Thursday, September 15, 2011

At anchor in Drakes Bay

Date Sept 15, Time 12:45pm
38° 00' N 122° 58' W <Link: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=38+00.59+-122+58.09>
Wind speed SPEED / wind dir DIR, Sea State STATE, Heading HEADING, Speed SPEED
Barometer 1014, Water Temp 53.6, Sky Partly sunny, was fog
Log 1479.8, Engine Hours 1218.9, Batteries %100
Sail Plan: at anchor
I'm currently at anchor in Drakes Bay. Its a large bay 20 miles north of San Fran which gives protection from NW winds. Not a lot here - just lots of room for anchoring. But I'm in California! The landscape is definitely different. If anybody knows Point Reyes - this is the Bay just South of Point Reyes (its a famous computer graphics image from long long ago.)
So…I'll keep this pretty short as I need to eat quickly and then sleep slowly.
This is the weather forecast I received from SailDocs for the area I was transiting:
PZZ570-142230-
POINT ARENA TO PIGEON POINT 10 TO 60 NM OFFSHORE-
851 AM PDT WED SEP 14 2011
.SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH THURSDAY EVENING...
TODAY...NW WINDS 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 3 TO 5 FT.
MIXED SWELL NW 4 TO 6 FT AT 12 SECONDS AND SW 3 FT AT 14 SECONDS.
PATCHY FOG.
TONIGHT...NW WINDS 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 3 TO 5 FT.
NW SWELL 5 TO 6 FT AT 11 SECONDS. PATCHY FOG.
THU...NW WINDS 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 3 TO 5 FT.
NW SWELL 6 TO 8 FT AT 9 SECONDS. PATCHY FOG.
It turned out that the winds I was sailing in were 25 to 35 knots with correspondingly larger wind waves. I saw gusts up to 37 with lots of 36's in there. I saw waves that were above my head when I was standing upright behind the helm in the cockpit. Pretty lively. Earlier in this trip I was hove to in winds that were less than this, although that was to avoid a real gale further south. The winds I was in would be classified as a near gale.
The boat was pretty remarkable, she handled the conditions perfectly. She doesn't bang through the waves, but swishes. Although there is some banging when a wave catches your side and it crests just as it reaches the hull. Lots of flying water when that happens as well - I was completely drenched on more than a handful of times.
But everything is good - there was a little damage, my weather cloths which surround the cockpit were imploded by an impact of water. I still have the cloths and there is no damage to them, just the zip ties that were holding them on. They should be fixed in 10min once I get to it. Considering the noise levels while sailing in the conditions, its surprising more isn't damaged. It will take a little getting used to I think - these boats can handled way more than we think they can. Its pretty impressive.
Tired. Must sleep. There is no cell coverage or WiFi here, and I'll probably stay a few days to clean myself up a little. When I know where I'm going next, I'll let you know.






3 comments:

  1. Wow, Craig you really had a work out, and no doubt you need to sleep for days, perhaps. I'm so happy that your boat is behaving even better than you had thought, or at least as well, but it must have been awesome to stand in the helm and see the sea above you! Takes my breath away. Although I know nothing, I like the idea of swishing! Sounds easy and graceful. This is good. So get re-established on your new home, and have some lazy days. Then when the weather cooperates, set forth again. Ship in San Fran and have some fun! How are the micro greens? Love you tons,
    Mum

    ReplyDelete
  2. Go get em Craig .... Drooling from afar.

    Roy and Kit

    ReplyDelete
  3. This is great reading, Craig! If you see Mike Mullins on Compass Rose (a Tayana), say hi! He's on the same road as you. It's great to hear about how these PSC 37's travel. Thanks for the great updates.

    ReplyDelete