 knots. We grilled out for lunch on the back of the boat, had some glimpses of the sun through the fog/smoke, and overall had a great calm day of progress south. Saturday evening, the winds built to 15 knots and we put a reef in the mainsail and dropped the headsail. Winds continued to build until nightfall when steady winds of 25 knots and building waves spun the boat around backwinding the main, leaning the boat hard and confusing the autopilot beyond recovery. For 15 minutes we wrestled Scooter back under control, put a second reef in the main, and adjusted our course to better avoid backwinding our sail.
We had a preventer installed. Basically a rope to keep the sail from backwinding and flipping sides in gusty winds and waves (jibing). Unfortunately, our preventer couldn’t handle the wind load and stretched and the sail switched sides anyway. In the process it bent our side railings down into a slack mess of steel cable.
Scooter surfed along the rest of the night without incident, and making good time. Although the waves prevented any crew from getting meaningful sleep.
It was a relief to have calmer seas by mid morning and by late afternoon Sunday, the wind had all but died. We fired up the motor, Greg, and got ready for the last stretch. We sailed off and on for the final night, and approached the tight route plotted between Point Reyes and the shipping lanes in dense fog. Dawn broke Monday and we finally saw land.
At 11 am Monday, Scooter crossed underneath the Golden Gate Bridge. We toasted with beers (from a boot) and took lots of pictures.
We found a marina with availability and tied off. It was such a relief to make it to San Fran, not being towed by the Coast Guard. We enjoyed our showers, and were so grateful to have a stationary bed for a night.
Joe and Nelson flew out this morning, back to the real world.
Now we get to settle into our new home for a few weeks. We need to figure out where to stay, how to enjoy a champagne city on a beer budget, and what the plan for the next leg is. But for now, we’re back to life on our tiny home with a great evening view.
