Sept 22

7:30 am

I got up and headed straight to the shower. I got everything all ready, started the water and stripped down. But the water wasn’t hot. I tried flipping the knob the other way but nada. I splashed a bit of coolish water but it just wasn’t doing it for me despite a valiant attempt to tough it out. Then I wondered if there was a hot water switch like I ran into back in Bragg Creek.

So I stepped out into the main area at the exact moment that someone came into the the washroom. There I stood slightly damp with my half hearted attempt to get soapy, stark naked. We locked eyes. He smiled. I blurted out something about hot water and he assured me that the hot water worked automatically; he’d had a few showers already. So I thanked him and retreated back into the relative privacy of the showers. That’s my embarrassment for the month taken care of.

Oh, and he was right. The water was plenty warm by the time I got back.

Back on board I had my coffee that Donna had thoughtfully put in a thermal mug and had some peanut butter and jam on toasted bagels. While I ate Tim read from a paperback they’d picked up at a book exchange.

It’s about this crazy guy who took a sailboat solo from Panama to Australia to rejoin his wife after WWII. He didn’t know how to sail and the story of his first attempt was both hilarious and frightening.

Then everyone (else) headed off for a run and I sunned myself on deck for a bit. Then it was time to beat Tim’s computer into submission. Apparently the restart did the trick because after I got it all plugged in and wired up it printed with nary a hiccup. Did I mention my feelings about Windows yet?

I finished my book (and the series) and spent some time fussing over what to start next. And then I started it. Life is pretty simple here at dock.

A few club members showed up to do some sailing. They have a nifty hoist system here. They just wheel their trailers (most of the small boats are stored in a compound across the street) and hook a three point harness to a hoist. Then they lift it up, swing it over the edge and drop it into the water easy as pie. A few minutes later they hoist the sails and sail off the dock.

Still in IT mode, I decided to set up the 24 inch monitor Donna bought. No big deal except that since both Tim and Donna’s computer have HDMI outputs there was no need for the adapter she had also bought.

After the team got back from their run I walked up to grocery store to resupply my stash of trail mix. I’d eaten the last of it a couple of days previously. It was a nice walk through a more residential area filled with succulent gardens and topiaried trees.

Upon arriving at the Albertsons I spotted a McDonalds and decided to indulge myself in junk food. The fries were distinctly less salty than their Canadian counterparts. I wonder if that’s a US thing or a Californian thing. The only other difference was instead of East Indian immigrants staffing the place, the workers were all Mexican. Different, yet oh so the same. I took advantage of the free wifi and wrote a bit.

Back at Albertsons I picked up more trail mix ingredients: raisins, peanuts and semi-sweet chocolate chips; I like my trail mix simple. Then I walked back towards the waterfront down a more commercial street and peered in all the shops as I went by. Nice little town.

The winds had been climbing when I left and they were going full bore by the time I got back. The boats were straining pretty hard at their moorings.

Tim was working on the broken cup holder. He had a bit of spare star board and had fashioned a brace for the piece I had snapped off. I helped with the last 5 minutes of the work and then retreated below.

By now the boat is really pushing on fenders. Our stern is facing into the wind which is blowing 25-30 kts in the bay. The waves are pounding into the transom and water is occasionally spraying over the back, even as far as in through the hatch.

Rafting was not the best idea in this situation and we are scrambling to get the fenders right between Sea Esta and us as well as making sure the ones on the dock side don’t burst under the weight of two 42-foot boats. The winds peak at 36 or so knots and blow most of the afternoon with lots of thumping and banging and halyards clanging to keep us awake down below.

So other than checking fenders and lines occasionally, I just hang out for the afternoon and relax.

Dinner is burgers and then around 8, Mark and Jim come over for Scotch night. I stick to red wine while the three guys sample scotch from Tim’s collection of 8 or 9 opened bottles that he cleared out of his Degnen Bay house when they moved out. There are Islay’s and 12- and 18-year old Glenfiddichs and a raft of other single malts.

I texted back and forth with Leslie while this was going on and eventually the evening wrapped up. The winds had died to nothing and the stars were out full force. It was actually a pretty nice night as I headed for bed.

Sept 23

7:30 am awake

This morning I started the day with a coffee followed by a shower. Hopefully the caffeine will prevent me from any more “shower moments”.

The weather is calm and glassy. No trace of the storm left in the harbor but I overhear some locals say the ocean buoy reports are still reporting some steep waves out there.

Everyone is off for a run again. I catch up on my last blog post and am all up to date again. Donna asked for the link so I guess typos count now. Hopefully Leslie will catch the worst of them.

I read for a bit and then headed out for a walk after the runners returned. I have got to remember to take more pics with my phone so I have something to post. Sometimes I think I should have brought the laptop and other times I’m glad I didn’t.

Morro Bay has a massive power station just like Moss Landing. They have these huge smoke stacks but apparently aren’t used unless they are needed. Not sure what that means in California but I’ve heard about their rolling brownouts. Maybe they fire them up in air conditioning season?

At the base of the smokestacks is the future home of the Morro Bay Maritime Museum. Right now all they have is a nice sign and three static exhibits. One is an old Coast Guard lifeboat, there is an old working tug and finally there is the DSRV Avalon.

The Avalon is one of two Deep Sea Rescue Vehicles, mini subs, that were created after the Thresher disaster. It was designed to be flown anywhere in the world and deployed to help rescue sunken submariners. So cool.

A little further down I came across a cat on the beach named Rascal. He was a bundle of curious energy. I think he was working for the paddle board rental lady. As they were headed back up to their van he put on a burst of impressive cat speed and then plowed right into the soft mesh of his carrier. How red was his face?

I also spot a couple of surfers paddling out towards the big rock. They are on their knees scooping the water on each side to propel themselves along in the calm water of the bay. It looks like a real inefficient method of propulsion.

On the other side of the long dune joining Morro Rock to the mainland is long beach with tons of surfers. The waves are crashing in and surfers old and young are hanging out beyond the breakers waiting to catch a wave. It’s just like the movies! There doesn’t seem to be much standardization of boards though. There long ones and short ones and even some in between ones. Personal preference? Maybe they just can’t afford to change them every time styles change? I hang out watching for half an hour or so before wandering back towards the bay.

There are 2 packs of about twelve sea otters each floating in some kelp beds. A couple have pups on their stomachs and they are busy grooming and fussing. I could just hear pups complaining, “Aw, mom…”

I follow the lovely path back towards town. Just past the place I met Rascal there is a sea lion just off the beach. He doesn’t look like he’s doing well, just sort of floating in a foot of water and raising his head to breathe every 30 seconds or so. There are a couple of Marine Mammal Rescue people there observing and putting up some temporary beings saying keep away.

Turns out he is a fairly large, crested male adult. It is not abnormal for them to sleep on beaches, lifting their head every once in a while to breathe. He’s apparently been there for an hour or so and they are keeping an eye on him. The only unusual things about it was the busy location; usually they like more privacy. Then, after about 7 or 8 minutes of me watching him he just took off. Apparently I was creeping him out.

On the way back I grabbed a hot dog for $3.78. Nothing is cheap around here. I also check out a surf shop. $600 for a board and another $600 for a wetsuit and I’d be all good to go.

The boats have all moved around by the time I get back. They guy on the end volunteered to leave the dock so Northwest Passage and Sea Esta moved over to free up the dock space for boats preparing for an event tomorrow. But I found them anyway.

Turns out there is a 6 o’clock happy hour at the club and we are all invited. So I settle in to read and relax while Tim and Donna head out to fill up the other propane tank. Then it’s just hanging out for the rest of the afternoon. By that I mean Tim tries to wash the boat without using water conspicuously and Donna does laundry and paperwork for San Diego and Mexico. I just read and write some more. Some crew huh?

We are still unsure of our destination tomorrow, just sure we are leaving at 6am. It might be Port San Luis Obispo or it might be Cojo Bay. One is 3.5 hrs away and the other is 10 hrs. 6 am seems excessive if we are only going to San Luis though.

The other thing that is up in the air is my final destination. It’s looking like Northwest Passage might possibly be taking its time on the LA to San Diego leg. If so I will likely get off in LA rather than wait to the 6th or 7th of October to arrive in San Diego.

Tim is looking up a replacement starter as we are having issues with this one engaging 100% of the time. And as he says, in his experience these things don’t fix themselves.

Happy hour was crowded. There were snacks, and pints for $3. I had a dark IPA which was weird. We talked to a few people and I did my token socializing before scurrying back to the boat after and hour and a half.

Chatted with L a bit online, talked destination arrival with Tim, ate some chicken wings and that was that. Just another day stranded on shore.