Cruising the California Coast

After two weeks in SF where we visited with my parents and brother, Lane’s extended family, and old friends, we departed the Berkeley Marina and set our sights on the coast.

Our only deadline now was to be in San Diego by November 1 – the start of the Baja Haha rally. With 6 weeks to spare, we were looking forward to exploring the California Coast and learning to live the California way: sunshine, chill, and surf. And most importantly surf.

In six weeks we made our way 520 miles south, stopping at eight anchorages along the coast—a leisurely pace compared to our summer in Alaska.

Stop 1: Half Moon Bay

We exited under the Golden Gate bridge and pointed the bow South to make the short 25 mile hop to Half Moon Bay. Here we found a bombproof anchorage that was a welcome respite after two days in the rolly anchorage at Aquatic Park. I was excited to hit the waves, as both of the times I’ve surfed in my life have been in Half Moon Bay, albeit over ten years ago. Noah and Tereza picked up a used board for me on Facebook marketplace and we proceeded to surf four days in a row.

Stop 2: Monterey

After five days in Half Moon Bay, we departed to make the 70 mile jump south to the town of Monterey. The wind forecast was for 20-25 knots and 3 meter seas, which provided for a wild and thrilling day of sailing. We hit a new all-time top speed of 15.4 knots while surfing down a massive wave, passing the record holder off to yours truly.

Because the anchorage in Monterey is very exposed, we opted to stay at the municipal marina for four nights. There, we met at least six other boats on the dock that were also heading south for the Baja Haha. It had begun – we’d entered the pack and would continue running into the same boats over the next two months.

We had an amazing time exploring Monterey. Each night a sea otter and her baby visited our boat, and during the days we biked through town and along the waterfront, stopping to watch the seals piled on the rocks. Noah and Tereza drove down from San Francisco and took us hiking at Point Lobos, an extraordinarily beautiful stretch of coastline just five miles south, and we followed it up with a swim in the ocean at their favorite beach.

Stop 3: Morro Bay

The next stop on our list, Morro Bay, was a little bit further of a jump – 120 miles. We motored most of the way due to a lack of wind, paralleling Highway 1 just off the coast to get the best views of the Big Sur coastline. Lane and I drove this road together back in 2016 on our cross country roadtrip (before we were dating!). I don’t think either of us could have predicted that just under ten years later we’d be doing the same trip again, together. Let alone on the water with our own boat. Oh, and surprise, we’re married! Crazy how things can change in a decade.

Morro Bay is just west of San Luis Obispo, where our friend, and soon to be Baja crew, Troy, lives. We’d made plans to hang out with Troy pretty much every day we were planning to be there, and these plans started quickly after arrival with a sunset surf session. I used the board I’d picked up in Half Moon Bay, and Lane borrowed one from Troy’s friend. We got a short lesson from Troy in the small waves near Morro Rock, and spent the waning hours of daylight catching the whitewater on our bellies first, then knees, and even a couple standing. After the last colors from the setting sun had faded, we packed up and headed back to the boat for dinner. Troy stayed the night so we could do it all over again the next day – at sunrise. Surfers are a special breed, as after our session Troy changed into his work clothes and headed straight to the office – something he does every week. What a cool place to live.

Instead of heading to the office, Lane and I took the bus into SLO and headed up for a hike to the top of Bishop Peak. We made it to the top of the 1500′ peak in a couple hours, but the extreme heat took us by surprise. After the cold, foggy weather of San Francisco it felt like we’d unlocked an entirely new biome. And it was only going to get hotter as we continued heading south.

Stop 4: The Channel Islands & LA

We ended up spending a couple extra days in Morro Bay than we planned, as there was a string of gale warnings between us and the Channel Islands. But once the weather cleared up we exited the Bay, crossed the bar, and set our sights on San Miguel Island – the west most Channel Island. The forecasted 10 knots didn’t pan out, and we spent the entirety of the day motoring. Part of me wished we had tempted the gales – at least we would have been able to sail!

We arrived in Cuyler Harbor just after dark, dodging kelp beds left and right as we made our way into the anchorage. That night there were storm warnings with possible water spouts all along the southern CA coast which had us on high alert, but thankfully all we saw was a bit of rain. We spent two days here as the only boat in the anchorage and enjoyed the beautiful scenery and wildlife.

We continued south through the Channel Islands and spent most of our time on Santa Cruz. Our first stop was Coches Prietos, where we pulled off our very first stern tie and met new friends on Kranich, Jana and Peter. The next morning I had the bright idea to drag us on a horrendous 25-mile hike to Diablo Peak, the highest point in all the islands. By the time we limped back to the beach, Mason filmed me vowing we would never do something that unhinged again.

From there, we hopped over to Little Scorpion anchorage, where we made a valiant effort to stay off our feet, snorkeling, paddling into sea caves, and meeting Maddie and Jeremy aboard Tardigrade, two other “mini-retirement” kids also doing the Baja Ha-Ha.

Our final stop before the mainland was Catalina Island. We connected with another CCA member, Steve Calhoun, who generously offered us his mooring at Howland’s Landing. When we learned it ran $70 a night, we realized we wouldn’t be lingering. We squeezed in one solid hike, mostly a Santa Cruz recovery mission, and then decided our second night deserved a dishes-free dinner run. So we loaded into the dinghy and surfed two miles down rolling swells toward Two Harbors.

We inhaled burgers and margaritas on dry land before heading back. As we approached our anchorage, we saw fifty flashing lights ricocheting across the cove. For a solid minute we wondered if the margaritas were stronger than advertised or if the camp had transformed into a rave. But as we got closer, we heard the shrieks: a full posse of 50 middle-schoolers doing a night swim, much to Mason’s horror. We cut the motor, (no decapitations tonight!)and drifted in, listening to the chaos:

“I SEE A SHARK, LOOK, DO YOU SEE THE BIOLUMINESCENCE?”
“I’m scared!”
“Maybe it’s because you’re swimming in the ocean in the dark!”

Mason and I sat cackling in the dark.

Our next California stop was Newport Beach for one last USA friend visit. The sail over was glorious except for Mason playing chicken with a ferry. Emily’s family kindly let us crash at their house for a couple of nights, and Emily happened to be in town for her sister’s baby shower, so the stars aligned. We ate wagyu beef dips and sushi, puzzled, opened our stash of pre-shipped goodies, wandered around town, and enjoyed the general hilarity of Amy Roth.

We spent our final days in Newport Beach on boat projects, sewing a new screen, waxing the hull, and replacing our dinghy gas can before pointing the bow toward San Diego.