Part 1
We left off, having just arrived in Half Moon Bay. The bay’s breakwall encloses a large anchorage so we were fortunate to not have to spend any money on marina fees.
Immediately after finding the free dinghy dock, Taylor set about making friends with a couple selling whole tuna off the side of their boat. We didn’t need a 20 lb tuna, and California doesn’t allow fishermen to just sell fillets. It seemed like we were out of luck, but they liked Tay’s enthusiasm the way we all do and invited us to find them the next morning.
We explored the town, resupplied, and had a beer at the local watering hole compliments of Tay’s friend’s generous sponsorship.
That night, we watched Chasing Mavericks at our little anchorage. Turns out, a quarter-mile west, just outside the breakwall is a phenomenon of a steep bottom, and concentrating swell that can produce surfable waves in excess of 60 ft.
In the middle of the movie, Eunice was hyper as can be, and running as far and as fast as her 32-foot playpen allows. 32 feet proved too small. We were shocked when she darted into the living room soaking. Apparently, on one of her laps, she slipped, or misstepped, and took a swim. We didn’t hear anything to our chagrin, but to our relief, she climbed the rope ladder we have dangling in the water and lived to survive another day.
The next morning, Tay’s new friendship paid dividends!!
The fishing couple gave us a fresh Albacore Tuna Fillet. Probably 3-5 lbs of meat. We made Tuna Ceviche the first night, a few nights of tuna steaks, and finally tuna Tacos. Albacore cooked right (Rare, fresh, and filleted by an expert is one of the best pieces of fish I’ve ever experienced).
We had more exploring to do in Half Moon bay now that we had seen the surfing movie. We hiked the rocky beach for a view of the breakers. Without any storm, they were tame, but still probably crested above 15 feet. A picnic on the beach is becoming a staple of the lifestyle, even if its just pb&js.
We tried our hand at rock fishing along the jetty after sunset at low tide. We had a great time, caught one fish and a chill, but were undeterred. We’ll figure out how to fish this ocean someday.
Here’s Tay posing with the bait squid, which we got from a vending machine.
The next morning we made the 10-hour sail down to Santa Cruz. It was a long day taking 8-foot swells on the beam and not much visibility. We pulled into Santa Cruz and were both feeling a little green (although Tay and Eunice managed to not look green at all).
The anchorage was not as protected as we had been lead to believe so the sickness persisted into the next morning. Finally, we made it to land and began exploring beautiful Santa Cruz.
Santa Cruz marked the start of what I expected from California. It was sunny and the pier and the beaches were lined with restaurants, volleyball courts, and an amusement park (all empty, but still). We saw a youth surf lesson, dolphins, and a steady stream of paddleboarders and swimmers. We had a lot of errands to run in Santa Cruz so it felt like we made a new little home for ourselves for a couple of nights.
We even had time to make some fire-roasted salsa.
Santa Cruz was a great stopover, but I don’t think we can cross it off as visited until we see it with the boardwalks packed or the lights of the roller coasters on. Plus maybe we can determine a better anchorage next time.
Stay Tuned for part 2 of the Central Coast of California, sooner than you might think!
