The San Francisco Passage

I sent our last blog post on Monday evening, September 1st. At the time, we were in Tofino and planning to meet Sydney in Neah Bay, WA that Friday to help with the passage. But by Tuesday morning, the forecast had turned grim: zero wind. If we left Friday, we’d be motoring all the way to San Francisco and we didn’t have enough fuel to make it. More than that, we wanted the downwind sail, not an engine slog.

The next possible window with viable wind wasn’t until the following week, on 9/9. But that created a new problem. Mason’s parents, Terri and Dave, were already planning to meet us in San Francisco on the 13th. Even if the wind did arrive on the 9th (far from guaranteed), we’d be late.

It wasn’t all bad news, though. The forecast showed a stretch of strong, steady wind for the next three days. Not enough to get us to San Francisco, but plenty to carry us to Crescent City, CA, a safe anchorage just south of the Oregon border without a bar crossing. The image on the right is a PredictWind routing output. If we left that afternoon, just the two of us, we’d be running straight downwind with winds rarely topping 20 knots. It looked pretty perfect. Weather trumps everything else at sea. When you see a window like that, you take it. Once we decided to go, the cabin turned into a frenzy: collapsing the dinghy, topping up diesel and propane, rigging lee cloths in the saloon, stowing everything for offshore. By late afternoon, Discovery was slipping out of Tofino.

It was thrilling and emotional to point the bow offshore from Vancouver Island. Neither of us had ever been that far from land with just two people aboard. Each of us would stand watch alone, fully responsible for the boat and our decisions. Of course, we could wake the other if needed, but sleep off watch was as essential as focus on watch.

As the island shrank into the sunset, Mason let out a whoop of excitement. I was quieter, missing my dad. I longed to explain our decision-making to him, to hear his encouragement and advice. He passed before we purchased Discovery, but I often shared my dreams of cruising the West Coast before moving back East. He was supportive and always reminded me that in his early retirement, and as long as I didn’t cut into his summer cruising schedule, he’d be an eager and willing crew member. His absence feels sharpest at moments like these. He loved overnights: the boat charging downwind through black waves under a clear night sky. I miss his soft “hello” from the cockpit darkness as I emerged on deck, and his whisper: “Isn’t this excellent?” On night watch, I still feel closest to him. But this time, I was wary too: three nights alone with my thoughts.

The passage was extremely smooth. No fog and winds maxing out at 18kts. We flew the spinnaker during the day and went wing-on-wing at night. I had purchased two tuna lures in Tofino and while we ultimately lost both lures, we were rewarded with a massive albacore tuna! We feasted on sashimi for two nights and froze the rest. This was also my first offshore passage with wifi the entire time. We had a blast virtually racing other sailboats heading south on Marine Traffic. We arrived in Crescent City 73 hours later, covering 475 nautical miles at an average of 7kts, and only motoring the last 8 hours. We toasted to our accomplishment and for outrunning the Marine Traffic competition.

Loops was excellent. He loved that people were awake at all hours of the night. While we tried to sleep in our bunks, he would paw at us from behind the lee cloth and zoom about the cabin chasing toys that were offset from the waves. He only howled when the engine came on. Good sailor kitty.

We hung out in Crescent City for four nights, waiting for wind to push around Cape Mendocino. Crescent City is dubbed the tsunami capital of the country, experiencing more than three dozen tsunamis in the last century. The city sits near the Mendocino Triple Junction where three tectonic plates collide and can create earthquakes on their own. Distant quakes across the Pacific funnel waves east that gain speed and height as the energy collides with the Mendocino Fracture Zone and are further amplified by the bowl-shaped continental shelf off Crescent City. 

This past summer, there was an earthquake off Russia. Many people reached out to us while we were in SE Alaska, where we were in no danger. It was odd to later be in Crescent City, where that same earthquake generated tsunami waves and caused over $1M in damage to their floating dock.

We rented a car to visit Redwood National Forest and explored the beautiful beaches. We also stopped at the best fishing store I’ve ever been to, Englund Marine and Industrial Supply, where we stocked up on hooks, lures, a gaff, and handling supplies (line, snubber, spool).

We set off on September 9th for our second leg, which would be shorter but bumpier. We covered 267 nautical miles in 41 hours, again averaging 7kts. Winds were higher, steady 20+kts. Mason set the SOG speed record of 13.5kts flying down a huge wave. At one point we furled the jib, had the main double-reefed, and were still flying at 8kts. While setting up the second hand line, we caught a tuna on the existing one. Those who fish will catch fish! I lost our new gaff in the process, but managed to filet it as the boat bucked from side to side.

We pulled into Drakes Bay, a protected anchorage just north of San Francisco, and dropped anchor around 4AM. We were running on adrenaline so a stiff rum and tonic sent us to bed.

My Aunt Ashley and Uncle Jim live nearby in Inverness and drove out to welcome us. We sat in folding chairs overlooking Discovery and toasted with tea and Tate’s chocolate chip cookies. Then we walked out to the Point Reyes lighthouse station and watched hundreds of pelicans ride the updrafts.

The next day, we sailed under the iconic Golden Gate Bridge. Jim, Ashley, and Lindsay cheered us on from Point Bonita and then met us at the Berkeley Marine Center dock. After a quick engine fix with the help of a NERF football, we enjoyed the sunset with G&Ts and sandwiches. So grateful to celebrate with family after a long journey. Time to chase eternal summer!