October

Oct 31 to Nov 4, 2001

Liz and I are waiting for dinner. We arrived in Santa Barbara this afternoon at 3 pm on Thursday November 2nd. We left San Francisco Bay from Sausalito on Halloween. I noticed the spider webs were still with us since Cathlamet, Washington, but since it was Halloween they seemed appropriate. We have been killing spiders for 2 months and they have adapted to be elusive stowaways.

To recap this passage, we left and passed under the Golden Gate Bridge at about noon on the 31st. We were immediately engulfed in fog. I plotted a course but was too close to the shore (in about 35 feet of water) so we changed course and continued out to for more sea room. The fog continued for 30 hours with visibility from 100 feet to maybe a mile. This is fog that clings to the mainsail and drips and covers any surface that will accept the cold moisture. After some consideration we decided not to stop at Moro Bay and continued to around Point Conception; the last major weather obstacle of the US West Coast.

Last night just as the NY Yankees had tied the game in the ninth, our alternator bit the dust. The alternator stopped and the water belt continued. In a mater of 5 minutes the belt smoked and filled the cabin full of smoke and then burned though and fell into the bilge. The seas were calm and the smoke smelled. Poor Liz was woken with smoke and took the helm while I opened the engine compartment, whoa more smoke. Well it was evident that the alternator was kaput.

We had a bit of breeze and Liz opened the genny and I climbed into the engine compartment, I striped down but it was still hot in there. We found the spare alternator and a how to do book (Nigel Calder). It has been years since it worked on the alternator and replacing on while the boat rock at midnight was challenging. In about 1.5 hours we furled our genny and fire up the iron genny and continued around Point Conception.

We passed Point Conception at 7 am and began the voyage between the gas/oil platforms. On the radar these are huge and look like ships that don't move. Best to avoid them. We arrived in the marina at Santa Barbara about 3 pm. We knew we're in Southern California because there was a swimsuit photo shoot on a sailboat. The temperature was cool, the swimsuit was orange/pink, small and her hair was dark. The sailboat was a beautiful sloop about 50 feet long. Tomorrow we will be moored at the spot that this vessel took up as guests of the Santa Barbara Yacht Club. Liz doesn't think the swimsuit comes with the moorage.

Dinner is going to be great, a pork roast, salad that may be going bad and a 1997 Ravens Wood Zinfandel from the Teldeschi vineyard poured in our large Riedel wineglasses. Maybe this is living life properly. This Teldeschi was purchased after tasting it on our 20th wedding anniversary two year ago and it was magnificent. With two years to develop, I am looking for it's celebration to us. Yum!

We are thinking to spending two nights in Santa Barbara, then to Oxnard, Redondo Beach and over to Santa Catalina. Most of us know it as Catalina Island, this is where there are several famous anchorages are. We are going to try to stay at Avalon. We will then continue on to San Diego and Chula Vista where Dominique and Julia are expecting us. Sandy will be joining us next week for the trip down the Baja coast.

It is finally good to hit terra firma. I (Liz) was a little depressed for the last several days. Things have been a rush since the mast broke, living off the wonderful friends we have and then booking down the coast. I wanted to know when the fun started. Also, I have been bombarded by all the boat people that have dogs. And I miss my Riley girl. I am having major dog withdrawal. The good part is that she is so happy with my parents who are spoiling her rotten and I am thankful for that.

Saturday the 3rd found us sanding the decks and removing the paint that came from the painting of the cabin when we were in Portland. We had put walnut shells in the paint for traction when standing on the deck. The paint alone made the deck very slippery. When we added the walnut shells the paint did not cure totally and the shells would stick to our feet and then paint the decks. That made the deck look terrible so we sanded and washed. Slainte looks better. After we had finished, Liz and I were in the cockpit with a glass of wine. Both of us were looking us at our mast when we gasped at a crack in the mast. Oh God. I immediately climbed up the mast steps and looked at the crack. Whoa, what a relief the crack was this metallic substance that we had used on the screws. This substance had washed down the mast and looked like a crack. We had another glass of wine.

This morning is Sunday the 4th. Last night I had the radio on listening to the Washington State Cougar beat UCLA. Outstanding. I also had the TV on watching the World Series. I gotta get my fix of college football since Mexico's football looks a lot like soccer. I sure hope all my friends are video taping any and all college football games. Please send those tapes to Leigh Hales, 1921 East 23rd Ave., Spokane, WA 99203.

We will be leaving today to venture south, maybe Oxnard (28 km) or Redondo Beach (77 km). We'll see where we stop. When your moving at a whopping 6 knots (or 6.9 miles per hour) you must be patient. We expect to be in San Diego on Thursday.

Later from Slainte with Allan and Liz on board.

October 26, 2001

The weather has been good to us. We left Newport, OR Thursday morning the 25th after fueling up. The Yaquina bar was pushy, but the seas were small once we were 10 miles offshore. Last night the 25th was uneventful, Liz saw a whale and on two occasions we have had porpoises play in our bow wake. Right now we're in fog with 100-yard visibility. The weather is supposed to pipe up tomorrow the 27th, Monday could bring south winds of 20-35 knots Hopefully we'll be in a harbor.

Today, the 26th our location is N 42° 00, W 124° 41 and the time is noon. This about 20 nautical miles (km) NW of Crescent City, CA, NW 75 km of Humboldt / Eureka CA, NW 228 km of Bodega Bay, and NW 262 km miles of San Francisco. We are balancing our decision on a destination with the time of arrival in daylight for an entrance, weather conditions and how we feel. There is no decision as of now.

Today, Saturday the 27th of October. We passed Cape Mendocino this morning about 3 am. The chop and swells proved for a bumpy ride. I had been dreaming that I was someone with a disorder and with a really big tick. Liz woke me up to look at several ships and then I remembered my dream. The bucking seas were the disorder not me. I am sticking to that premise.

We are 130 km from the entrance of San Francisco. We expect to arrive in SF Bay just prior to darkness on Sunday. If this does not work we'll stop a Bodega Bay, 30 km north of SF. The wind has been on our nose since leaving Newport, OR. Maybe we should have brought the trawler, since we have motored 95 percent of the way. Tonight the wind should be switching to the northwest and then on Sunday will be come variable. This is according to the NOAA weather radio. The variable wind is short hand for a weather system which is changing. Monday is reported to bring southwest winds in the 20-35 knots variety. We would like to be tucked away somewhere hopefully SF on Monday. We are going to purchase an autopilot if possible in SF. We'll see.

The water temperature has been warming a bit. Columbia River was 46 degrees, Newport was 48 and presently it is 52.5. Our position is N 39 42, W 124 30. We are now turning more to the southwest as we have passed Cape Mendocino.

I am disappointed that we haven't caught fish. But then again I haven't had to clean any either. Last night's dinner was a pork roast; sure I am going to loose weight (some tastefully said sarcasm). Tonight's dinner will be roasted chicken with vegetables. We are still eating Patricia's brownies I want to know what keeps them fresh?

We had hoped to stop at Humboldt Bay to say hi to our friends Bill and Janet Wickman, but with the forecast predicting heavy weather for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, we decided we needed to get as far south as possible. We should be in San Francisco late tomorrow (Sunday).

Liz's comments: It is 3PM on Saturday (still the 27th) and we are 25 miles from Fort Bragg. We had a bouncy night last night and this morning passing Cape Mendocino. It is famous for heavy weather. We had 20 knots on the nose, uncomfortable, but not terrible. On one of my watches last night, I had to wake Allan because I had two large ships coming our direction and one would not hail me back to let us know his course. He was not well lighted If he was, then we could have told the direction he was in relation to us. Interesting.

We hope to make San Francisco by late afternoon tomorrow, weather permitting. We have decided to keep going because there is a system forecasted to hit southern Oregon and California on Monday. Once to SF, maybe spend a few days relaxing and seeing the sights. We hope to get reciprocal moorage at the famous St. Francis Yacht Club. First night out I made a beef stew, second night roasted pork with potatoes, and hopefully tonight chicken braised with root vegetables.

This will be our third night out. It will be nice to be on terra firma, but yesterday early, it was so calm that Allan and I both took showers and got clean. The routine centers around keeping the hourly log on where we are (lat and longs), with current weather and barometer information, downloading weather charts, and trying to keep good food and hot beverages served up 3 times a day. During the night we are doing 3-hour watches while the other sleeps. Since it is dark at 7PM, we usually have dinner, and then one goes down and sleeps for 3 hours and spells the other off and repeats until light. The radio/tape player is great. We both are listening to music and talking books on our watches. Helps tremendously to keep alert and not sleepy.

We have not caught any fish yet. I am surprised. Usually we do. On the other hand the business of the day has been putting the miles behind us.

We have arrived in SF at about 3pm on Sunday the 28th. We are at St. Francis Yacht Club for the evening. The front desk lady was Erin. She really helped us ou.. She was born the last time Liz and I were in Sausalito, and is enjoying life with college, studying aboard and mapping out all the possibilities. Thank you Erin. We purchased our autopilot. I have found out that Liz just doesn't have the concentration to steer all 24 hours each day We fueled and had dinner at a local grill house. Our stomachs have shrunk and took most of the dinner home/Slainte. Tomorrow we will be eating leftovers for breakfast with our eggs. Patricia's brownies are still look'n and eat'n well. She thinks the acid from the blueberries in the mix keeps them from spoiling. There is something to ponder.

We slipped our lines from St. Francis YC and headed to Sausalito. Here the yachties are hanging out everywhere on floats and anchors. There are relaxed/cheap spots and then there are the tourist hangouts. Since we were walking we took in the relaxed spots. We are waiting out a storm that was supposed to hit today and now should come on-shore tomorrow. We walked to a grocery store and then up to the laundry matt. I believe that folks look at us differently now that we have a pack and walk everywhere. We were directed to a Thai restaurant and it was great.

The trip from Newport, Oregon took 78 hours and we were extremely lucky with the weather. We only had about 6 hours of crap off of Cape Mendocino. We even saw the Golden Gate Bridge as we passed under it. Usually it is shrouded with fog. We took on 76 gallon of diesel and we are counting our blessing that life is pretty comfortable.

Tomorrow we'll hang in Sausalito and dingy in from a float. We need to get in touch with our yachtie-side of life.

Slainte by the bay. Hugs Liz and Allan

October 21, 2001

We have entered Yaquina Bay at Newport, Oregon. We left Portland, Oregon and just continued to Newport. We were catching a weather window that gave us good weather. We were trying to miss the first winter storm of the pacific coast. We cross the Columbia River bar at 7pm Saturday and pass under the Newport Bridge about 11:30 am on Sunday. We did little sailing since we had no wind and we're trying to exit south as far as possible. We had the main double reefed and used it as a dampener all night. Liz and I are very tired and were happy to finally reach a port. We found an end tie berth. We are afforded use of the pool and hot tub at the marina. Boy this maybe cruising after all.

Liz fixed stuffed pork chops. The best. When your tired your senses are acute. The wind was exquisite and her smiles where sexy. Life is suburb! We will do some boat jobs; work the coax cable for the VHF, screw the flag halyard back into the lower spreader, and get organized (again). We were putting our wet stuff away and several folks that lived aboard drop by to see the new boat. It is always a small world. I just need to remember that it is good time when we just relax. The next time we can get our email will be San Diego or about 12 to 15 days around November 5th. We will write you then. Please feel free to email us at Allanwarman@hotmail.com

Slainte

October 19, 2001

October has been a month of continued work on Slainte. There were many projects that we were to accomplish in warmer weather, but we have had time since we are waiting for the new mast. The old mast was measured then I butchered it with a chain saw. (see the pictures) The wood sits in Sandy’s woodpile where it will warm he and Patricia this winter.

Working with Schooner Creek Boat Works, Spartech from Redmond, Washington was chosen to supply our mast because of their commitment to deliver our mast in four weeks on October 13^th. The other potential supplier had a 4-6 week window and in addition we had to secure shipping from Alameda, California. Moving a 65 foot mast can be a concern, and Spartech had it’s own trailer and quoted the mast delivered to Schooner Creek Boat Works in Portland, Oregon. We met the owner of Spartech and this helped in the choice of suppliers. Once Spartech had the measurements they went to work with Richard drawing the specs up, Allen working the design in the metal and Bruce welding. Liz and I chatted and re-measured several things during the process.

We made a trip to their facility and talked about where the winches and rope clutches were to be place. The mast is not a production line, off the shelf product, each is tailored to the boat and the owners perceived needs while sailing. There are little adjustments, such as length of the winch handle and where it could be obstructed, or keeping the winches on the mast and the reefing lines on the boom, in reach of each other for easy access when reefing during crappy weather. These adjustments will improve the time spent on the bucking Slainte foredeck. The experience that Richard, Allen and Bruce gave to the project was invaluable. Thank you!

During the four weeks after the mast was ordered and to be delivered, Liz and I had no idle hands. We sanded and painted many coats on the gunnels and the top deck of the cabin, installed and rewired the new circuit breaker panel, removed and installed new water and fuel hoses, recaulked the fuel deck fill, rebedded some the stanchions in the deck and cabin, put in our new batteries, wired the back-up bilge pump, and other projects that I have forgotten. Since we were staying at Sandy’s we had several house chores. We had to distributed the tons of vegetables from his garden, mow the lawn, rotto-till the garden and feed the cats.

We still need to wire the electricity monitor made by Heart, install and plumb the 40 gallons a day watermaker by PUR, and recalk some of the sections on our teak decks, so we will accomplish those and other chores in warmer weather. So far this cruising experience has been where we just work on our boat in different places.

The mast was delivered on Saturday morning around 10:20 am, just as Richard the owner of Spartech promised. We had about 10 folks help with the lifting of the mast to the saw horses. About 2pm several of us started to put holes in the new mast, that was a bit difficult. Now there are over 250 holes - holding the storm track, 25 climbing steps and three winches on the mast. This morning I have the boom to finish and then we will be reinstalling the halyards, reefing lines and the shrouds. We will step the mast Wednesday October the 17^th early in the morning. After the mast is installed and the rig is tuned, I have some wiring to finish, including the VHF antenna, tricolor, spreader and steaming lights. Liz and I will be shopping Thursday night or Friday morning and then we will leave AGAIN.

Wednesday the 17^th the yard’s folks picked up the mast and moved it to the travel lift. Here the yard maneuvered the mast at its balance points and we headed back to Slainte. During the next two hours the mast was lowered and adjusted into place. There are 16 shrouds (the wires that hold the mast vertical) to connect and a mast plate to be screwed down where the mast passes through the deck. Thursday the 18th the shrouds will be tuned, the radar connected, the single-side band (SSB) antenna reattached, the mast base plate screwed down, the sails rigged and the VHF, tricolor light put back on the top of the mast. I will be in the boson chair most of the day.

Liz and I need to prepare to check out of the loving arms hotel of Sandy and Patricia’s. In the past 5 weeks we have really moved in. Liz will be shopping for the next three weeks of travel. Of course we will be over loaded with Sandy’s fresh vegetables. The new mast weighs a couple hundred pounds less than the old mast so we can assist our apply wine locker (s). We should cast off the lines late Friday afternoon and head down the Columbia River.

We are watching the weather, the same links listed on this web page at the “LINKS” button. The secret is finding a weather window that has northwest winds or light southerlies so we can head south.

There are several points of land that mess with the weather the include Cape Arago, Or, Point St George, CA, Point Arena, CA and Point Arguello, CA. Pt. Arguello is located near Point Conception that is north of Santa Barbara and from the weather perspective, this is the door to warmer and calmer weather. The next 900 miles from the Columbia River to Point Conception will be testing Slainte’s crew and our endurance.

Depending on the weather we will be sailing 24 hours a day with shifts each 2 to 4 hours. Using our SSB and computer we will be downloading weather faxes, again the same material that you can download via your computer at those fore mentioned websites. If the expected weather is the type to avoid we will chose some of the harbors to miss the southerly winds or large swells. These harbors include Newport, OR, Coos Bay, OR, Crescent Bay, OR, Humboldt Bay, CA, Bodega Bay, CA, San Francisco, Half Moon Bay, CA, Monterey, CA and several marina’s in the Los Angles area. The destination is San Diego (Chula Vista) where our friends Dominique and Julia live on their sailboat. Here we will pick up Sandy, re-provision and obtain our Mexican fishing licenses and visas.

We have asked Sandy if he would like to sail down the Baja with us and he agreed. Sandy has sailed with us for over 17 years. Last year Sandy and Patricia went on a whale-watching trip sponsored by Oregon State University’s marine program. They travel down the Baja coast to Ignatius bay where the gray whales were breeding. Here they petted the whales and smelled the krill breath. Liz, Sandy and I hope to visit the same bay. The gray whales visit to the Baja is early next years so we will miss this event, but I will bet that we will see many whales as we sail down the coast.

The only timeframe that Liz and I have is meeting friends and family in Barra de Navidad. This is a small fishing village north of Manzanillo Mexico. Friends, Sandra and Marnee have been visiting this town for many years. Liz’s parents, Lynn, Dale and Evelyn (Lynn’s mother) will arrive about the 20^th of December. Sandra, Marnee and kids will be arriving after Christmas. There is a rumor that Walt and Cathie could also be sipping margaritas with us as well. The invitation is open to all. I understand the weather is great and less rainy than the Pacific Northwest. Check out a website that covers this area. www.tomzap.com. After opening this site click on Jalisco and then Barra de Navidad.

Coming home to Sandy’s one night, Liz and I concluded that this type of cruising/working on Slainte in Schooner Creek is tiring; we haven't had a day off for some time. But we have made the best of it, with Sandy/Patricia, and friends finding time to sample great food and wine. One of our friends had their 40th birthday and we we're invited to a nice place for dinner. Eight courses and wine to boot.

Even though the breaking of the mast was a set back and depressing, we have counted our blessings. One, the mast could of come down, but instead it stayed up, Two, it could of broken far from shore, but instead we were able to get to Portland, Oregon where we knew friends and facilities that have made this ordeal so much easier to work through. Our friends (Sandy, Patricia, Ron, Dana, Tom, Sherry, Todd, Debbie, Scott, Marisa, Brad, Melinda, Lynn and Dale) all took us in their care. We have not lost any weight since arriving in Portland. Three, we were loaned two vehicles, a convertible and “Miss Daisy.” We used these vehicles to move the mast and visit other friends. WE ARE Lucky. Please excuse us for not calling everyone, we had intended to but ran out of time.

We are also in-debited to our friends, especially surveyor Chip Gardes, all the wonderful people at Schooner Creek who have helped us in this process of getting the new mast up. They have provided advice, encouragement and good humor. Thank you Steve, Nancy, Willie, Mike, Bernie, Seth, Brian, David, Jeff and the rest of you for your help and care. I will be receiving a picture of the crew and will post it as soon as we get it.

As we expect to cast off Friday the 19^th the next time we can get our email will be San Diego or about 12 to 15 days around November 5^th. We will write you then. Please feel free to email us at Allanwarman@hotmail.com