macblaze.ca

Well I have been home for a few days, and sorting through my 1200+ images and movies. Surprisingly there aren’t a lot of “fantastic” shots. I guess the ocean kind of looks the same after a while unless you are actually there. And a lot of the real interesting stuff was impossible to get a shot of. I have gone through and fixed a few things in my blog entries and extracted some data as well as plotted all my waypoints and gathered all my statistics. I will jot them down here for posterity.

Northwest Passage is now in Newport, CA and on their way south to San Diego. I am pretty bummed that I couldn’t do the whole trip but at the same time pretty glad to be home. They will pick up more crew at the end of October in San Diego and then head south with the Baja Hah, before making their way to their final destination of Zihuateneo, Mexico. I am so grateful I got to do this trip. Thanks Tim and Donna!

My Final Take

It wasn’t that hard. I was worried that a long offshore voyage wouldn’t be for me, but in the end, while it was challenging and occasionally intense, it really wasn’t that difficult. Like all things sailing, prudence goes a long way.  I think if we had done a lot more overnights then having more crew would have been good, because your energy levels start to diminish over time. But overall it was a fairly pleasant journey with the minimum of nerve-wracking experiences and a lot of glorious ones.

Having a solid boat counts for a lot. Watching Sea Esta X bob and bounce over the swell and comparing it to the real sense of secureness I felt on Northwest Passage, I can certainly begin to see where all the bluewater boat arguments come from. Because on a long downwind sail like that, it is the swell that you affected by much more than the wind.

Would I do it again? Yup.

The Stats

• Trip length: 29 days
• Travel days: 20 days
• Travel hours: 232:25
• Total km: 2392.4
• Total nm: 1291.9
• Hours motoring: 200 hrs
• Fuel used 520 L
• Overnight sails: 3
• Longest leg: 54 hrs

Daily Distances

Day	Kilometers	Nautical Miles	Hours
1	84.4	45.576	5:00
2	45.7	24.678	5:20
3	165	89.1	15:40
4	76.1	41.094	7:25
5	130	70.2	12:25
6	271	146.34	25:45
7	cont’d	cont’d	cont’d
8	0	0	0:00
9	0	0	0:00
10	151	81.54	13:45
11	0	0	0:00
12	0	0	0:00
13	498	268.92	54:00
14	cont’d	cont’d	cont’d
15	cont’d	cont’d	cont’d
16	166	89.64	16:25
17	120	64.8	11:45
18	114	61.56	10:50
19	0	0	0:00
20	212	114.48	20:50
21	cont’d	cont’d	cont’d
22	0	0	0:00
23	0	0	0:00
24	141	76.14	11:45
25	71.6	38.664	7:10
26	43.6	23.544	4:00
27	103	55.62	10:20
28	0	0	0:00
29	0	0	0:00
Totals	2392.4 km	1291.9 nm	232:25 hrs

Embedded map version

This is a map of all the actual waypoints I recorded along the way. I used it to calculate the distances. A lot of times when we were sailing we would be tacking back and forth which may not be represented in the paths or the stats above so the numbers are approximate.

[flexiblemap src=”http://macblaze.ca/kmz/Van-LA.kmz”]

 

Google My Maps version

Google My Maps seems to need a Google account to access it, although I can’t prove that. That’s why I embedded my KML file above so I won’t be dependant on Google. But zoom in and check out some of the harbour entrances and remember most of them were done in the fog or the dark or both.

Sept 28

6:50 am awake

I got up and had my traditional coffee in the cockpit. I’m gonna miss that. I spent some time watching the to and fro of the marina. A fire truck just backed out of the complex and it had a stand-up paddle board strapped to the top. I guess we really are in LA.

The crew took off for a run and I headed off at a more sedate pace to walk down to Venice Beach. They will give me a call when they are finished their tribulations and we will meet for breakfast.

I walk down Ocean to Washington and head for the seaside. Almost to the beach, I encounter a young crazy dude railing against two tattooed muscle boys outside a crowded coffee place. The tattooed dudes are all like “ya ya, move it along” and the crazy one is all like “it’s a violation of nature and the constitution and shit.” I just keep on trucking.

A mile or so after leaving Marina Del Rey I reach the Venice Pier and see my first real “California” beach. Did you know the sand is groomed overnight? Not a footprint on most of it. There are a few casual commuters this early but mostly it’s just me and the surfers at 8:30 am. I’m not sure if it’s a pre-work surf or just the start of a very long day of hanging 10.

I walk out pier a bit to observe their technique and then head back to start walking down the beach. The shadows are still long and the sand is incredibly pristine. I guess the beaches are as “manicured” as the people here in Tinsel Town.

I get tired of plodding through the sand and walk down the path, which as I am later corrected, is actually the boardwalk. The walk is still pretty sleepy with none of the shops open yet.

I wander through a movie set or tv show being filmed or something. I was just looking at all the tents and food and stuff when I noticed them off loading gear and all the movie trailers, I suppose filled with starlets and famous types. I thought about asking what it was and then I thought I would just wander off before I was escorted off.

The big black and white LAPD helicopter buzzed the beach a couple of times…this is just like being in TV! There are cops and life guards and ooh, it’s just so exciting.

Mark called and told me to pick a place for breakfast so I headed back toward the pier. As I approached the coffee shop where the confrontation happened there were 3 or 4 cop cars and motorcycles and 2 LA fire engines. The crazy dude was surrounded by casual-seeming, uniformed personnel and the muscle dudes were nowhere to be seen. I have to imagine the situation escalated after I left. But it didn’t look like they were gonna do much to crazy dude; although I wonder why the overwhelming response of equipment and people.

We met for breakfast at the Terrace. While I sat in Venice Beach just on the outskirts of Santa Monica (which was my next destination after breakfast), what should come on the radio but All I Wanna Do by Sheryl Crow. It made me laugh.

I parted ways with everyone as they headed back to the boat and then on to Costco. I retraced my steps back down the beach heading to the Santa Monica Pier which was apparently about 6K away. Things were starting to open now. Everything from head shops to t-shirts places to surf shops. Along the way I encountered Muscle Beach, with its weight equipment and even a mini-stadium. It’s a real thing but unfortunately had no muscle dudes to populate it. Maybe its a summer thing?

Bike rentals seem to be the big thing here with literally dozens of places that rent all sorts of bikes. There is also a Green Doctors medical marijuana analysis business with tons of franchisees all dressed in lime green scrubs.

Santa Monica pier is packed with restaurants, shops, an amusement park and even a trapeze school where you could watch wannabe trapeze artists try and fail to fly through the air. It was great fun but man it has to be frustrating to miss, climb back up, miss, climb back up etc. It is also, apparently, the official end of Route 66.

I head into town on my way back and walk down Main Street; lots of shops, cafes and restaurants. As I leave the core I come across those incredibly lush community gardens right in the middle of the residential area. Things grow big here and it’s nice to see the set aside room for gardens. The residential lots are certainly too small to grow anything. The houses range from affluent to ramshackle and the breadth of gardens and boulevard trees is amazing. Everything from palms to azaleas in the boulevards with succulent gardens. And even the occasional well-tended patch of grass. I also passed a couple of dog parks. They are all dirt here; I suppose with the lack of rain that dirt is easier to maintain than grass.

I am so, so hot as I headed back. I bought an ice-cold Gatorade halfway home but the sweat has been pouring off me. The boat is empty when I got back so I drink a couple of gallons of water, soak my face with cold water and relax with a couple more gallons.

Eventually everyone shows up in a cab with their haul from Costco. I help haul the boxes below and finish up my second last blog post while Donna unpacks.

Tim heads out to do some “projects”. The dinghy had been missing from the davits when I got back and I found it over on the dock. He was cleaning it and spraying on UV protectant. I lent a hand applying a stencil he had gotten made up and then we spray-painted the name of the boat on the side.

Somewhere around then I realized I was starting to get sunburnt ankles so I ducked back in to slather on the sunscreen. It would suck to come back painfully burnt on my last day.

All done with chores, Tim and I had a beer and I read for a bit as it started to cool down — it was after 5:30 by then. Sunset comes early here.

There is some talk of heading up to the club for the hockey game but it comes to nothing. A good thing really, since there actually was no game; we were apparently a day early. So we relaxed some more before we sat down in Sea Esta for a lovely Costco roast-chicken dinner and some wine.

It’d been a long hot sweaty day so I hit the shower. Of cours,e while I bring a clean shirt, I forget my towel drying on the life lines. Are you still clean if you use your dirty, sweaty t-shirt to dry off with?

And then it’s time to enjoy my last night in SoCal up on deck. We are waiting for Jim and Mark to return from their galavanting at the club so we can enjoy Tim’s 90-year-old mothers’ pound cake with fresh whipped cream and a good soaking in booze. And then we wait. And wait. And wait. Seems the party is going on up on the club’s deck and it’s not looking like they are going to be disengaging anytime soon. Eventually Donna makes the executive decision that if the mountain isn’t coming to the pound cake, then the pound cake is going to the mountain.

They slice me a delicious piece and then head off to the club to distribute the goodness. It sounds a bit too rowdy up there for someone as sober as I am. I enjoy my piece existing the temptation to just lick off all the whipped cream. But they aren’t gone long (apparently it was a bit too drunk out for them as well) and they bring the remnants back after only a short while.

And then it’s time for bed. I pack most of my stuff and then grab my book to “read” for a bit…mostly with my eyes closed.

Sept 29

6:30 am awake

Last Day. I pack up my remaining stuff and have my last cup of coffee. There was a heavy dew last night so I stay below as everything we didn’t put away is soaked.

Mark has booked a cab for 9:30 so we are good to go. Then I just hang out and chill. I am going to leave my new inflatable pfd behind as my share of the voyage costs. Northwest Passage needs another one with an integrated harness and I had agreed to chip in for beer and fuel and stuff so it’s an equitable exchange, although Tim and Donna kindly insist it’s not necessary. Still, it seems reasonable to me and my bag is already too full.

Then I have my my last, last cup of coffee.

By 8:30 I am already sweating. It’s going to be another hot one. But I left a fleece in my carry-on for home where it’s only going to be 14°.

Tim and I stick our noses in the bilge for a while and scratch our heads over the intermittent bilge pump cycling. At 2:00 am last night the pump started to cycle endlessly. Like on Never for Ever the pump can’t suck out all the water and always drops whatever’s in the hose back into the bilge. But on Northwest Passage the float switch seems to be miss-positioned and it always dumps just enough water to set off the float switch again and restart the cycle. This will just keep happening until someone uses the manual pump to take a tiny bit more water out. Which I did when it woke me up. It seems like it should be an easy fix but you never know. That’s why boats are so much fun.

Eventually Mark called over and we all trouped up to the parking lot to await the cab. A few pictures, smiles, handshakes, hugs and thanks all around and Mark and I were off. Partings can be so abrupt sometimes.

Traffic was light until we hit LAX then it just slowed to a crawl. But eventually we stopped in front of Terminal 2 and Mark and I shook and parted ways. Westjet was a bit further down but oddly to me, all the airlines are actually separated by walls so you have to walk outside. I guess that makes sense in rainless California.

After checking in, walking on to the security is also done outside. It went pretty quick and soon enough I was in line for a slice of pizza to enjoy while I waited. I did see an older couple take a header in the escalator. There were three of them and I think it was a chain reaction with only the fellow on the end remaining in his feet. The other gentleman and a lady were sprawled almost upside down legs and arms akimbo. The attendant did stop the escalator almost immediately but no one made any moves to help right away. Seemed an odd reaction to me. But I think everyone was ok.

10:00 am LAX
33° 56.8032? N,118° 24.2354? W

And then I waited. And typed on my phone and watched the hustle and bustle.

We boarded about 20 minutes before take off. This 737-800 has no entertainment system at all…unusual. My Plus seat comes with complimentary water and massive leg room. The middle seat is a fold down table with a
cup holder and space to store my reader…posh! I get free lunch and free booze (which I don’t avail my self of) and a hot towel for who knows what reason.

California from the air is as strange to me as California from the sea. Low dry mountain ranges interspersed with flat populated areas give way to intermittent drier mountain ranges and densely crowded, flat agricultural zones. Much like the Okanogan, water is seemingly both abundant and completely absent. It is not at all as I have imagined it. I don’t know why I have always associated California with lush even though I know its generally one big desert. Live and learn…

4:00 pm MDT
53° 17.7835? N,113° 34.4861? W

Touchdown. My bag is the first one off the carousel. That never happens.

And voila, c’est tout.

Sept 26

6:30 am awake

I’m lying here trying to get motivated to get up, but also not really interested in going back to sleep. I don’t know what kind of monster I’m turning into! 🙂

7:00 am up and around

Ok, everyone else is now up so I better get going. Coffee is already going when I emerge and we sit in the warming sun; it’s so weird to have it warm and pleasant at 7am at the end of September, but they do say this is unusual.

After grabbing a calendar and talking over the next few days I decide it’s likely better to disembark in LA rather than rushing everyone on to San Diego. I can grab a direct flight from LAX for a couple of hundred dollars cheaper, and the airport is only a couple of miles from the marina. It’ll be convenient and take the pressure off Tim and Donna to go, go, go.

So while Tim and Donna pick up Mark and head in on the dinghy to grab a shower, I borrow the laptop and book my flight. The regular rate is $295 but since I usually like to book my seat ahead of time and I have baggage, I decide on a once-in-a-lifetime splurge and book Westjet’s version of first class for $400. It will only cost me about $50 more when all’s said and done. I know, I know, it’s not real first class, but I do get a comfier seat.

9:10 am up anchor

It’s calm and it’s hot. We are headed for Ventura Isle Marina where Mark has managed to secure us two slips. Only 22 miles but it will be a long motor in the sun.

I talked to Mark and he and I leave LAX on the 29th. His flight is 1:30-ish to YVR and mine is at noon. So we will take a taxi in together from the marina and leave Sea Esta and Northwest Passage to their own devices. Kinda sad really, but I think it will give them more time to enjoy SoCal.

10:20 am
34° 21.0443′ N,119° 33.6076′ W

There are 8 oil rigs, all in close proximity and a few more we can see off in the horizon. Who knew this part of California was such a oil boom town.

11:40 am

It’s an interesting area. Between Conception and Santa Barbara there wasn’t much but the occasional ranch-type house and the rail line running along the coast. Now the shore line is intermittently crowded with beach houses and the highway. At one section there was a long string of monster beach homes with an Amtrack line immediately in their back yards, a jam-packed highway behind that and then pump jacks dotting the ridge line behind them. We are definitely back in civilization.

We are treated to some more fresh baked cookies. Man, we have been spoilt, and my goal of losing some weight this trip has definitely been thwarted.

Donna followed up on Mark’s booking at the marina. It was going to be $60/night, but she managed to wrangle it down to the cost of a couple of cookies. It’s good she’s on our side.

12:42 pm

We are at the entrance to Ventura. It’s beautiful with emerald-colored water, breakers crashing along the shore and a huge beach on either sides of the entrance.

Turns out there is yet another beach in the inside of the breakwater as well. It’s so different here…

1:10 pm
34° 14.6452′ N,119° 15.7166′ W
Ventura

We are all tied up in Ventura Isle Marina. There are three or four marinas here and a boat yard all crowded in the estuary behind a series of breakwaters. The place is huge. The slips have docks on both sides and there are so many different shapes and sizes of boats. And unlike a lot of marinas we have visited, they all seem to be used regularly.

At Donna’a insistence we unshipped and pumped up paddle boards. Tim is still baffled by the electrical; his alternator is working fine today. So Tim and Donna decide to go for walk instead. I just laid back and relaxed.

A bit later we shared a cold beer and I finished up and posted a blog entry. Then we just sat in the cockpit and watched time float away for a while

They decided to break out the paddle boards, so then I sat in the cockpit and watched Tim and Donna float away for a while. Marinas are like that.

We are dinner outside and then, because it was late, Tim listened to the last 10 minutes of debate online. I think we caught the highlights 🙁

And then there was bed.

Sept 27

6:30 am

This is voluntary. I hope I’m not turning into an early riser. That would really suck.

I had my magic coffee and checked real weather for the first time on the trip. Usually we just listen to the marine forecasts that are high on wind info and low on temperatures. It’s a predicted 31° here in Ventura, but Edmonton is going to only 14°. Brrrr!

Everyone is off for a run before our predicted departure time of 9 am, which is so late so we can return our key and get our deposit back. It’s going to be an 8 to 9 hour run to Marina del Rey.

8:00 am

I can feel the heat from the sun. It’s already starting…

9:10 am

We are off the dock and headed out. We were hopeful with the breeze at dock, but it faded to nothing as we headed through the breakwaters trailing a couple of tourist boats.

So we motor.

10:20 am

Endless beaches. Seriously, it’s been one long series of beaches from about 4 miles outside the Ventura breakwater and there is no end in sight.

From the sea you can see that Ventura exists geographically like a mini Vancouver, sprawled out in a large flat estuary surrounded by mountains on three sides. Up ahead you can see the development come to a fast halt as the mountains come right down to the water, leaving only enough room, and very little of that, for the highway and railroad tracks.

11:21 am

The sails are up! Woohoo! We are in a close reach heading into 12 knots of wind and pointed pretty much where we want to be.

It’s warm winds and bare feet sailing today: super pleasant.

12:20 pm
34° 3.9333′ N,119° 5.7470′ W

Our first big tack out to sea. We are making speeds anywhere from 5 to 6.5 knots over the next few hours depending on how close inshore we get as we tack back and forth.

1:37
34° 2.3507′ N,118° 59.8375′ W

We tack again before we have to in order to track closer to a huge pod of porpoises. Then we tack again because the pesky things won’t hold still. Around 1:45 we catch them.

They intersect our path and about 20 or 30 peal off to visit for a while. They zoom along in our bow wake and dance alongside for 5 minutes or so and then take off to catch up to the main group. Still one of the coolest things ever.

2:40 pm
33° 57.7673′ N,118° 55.6155′ W

The wind unfortunately dies after a glorious final sail, but we still have 23 nm to go so we fire up the engine and point toward our destination.

4:22 pm
33° 59.1999′ N,118° 43.2736′ W

We eventually head inshore off our course because it was just too damn boring. Right now we are just off Malibu Beach. I think I can see Charlie’s place from here. I looked it up: that aerial shot from the show (Three and a Half Men) was just past the lagoon.

5:08 pm

More Mylar balloons. These have big 40s on them. They really are a scourge.

5:30 pm

And then another one. I think this is a problem, people.

5:40 pm

And another. Sigh.

We are still cruising close to the beach and not making great progress towards our goal but at least enjoying the scenery. Sea Esta has made it to del Rey, but we’ve got an hour or more still to go.

The shoreline is wall to wall beach houses with the highway right behind. The hillside climbs steeply immediately on the other side of the highway and is dotted with houses, mansions and compounds of all shapes, sizes and architectural preferences. I find out later that the big white one that was kinda out of place was Pepperdine University.

The landscape slowly becomes more and more crowded and less and less hilly as we move south down the coast and LA proper hoves into view.

We also experience dueling traffic copters zooming over the beach which now seems to stretch along the entire coastline. We can see Santa Monica Pier up ahead with its amusement park. I guess that means we are off Santa Monica now.

6:00 pm
34° 1.3410′ N,118° 31.8944′ W

And another balloon.

6:50 pm

We are entering the channel into Marina del Rey right at sunset. A while ago we were part of the tourist scenery as we passed the Santa Monica pier with our full sails out and a glorious sunset behind us. Hundreds of people were crowding the end of the pier and you could see the flashes of cameras going off. Nice to be of service. I wonder if I can write this off somehow?

Anyway, the channel behind the first breakwater is huge with its own traffic separation scheme. The center lane is reserved for sailing boats but everyone is motoring today. We are followed by two other sailboats that seem to know where they are going. All we have is a verbal description from Mark.

It’s a fading light that barely illuminates the massive basin as we enter. Boats are sailing and others are maneuvering and it’s all good. We just motor on by.

There are 6 or 7 huge boat basins that come off this main one. We are looking for Basin D, the fourth one on the port side.

7:30 pm
33° 58.7738′ N,118° 27.1355′ W
Pacific Mariners Yacht Club, Marina del Rey

We found our basin and counted fingers. Sea Esta helpfully turned on their masthead light and we slowly glided down a narrow channel. Sea Esta was tied up in a tiny finger that doesn’t really fit and we needed to do likewise one slip up; it is too narrow for our beam so we are now hanging out. We made it just before dark.

I relaxed, waiting for Tim and Donna to sign in, then hit the yacht club with Mark and Tim for a beer. The people here are very friendly. The yacht club is just 4 guest slips and the clubhouse. Everyone needs to find their own moorage.

We eat dinner in the cockpit and relax as the air starts to cool. Then I head up to grab a shower before bed. And put on clean clothes. The sailing is done for me and I can revert back to street clothes again.