Going a bit nutty?!?

My oh my have the Baja boats been coming in. It is so hard to not just hoist our anchor and follow suit right now. We still have unfinished business to deal with and the fact that things have gotten postponed proves to be a real bummer....

However....there is usually a "however" with us...haha

We took our beauty of a boat out this week in some high winds and seas as a "test" so to speak..yes, Neil is crazy! It proved to be a wonderful sail. I think she is handling better and better the more we "tweak" her.

After about a 6 hour sail with 25 knots and an average of 8 foot seas, we were coming back into the Harbor and had a bit of trouble pulling in the head sail (roller furler). Long story short she was wrapped up tight and Stewart and I ended up having to drop the sail on the deck.

Later we realized that the nut had spun and we were in danger of losing the front stay! There was a great chance we could have de-masted her!

Yikes! Talk about an adrenaline rush. So the last few days the rigging has been gone over with a fine tooth comb. We have set up a new halyard for the Ginaker, and the rigging is now in tuned perfectly.

The other day we got our very own "how To prepare a crab in under 60 seconds" from a local. I hope to be posting that video soon. Isn't it amazing how some of the local fisherman make it look so simple and fast. Than when you go to try it you are all thumbs! This one, though, is pretty simple and good to know.

We have met several boaters who will be doing the Baja Ha Ha this year and the kids are pretty excited to find that there are a few teens going along as well....Phew!

As far as our good friends aboard Jubillee II goes, we ask for prayers to be sent their way for the unexpected turn of events in their personal life. I hope that everything will work out for the best and wish I could wrap my arms around Joyce for a big mushy hug. We do LOVE you two and are praying for you!

It really has been an unusual turn of events. We know we will eventually get down south..sooner hopefully than later, but for whatever reason, we are to be here, right now until further notice...

In the meantime, I hope I don't go a bit nutty!...haha, just kidding.

Fire Dance

As a sort of going away present, our "water hippie" friends threw an impromptu going away party for us last night. We hope to be leaving within a few days and were pleasantly surprised to receive the honor of dinner (freshly caught tuna) and a show. I was honored to be part of their wedding and have enjoyed our friendship.

The day was full of events for us as Winnie had her first overboard experience. Thankfully we were all on deck and she was just so excited to be playing in the sunshine that she rounded the corner of the bow and "sploosh!" Update on that is she is an excellent swimmer, and was not hurt. She was quickly retrieved, dried off, and given plenty of water. Later she had fun with her "shower" in the cockpit...She is a water loving Chihuahua..and not at all afraid...Oh boy! haha.

The Pelicans have invaded Half Moon Bay! I love watching them dive along with several other species of sea birds..of which to name would require getting out my fabulous bird book Joyce and Barry gave me...

Speaking of which, they have left the docks and have joined us on anchorage. I am so happy to see them across the way and hope they don't beat us down the coast...either way it is great to see them.

All in all it has been a wonderful stay here and we are sad to be leaving some of our good friends behind, but are looking forward to the next chapter in our lives. Being full time cruisers!

motor-vation and clubhouses

When asked recently if there was anything that I am a bit apprehensive about when it comes to traveling south my reply is "I really hope I don't have to use the motor all the time." I really loathe having to start her up for any reason. It isn't so much that she is old, has no available parts, and is tempormental, it is more like, it's loud, it's stinky, and I'd would rather sail! The other is just more fuel not to use her.

Our little 34 foot Islander sloop with her modified full keel is heavy and stout. She likes the wind in her sails and handles heavy seas rather well. I have read several peoples account of passing by Pt. Conception now and heavy seas with winds in the 30-45 knots range sounds managable.

Now don't get me wrong, it's not like I think we are the greatest sailors in the world..we just love sailing for sailing's sake. I don't want to be in extreme conditions for weeks or anything, but from everyones tales of passage it is definately doable with a double reefed main and tiny bit of jib out. Taking the sails down to so little will still give you speed and maneuverability in rough seas. Having no options or being close to shore is scary for me. Being offshore a ways allows for more time. Time to sit...time to drop or raise sails... time to think, react, sleep...I don't really know how close to shore everyone was so I wonder if we go out about 35 to 50 miles if we will hit as much wind and waves as they did or if it will be steady as she goes like usual.

As everyone knows we usually head at least 15 miles offshore and in some cases as far as 30, just to hit good steady wind even when going from HMB to the city or down to Santa Cruz or Monterey. Our boat does it's best in about 20 knots.

So with that I hope the winds are in our favor. I know the direction (south) sure is and I am looking forward to having our longest "tack" in record being one that does not require fuel.

It is so peaceful to be out in the ocean with sails trimmed just right, the wind vane autopilot doing a phoenominal job of keeping her on coarse, close to the wind and big rolling seas. She purrs along and plows through the waves or she picks up and rides down each one....oh ya! That's the ticket! I also enjoy being "hove to" for the night and have the seas rock me to sleep back and forth, up and down...not really going anywhere, just feeling the breathing sea...seeing the moon, stars, phospherence...it is a beautiful experience!

On another note: When a friend of mine recently boarded the boat she chuckled and said, "Where do the parents live? This looks like a clubhouse!" Yes, Neil and I are just a bunch of big kids who enjoy being with our big kids..and having a floating clubhouse is pretty awsome indeed! With 2 kids and 3 little Chihuahua's onboard we definately are a "Hand Full" and I love it! After all, this is just the means of transport from one port to another. The real action is takes place outside the boat.

The best part of all is having such a great family to share this grand adventure called life with.....even if it takes place in a little floating clubhouse!

while they were fishing...

Here is a little glimpse at what was going on while the kids and Neil were out fishing.....I did get some stuff done! haha

While Playing the Waiting Game...

What do you do when you have been on anchorage long enough to become one of the locals? Why bumper boats of course! When helping a fellow boater return to his anchorage without a working engine, a few of us got our skiffs up alongside and offered a shove. As with any fellow boater, taking things too seriously, especially life, is just not advised. So with the task at hand a little play was in order. Neil led the way with an overly exaggerated approach in his skiff by the breakwater complete with hooting and hollering much to all of our amusement. I believe it was a Brittish accent mixed with a bit of “Scotty” from Star Trek and some talk about “I just can’t do it Cap’n. I don’t have the powah.” Haha. Afterwards I believe there was some bumper boating going on…You really had to be there.


For payment of favor an old wind board, just the board, was offered to a few helpers. When Stewart heard this he was thrilled! (He was a helper too!). He has wanted a paddle board for a while and although it is a little different the concept is doable. Katie was pretty excited also. They both hopped on and took turns and within an hour they both looked like old pros. Soon they were both on it together and soon Daisy was looking at it like, “Hey, when do I get to go?” So Neil hopped in the skiff with Daisy and they towed Stewart around for a while. (Later she can go for a paddle but not yet!) Kids are just so good at making that whole balance thing look easy. No one fell in and Neil and I decided we would try it out when the water is a little bit warmer as we KNOW we are going in!














The next day the kids and Neil went rock fishing while I stayed and did a few things (mainly playing with puppys…haha) and ended up with a few catches, one of which got Neil’s hand pretty good for a stinging time of 120 minutes but it was not as bad as it looked.**see pics** It has been noted that we need to get a new “un escapable” bait bucket before the next time. Hey at least this one did not get away and it was pretty yummy!










Today we took the little ones (Foster and Winnie) into the Vet. for their first set of shots and Micro Chipping. Thanks to our great friends Joyce and Barry toting us around it made for a fun trip, at least for the humans…Puppy report says that Foster is a whopping 4 pounds and Winnie is just at 2 pounds. There is still a question of whether or not he is part Lab. or maybe will be renamed "Clifford".haha! He is still a little sore and is not sure if he will go for one of those “rides” again. Winnie is not too bothered but she is a tough little bird, even if she is just under 2 cans of corn in weight. I did treat them at dinner so not to worry.(Joyce) I had no chicken handy, but I did give out some ham…and bottled water of course!Now they are plumb tuckered out!







Things are moving slowly. We are going to wait until next week before we head south. Slow and Steady. We are still not done with “business” but will figure it out one way or another. We wanted to go hit a few neat places on the way down but if we doddle too much we will miss out and have to head straight for San Diego.







In the meantime we are enjoying our time spent with each other and having fun.

Speaking of which there is a costume party for the start of the Baja…suggestions???? Send em my way!

arggh!

It is literally driving me crazy having to sit here and wait! I know we have some special circumstances in which we are to stay put for a wee bit longer, but wow! I keep seeing boats pull in for a nights rest with the Baja Ha Ha flag and than leave the next day.

Tonight we see that there is a boat from Berkeley Marina, "Althea", of whom Stewart talked to right before we left, is here anchored close by....


So I am going to spend the rest of the night going through old pictures and videos from storage and pick our favorites.

It is a kick to see some old videos that have no sound on them of the kids. I think I will have to post some of them soon!! Actually I will definately do that!

**to Vicki and family...thank you for your words of encouragement. After going through some of our old photos and videos I agree that we have come a long way indeed. From a bunch of mountain folk to bonefied sailors!(not sure of the spelling on bonified...haha!). I hope you can join us one day!**

Tomorrow will be another day in the city. I think we will leave early and get another coffee in the city, make up our own stories for the passers by, enjoy each others company and fantasize about simpler times. Life is good and even though I am in a huge hurry...I am going to have to get used to not being in a hurry any more!




I throw in a picture of the puppy's we are keeping. Winnie is the girl. She is super tiny and super sweet but can hold her own. Foster is the boy. He is HUGE! I think he is part Lab or something! haha. He is also super sweet and although really playful is a bit uncoordinated. His legs are long and he is still adjusting!

Daisy is still a great mommy. Really gentle with the girl. Super playful with the boy. The kid's are doing great too! They are excited to be shoving off and seeing new places.

I am Blessed!

****Just heard Lori "Camelot" made it to Santa Barbara safe and sound. Also had wind that Jane'O is on their way to Monterey. All the best to them. And see you soon!***

Neil just informed me after looking at the forcast via SSB that it is smooth sailing all the way to La Paz. (offshore that is...no wind inland but this works as we never are within 15 - 30 miles of shore whenever we sail along the coast...)

He is NOT helping!! haha

hoofin it!

Yesturday we had our first big challenge of going into the city and over to the east bay for Neil's doctor visit and a few other things. We just barely made the 7:37 am. bus out of HMB to Pacifica for another transfer to get us to BART train station. I swear that bus driver took highway 1 faster than I ever have in the car!! I know he does it all the time but looking down the cliffsides and the ocean below while speeding through the pass was a bit nerve racking! However it was all good and we made it just in time for the transfer.

We got into San Francisco and stopped off at Embarcadaro for one of "Noah's" famous bagels and a coffee. Neil and I had a really fun time just hanging out in the city watching the hustle and bustle of the morning rush. I have taken the kids down to the city a bunch of times but this was my first time with my hubby.

The crowd passing by the coffee shop window was so diverse. Bums (we counted 8 walk by in 20 minutes), the business class, the tourists, joggers, construction workers, city employees, 1 hooker, maybe her pimp, a euro type couple....all together in one block! It was fun to sit and people watch. I wonder what their story was and where they were all going. Neil and I were very interested in the fact that only about 10%looked like they were not completely miserable.

I am glad that we are no longer in that game.

We headed off to Oakland where Neil saw another doctor about his back...still hopeful to find better care for him.

Afterwards we got back on the BART train to head south. We were towards the end of a 3 car train when a bum walked in. He sat across from us. There were people all over in our corner. All of a sudden we got a huge whiff of trash and death. One by one we all moved from our seats to the middle of the train. One lady went all of the way to the front. It was so bad it made your eyes burn! I felt bad for him, but hey, he had the whole half a car to himself and looked rather comfortable with a look of "What?" on his face!!haha

After all of our running we repeated the process of trains and buses back. We learned the hard but valuable lesson that first of all, comfy shoes are a must if one is going to be hoofing it all the time!Ouch!

Second, one must be aware of all the changes to the bus schedules. We got to learn this one first hand when we go back to Pacifica to take the final bus home to our waiting children only to discover that the last bus leaves at 6:04pm. It was about 8:40pm. when we realized that the 8:33pm. bus we were wating for wasn't coming. Thanks to the current economic slide the buses have downsized their schedules and were a little bummed to learn that their is really no weekend buses in and out of HMB right now. So we will have to be careful in our planning, yet we should be almost done with this area anyway.

So after buying some comfy shoes for the next time, we hailed a cab and took a lovely ride back to HMB. Neil and I haven't taken a cab in a long time, and after the shock of the bill wore off we quickly remembered why! No Worries though as we made it home by 9:30 pm. and enjoyed a glass of wine over dinner. Closing out a long but adventurous day. (Joyce if you are reading this, be sure and ask me about the hippies....it is for a private audience...haha...namely you!)...

I can't wait for the next time!

After it was all said and done it was great to be home. The kids had a great afternoon with a newly made friend aboard a fellow Baja 'er. One of many I hope they will meet along the way. Check out their website at http://svjaneo.com.

Our friends Lori and Tom (Camelot) left yesturday for Santa Barbara. I think the Jane'O leaves today. We hope to be a week or so behind.

We are really enjoying this new chapter in our lives and it never seems dull to say the least!

safe and sound in HMB

Finally made it back to the harbor and couldn't be happier! Beings that it was Labor Day weekend there were a few extra boats on anchorage. Ha Ha! Actually there were a few yacht clubs that had all met up. It was pretty awsome to see so many boats in one place! It was also nice to see some of our old local yocal friends who met us with a warm "Welcome Back!"

We were able to finally meet and greet with SV Camelot's crew along with meeting a few new sailing buddies. There were a small handful of Baja bound boats, but since it was so crazy in here with skiffs going literally 24/7 we figured we would wait and do more socializing after we got our boat back in shape! (emptying out the storage and bringing "goodies" to a few people made for a deck mess!)

All in all, it is nice to be back. Now we will be sorting through some family photo's and getting organized once again. High hopes to be leaving in about a week or so!

Goodbye San Francisco! We had a great time!

It is official. We are at the start of our "cruising days." Friday we sold the car. Our last big attatchment to land. We have emptied out storage. We have left the slip. Our plan was to head out yesturday morning but we had so much last minute stuff to take care of we got a late start. We left around 2:15 pm. from the marina and headed towards the gate.
The wind shifted and it led us towards Racoon Straight. I thought it would be pretty cool to go through it one more time before we headed out. We were almost to the straight when this white sailboat was headed straight for us! I thought "oh no! we are going to be T boned!" Neil started up the engine as we grumbled and I was just about to yell some racey words out to them when we realized it was Bud and Ralph on Ralph's Islander 36! Whew! And hey guys, you made my heart race just a little. "Turkeys!" haha. It was nice to see them one more time!
So we head through the straight and were getting ready to reef the main when the kids asked if we could spend one more night in Aquatic Park. The winds were ripping and the fog wasn't too bad...but we went ahead and pulled into the park for one last night.
The kids went to shore and looked for some last minute souveniers as Neil and I stayed aboard. It is very nice that our kid's are able to have some independence from us, and vice versa. So we made the very best of the situation.

Today we went under the Golden Gate bridge for the last time in who knows how long. In fact we may not come back this way again, no one is certain on that one. So at around 9:15 am. we crossed under her and took a few pictures. The kid's played blackjack for penny's ( ya, we have trained them well, hey? haha) as I made pancakes while leaving the gate.
We are now about 7 miles offshore headed northwest and hope to turn and run a long tack down the coast into Half Moon Bay. I am looking forward to seeing some old friends who are also doing the Baja Ha Ha as well as some of the locals. I am very happy to be back on the anchor and swinging freely. It is such a pleasant and soothing lull as you gently rock all night. I think we are all very excited to be on our way to go boldly where no Rife has gone before..at least not by sea! haha!
And now, if the winds that were here yesturday would make an appearance, we may just make it to harbor before the sun goes down!

Oh and the puppy's are doing great!

Just a quick note to

Just a quick note to let you know just how excited we are to be almost done! The weather is gorgeous and I have a perma smile!