03/28/2002
Pillar Point Harbormaster Office
Not surprisingly, we awoke prior to the scheduled wake-up alarm set for 5am. Thursday's optimum time to leave be at the Golden Gate Bridge to head out of the bay is 6:55am. As we donned our clothes and foul weather gear, the VHF weather broadcast indicated 6 knots (approximately miles per hour) of wind at the San Francisco buoy outside the bridge with a 6 foot swell. The forecast still sounded promising for a great day. Quick, pop 1/2 a Bonine seasick pill and let's go before the swell gets to 10 feet.
Aahh, the best laid plans and forecasts are always subject to change. With our handy snack/beverage bag, charts, GPS and safety gear stowed in the cockpit, we shoved off from the dock at the St. Francis. Looking up at the Golden Gate Bridge, we noticed a thick layer of San Francisco's finest fog. The sunshine that welcomed us each morning as we looked from our slip to the bridge disappeared on the day of our departure. Raising the sails, we cross our fingers in hopes of the marine layer pushing back as the morning progresses. By the time we reached the bridge, the wind rushed toward us from the south at 15 knots and the swells were building. Where is our wind from the northwest? Where is our 80 degree day we were "promised"?
Passing under the bridge, Duncan used the digital camera to capture a quick video of the momentus occassion (note: loud sound at the end is a fog horn -- not a freighter bearing down on us). Then, back to the business at hand - dodging freighters and staying on course.
Dozens of crab pot floats (like these) along our course, with only small floats visible
Later we learned our (wonderful) friend Jim arose at the crack of dawn and scurried out to Fort Point to take pictures of us leaving. We left slightly ahead of schedule resulting in Jim seeing us as we passed by Mile Rock. Thanks for seeing us off Jim.
Turning south to head toward Half Moon Bay, we found a more comfortable motion and fewer boarding seas, but we were going to be heading directly into the wind most of the way down. With 3 to 5 foot wind-waves from the south, 8 to 11 foot swells from the northwest, and 17 to 22knot S-SE winds, we'll be a bit more skeptical with our next departure weather forecast. We'll learn more about forecasting our own weather as we progress.
Our trip down was mostly uneventful. We kept a close lookout in order to dodge dozens of crab pots with floats along our courseline. We did not feel tired or seasick, so the Bonine worked great. Each waypoint came and went as predicted. We tried to sail a couple of times, but the motion was not comfortable, so we returned to our "punch through it" motor sail.
View across Pillar Point anchorage from Whisper's deck
As we approached Pillar Point Harbor in Half Moon Bay, the wind and water calmed considerably, and by the time we were inside the outer breakwater, we had very relaxed conditions to scope out a nice spot for anchoring. The ideal spot was unfortunately right near a public boat launch -- we were sure we would end up moving before a busy (Easter) holiday weekend. Luckily, the boat ramp was undergoing major repairs that will keep it closed until mid-April.