We were originally planning a short 3-hr jaunt to Avila Beach. Down the coast our weather app showed things deteriorating in a day or two so we drove on south around Point Conception. The swells were short period 8 footers but we had enough wind to keep us from rolling as we ran downwind all night. We went from wing on wing with 12 knots of wind to half a jib when we were bouncing between 20 and 25. We kept rolling along at 6 or 7 knots boat speed. All I had to do was trim the sails. Brittney Steers (our autopilot) did most of the work all night keeping us on course.
It’s hard to see the wildlife at night, but we lucked out and there was a lot of bioluminescence in the water. Syd and I were on watch around midnight watching the glowing whitewater roll by when we saw the first flash out in the open water as a dolphin blew air out of its blowhole. They gave us a show. I thought the best part was as they chased our boat they left a glowing wake behind the boat. They looked like dragons zigzagging, jumping and splashing, sending the glowing spray flying as we watched.
We missed the Starlink launch by a day but could see them readying the next one. The oil rigs are always spectacular. Only one of the 10 we saw was active. It looked like a city in the desert. The rest just had enough lights on to be able to navigate around them. They also all showed up on radar.
After we rounded Conception at about 3am the wind dropped and we motored the rest of the way. At dawn I looked down at the and saw the horrific telltale rainbow in the water. We were motoring through a thick oil slick. Sludge as far as I could see that went on for 15-20 minutes. Pretty shocking what goes on out there in the oil fields.
Santa Barbara
Pulled in to the Harbor ready to get a slip and take a nap but was told they had no room for us and to call later in the day or tomorrow. Half an hour from my pillow and now we were back on road. We went to the anchorage just south of Sterns Wharf to take a nap and plan our next move. After my nap I figured I’d start annoying the harbor master. It worked; they had a slip for us. Time to do some exploring!
Isla Vista
Took a day to go with Susanna to reminisce of her years at UCSB.
HOMEPAGE Adventures with Dr. John 