Tesla Adventures

Going South.....

2012-02-06T09:29:00.000-08:00

Ensenada To San Jose Del Cabo

Good night Ensenada

1st stage 26th and 27th January 2012 Ensenada to Turtle Bay 285 miles in 33.5 hours, 1.5 to 2 meter swells, calm, light breeze becoming stronger as day went on and swinging around to follow the sun, dropping off as night fell.

sunrise we set off

The day spent with the coast still visible but as night fell we headed out away from land.

Passed by cruise ship Oosterdam late at night heading to Puero Vallarta, during the night crossing Bahia Sabastian Vizcaino at times more than 60 miles from the nearest land. Only 2 or 3 sightings of other boats on the radar during the 11 hours of dark.

Turtle Bay..12 hours of sleep!

Went ashore, not a lot here, the dock is disintegrating, the town is dusty and quiet. Described in one of the pilot books as Coyote Ugly whatever that means.

2nd stage 29th and 30th January 2012 Turtle Bay to Bahia Santa Maria 245 miles in 29 hours, 1.5 to 2 meter swells, calm, breeze much the same pattern as before.

Humpback whales (several), dolphin (lots), some squid brown in colour approximately 80cm long darting up and grabbing fish from the surface and at dawn a group of large sharks 2 meters plus long maybe 5 or 6 (Mako?) huddled together on the surface and swimming slowly along.

Good morning Cedros Isle

Bahia Santa Maria......sleep......

Bahia Santa Maria is populated only by fishermen zooming around in pangas with large outboards between 60 and 140hp and tiller steered, they live in a seasonal camp and come selling lobsters, bartering for AA batteries and water.

3rd stage 1st and 2nd February 2012 Bahia Santa Maria to Cabo San Lucas 181 miles in 22 hours, some sea mist, light winds, swells 1.2 to 1.5 meters.

Lots and lots of whales and some very large fish jumping (tuna or marlin?), can't get a good photo of the whales despite many attempts.

19.00hrs On a converging course with Cunard cruise ship Queen Elizabeth which was heading north to San Francisco we tried to call her on the radio but no answer on 16, she did however change course. She passed us at 20.00hrs this then put her on a collision course with container ship CSL Cabo. He tried several times to contact her on the radio and she also ignored him resulting in the container ship doing a fairly dramatic turn to starboard and out of her way.

Thank goodness for AIS! it’s always good to know who is about to run you over.

Attesa (private yacht) Disney Wonder & our old friend Oosterdam on it's way back to the USA

Anchored in Cabo San Lucas Bay too manic to want to stay longer than to have breakfast and shower.

15 miles on San Jose Del Cabo beautiful, calm and lots of much needed sleep.

The marina is surrounded by gorgeous tropical and cactus gardens

and hosting an exhibition of the work of an english artist Leonora Carrington, reproductions of her strange dream like surrealist paintings and sculptures.

2011-03-01T12:24:00.000-08:00

We took a sunday trip to Rosarita and on the way back we saw this house which is being built by a local artist, unfinished but already lived in.

the woman house

If you don't want to sail your boat across the oceans of the world or through the Panama Canal these guys will pick it up and deliver it. We understand they had just come from Hawaii and are on their way to the Med. They dropped some off and picked some up here.

Dockwise comes in to unload in Ensenada

an interesting catamaran trawler and two Nordhavn 55s

This is it when it lowers to allow boats to float out or in

Recently one of the cranes on our skyline just disappeared, what a mess, how do you start to clear this away. And would you want to be one of the crane operators on the remaining cranes?

one of the cranes collapsed at the cargo port

luckily no one was hurt

Using the new tender (RV) at San Simeon

2011-02-13T10:42:00.000-08:00

Finally some of the planning of the last few years slots into place and we can start to spend more time on Tesla.

Our initial idea was just to head south into the Sea of Cortes but we haven't seen much of the interior of the USA so before we move on we have bought an RV and intend to do some road trips to the National Parks. We particularly want to see Bryce, Zion and Yellowstone this means waiting until April/May for the weather to warm up, so before we do the big trips we were invited to take an early trip to Big Sur and San Simeon in company with some fellow boaters who also do the RV thing.

A View of San Simeon

The coast line is rocky, daunting and exposed to the full force of the pacific ocean and weather systems with no where for a boat to stop for long even in fair weather and no all weather ports for about 100 miles in each direction.

We had passed this coast on our trip south and passed much of it over night to arrive at Point Arguillo / Point Conception in daylight and pass safely on to southern California. We had seen no lights but light houses on the shore and now we could see why rugged, exposed and sparsely populated but wild and beautiful.

Elephant seals come ashore this time of year here to give birth, nurse their young, fight and breed. (I will up load video when I get a better connection not least because the noise was unbelievable)

Adult male possibly injured fighting hauls out away from the main colony to recover

Lunch with Rose and Dean of SeaDog

Looking out from our lunch spot

not bad for January

So 1st trial trip over we head back to Tesla at Cruiseport, it's also time to do some maintenance and get her ready for the coming season and take spanish classes before we head south.

Not War of the Worlds just sunset in Cruiseport Ensenada

2010-06-09T11:29:00.000-07:00

Easter 2010

Arrived USA late on Friday 2nd April and headed to Driscolls Boatyard San Diego where ‘Tesla’ had been having a new long term bottom paint (Copper Coat) applied should last 10 to 15 years, the props cleaned and prop speed applied to the main, wing and thruster props also to the keel coolers, some minor gelcoat repairs, new anodes (zincs if you are american). The work had taken longer than expected because to apply the new antifoul all the old coatings had to be removed then 3 barrier coats of epoxy applied and finally two coats of coppercoat and they under estimated the time this would take. So we spent the weekend on the hard climbing up and down a ladder to get on to the boat.

On the Sunday at about 4pm an earthquake hit, the epicenter was in Mexico at 7. something and about 6.9 San Diego California. As we were alone in the boatyard and had never experienced one we had no idea how big it was, it was very strange like a large wake passing under the boat only we were on dry land. All credit to the guys at Driscolls and the designers of the boat props, our boat didn't move, and to our astonishment no harm done.

Video from camera at hotel in Mexico

Apparently there was little or no damage to infrastructure or buildings anywhere in the US although the earthquake was as big as the one that hit Haiti recently.

Work started again on the boat on Monday but it went very slowly not least because they don’t work in the rain! if we did that in the UK nothing would get done. We finally got back into the water on Wednesday only to discover that the bow and stern thruster props had been put back the wrong way round so they moved us to port when steered to starboard and vice versa, so up again on to dry land and a red face for the young chap who had put them back on the wrong way, so then he got to put it right.

Up and away back into the water.

Kevin and I then spent the afternoon running the main engine to get it up to temperature so he could bleed through and top up the antifreeze as the keel cooler had been off and there was the danger of an airlock. Filling up with drinking water as it is more difficult to get drinking water in Mexico (we haven’t commissioned the water makers yet and as we’re only here for a month it didn’t seem worth doing this time) and various other jobs that needed doing.

Whilst all this was going on another couple with their sailing boat ‘Beguine’ were getting lifted into the yard and we got chatting about sailing, traveling etc. A suggestion of getting out for a meal that evening came up and we went to Fiddlers Green on Shelter Island a very short walk from the yard. It’s a nice lively place, a good atmosphere, great food, live music some nights and a very nautical vibe. Owned by a friendly chap who is also a boat broker. We had a lovely evening, very relaxing, they were great company and we hope to meet up again on the water in the summer.

It felt much better to be in the water finally and getting ready to go to Mexico.

Thursday 8th April 07.30 out of the yard and heading out to sea.

We had an easy run but the stern gland on main engine decided it was not going to draw enough water and got hot! We then ran on the wing which would be good for it anyway to give it a good run and tried to decide what was going on. We have the modern goretex packing which is drier than the traditional packing but we have never had this happen, we wondered if the epoxy or copper coat had got into the grooves and blocked them stopping the water getting in to lubricate the shaft. The only way to find out was to get someone to look once we arrived in Mexico.

We arrived in reasonable time at Coral Marina Ensenada and settled in for the night.

In the morning we went into the port office in Ensenada and checked into Mexico, very quick and simple. Followed by staring at our stern gland (still no water) and trying to figure out if we should loosen the stern gland and see if there was any water getting through.

Ensenada was as friendly and nice to be around as last year, as usual the American press has been going on about how dangerous Mexico is and forgetting to mention that many drug, gang and other crime related shootings happen every day in the USA, whilst I am sure that people involved in the drugs trade may well be in danger here as much as anywhere. As a tourist we have never received anything except courteous behavior and kindness from the mexicans we meet. Oh yes and lots of patience for our truly dreadful attempts at spanish.

This year we hoped to do lots of exploring and anchoring down the coast of Baja, however the weather was very unsettled, with lots of storm systems hitting the Pacific North West and spilling down the coast, bringing some rain and very windy weather with large swells.

We ended up spending two weeks hanging out at the Coral Marina and in Ensenada, socialising with other visitors and marina residents, doing lots of swimming in the pool, walking and cycling around the area.

We have been looking to leave the boat in Mexico until the summer and were hoping to keep it in Coral, but the surge from the pacific swells mean constantly adjusting your mooring lines, many of the boats have damaged and severely chafed lines. An expensive and potentially catastrophic problem, if the boat breaks loose, and as we were going to be leaving the boat for two months not something we felt we could risk. We decided to try Cruise Port which looked a lot more sheltered as it is a harbor inside a harbor. The annual rate is almost identical and the security at both marinas is very good.

Cruise Port

We spent a few days settling in and making sure we were happy with Cruise Port, then as we wanted to see more of Mexico, and the weather was not going to co-operate a change of plan and scenery, hire a car and drive across the peninsular to the Sea of Cortes for a few days.

The scenery is truly awesome, we drove through quite high mountain passes and because of the rain there were flowers everywhere.

Many of the cacti had flowered, and plants that normally just look like dried sticks were green and vibrant.

We went through several army check points (they are looking for illegal guns,drugs etc.) it’s a little disconcerting at first but they are very polite and want only to make sure you are not doing anything you shouldn’t. They just searched the car asked a few questions and we were on our way. They had a very impressive notice up saying how much stuff they had found, from cash to cocaine, illegal guns and other contraband of various sorts.

It only took us a few hours to drive across to San Felipe, on the Sea of Cortes we headed to the sea front and stopped for lunch at a cantina, and got chatting to some American ladies who had homes in the area. They told us that San Felipe was very short of tourists (it is predominantly a tourist resort) and that the recent press followed by the earthquake had driven all of the remaining ones away. As a result lots of the businesses that rely on them for their income were struggling to survive.

We then checked into a hotel, it was a reasonable sized hotel maybe 100 rooms, and we appeared to be the only guests. This was a little spooky at night when all the staff went home and we had the place to ourselves and the feral cats, slightly “the shining” without the snow.

On the beach just down from the hotel were some impressively ugly birds which we identified later as turkey vultures.

We went and explored San Felipe which did not take long and had a very good steak at a restaurant on the edge of the town (we were the only dinners).

The next day we decided to head back across to Ensenada stay one night back on the boat and head down the pacific coast of Baja to a place called Santa Marie, at Bahia ? and Bahia Falsa.

It was an easy drive again punctuated by regular stops at military road blocks, we decided that it was quite comforting in some ways, the Mexicans are obviously trying very hard to deal with any drug problems.

The bay was very beautiful with a huge sweep of beach and sand dunes. We discovered later it is the remains of a huge volcano and they dig out the ash and pumice, which we have seen used all over mexico and southern california as a top dressing for flower beds.

We booked ourselves into a very nice hotel right on the beach, so cheap we took a suite with a huge Jacuzzi and a balcony overlooking the sea.

The next day we explored for a while before heading back to the boat, driving out around the edge of the volcano to a point sticking out into the sea. They have a sizable shell fish farming set up in Bahia Falsa which is shallow and tidal.

We drove back to the boat and with not long to go before we return to the UK started to do some of the jobs we had set ourselves.

Christmas 2009

2010-03-24T11:58:00.000-07:00

We arrived bringing christmas puddings, mincemeat and recipes for brandy butter and other British christmas staples. Not going to be caught out again this christmas by not being able to find any of these things stateside. The weather was unusually warm, shorts and T- shirts weather so it didn't seem like christmas but having decorated the boat and put up a small tree we got into the spirit.

The day after we arrived a huge flock of birds, a mixture of cormorants, pelicans, seagulls and others descended on the marina. Seemed like they were chasing a big shoal of fish hung around fishing for ten minutes and disappeared as quickly as they came. We had a quiet christmas and then decided to go visiting and set off for Newport Beach on boxing day.

Sunrise in the Sweet Water Channel heading out from the marina. We arrived at Newport Beach late afternoon, an easy run and booked into one of the marinas. We caught up with our friends at Newport Beach and were talking about what to do for New Years, they suggested that if we've never been to Las Vegas we ought to try it so...........

The Strip, Las Vagas

If you have never been there it's quite something, we stayed at The Venetian, one of many crazy hotels, it has St Mark's square, canals, gondolas and opera singing gondoliers. Other hotels have roller coasters running through them, the Eiffel Tower and many other weird and bizarre themes. We arrived new years eve in the early morning and spent the day walking the length of the strip taking in the sights. Then got to eat at Bouchon, another Thomas Keller restaurant, it was in our hotel and the price was pretty reasonable. the food was excellent and the bread to die for. Then back out on the streets, it got busier and busier until midnight when fireworks were set off on the tops of seven of the hotels, synchronised and impressive and completely deafening.

The trip was soon over and we decided to head off to Catalina Island as the weather was settled and still very warm for January.

At a mooring of moonstone.

Our friends at Newport Harbour Yacht Club kindly let us pick up one of their moorings and then when we went ashore, they gave us directions for a walk.

This gave us a fantastic view of the bay, even if it was more of a climb, we stopped before crampons became necessary, just.

Leaving Catalina

Sunset at San Diego

Back at the marina and time to go home.

Summer 2009

2010-01-31T09:12:00.000-08:00

We arrived in time to celebrate Independence Day and watch the fireworks from Harbour Island San Diego. Then we spent the next few days getting ready for the summer cruise and re-stocking the boat first trip just a short hop up the coast to a new port for us Oceanside, a sleepy little harbour with limited guest facilities.

Wild life fishing from the bait barge at Oceanside

From there we headed to the now very familiar Newport Beach to catch up with old friends before sailing to Catalina Island and the bustling port of Avalon which looks very like a Mediterranean port. We took a golf buggy tour of the area which has some gorgeous views from above the harbour.

When we had enough of the very busy Avalon we headed round the corner to Whites Cove and anchored, this turned into a trawler convention with another Nordhavn 62 Patty M, Kona Kai the first Nordhavn 55 and Nordic Tug Salty Dog. A very sociable time was had with invitations for BBQs, drinks and much boat talk and in between some snorkelling and exploring.

It was getting near time to pick up the first of our summer crew so we headed back to Newport Beach and then to Marina Del Ray which is right next to the famous Venice Beach. Marina Del Ray is a fairly large harbour with lots of marinas surrounded by new apartments and houses, but just a few streets away and you are in a different world.

Surfing at sunset Venice Beach Pier
Sam & Sylvia arrive Venice Beach pier

Mural Venice Beach

Venice Beach is a very cooky place with medical marijuana being prescribed from various clinics along the beach, the outdoor gym at muscle beach and all sorts of waifs and strays hanging around.

Then it was time to be proper tourists and head for Universal Studios, lots of crazy rides and even the very sedate looking studio tour turns out to be a little wilder than you think it will be.

Universal Studios plane crash set.

Better get some culture so next day it's off to:

the very beautiful Getty Museum, and the art isn't bad.

For a change of pace and a chance to show Sylvia and Sam the wild life we set out for another new harbour for us, Ventura.

What a trip! they must have had the impression you can't move for marine mammals, California Sea Lions lined up to say hello followed by dolphins, sperm whales, pilot whales and a pair of blue whales which dived and gave us the classic tail view as we passed. We've never seen such a lot on one short trip.

Ventura is fairly quiet and the harbour is a long walk from the supermarket and the town which is not ideal. There are some restaurants on the harbour but not much else.

We were recommended to take a trip inland to Ojai which made an interesting change with its very spanish architecture, but it's a bit touristy with "quaint shops".

Ojai

Ventura

We wanted to revisit a favourite restaurant and spot so we hired a car and drove to Cold Springs Tavern which is up in the hills behind Santa Barbara. An old stage coach post now a very cool bar and restaurant extremely popular with the locals serving local game as well as more traditional american fare.

Cold springs tavern

Then it was nearly time for the first of our crew to leave they were spending the last bit of their holiday in San Francisco, but before that we were all booked in to spend a very interesting evening in the Napa Valley.

A culinary adventure, the tasting menu at Thomas Keller's French Laundry, 18 courses give or take and quite some experience, fascinating food as art. Sam also got to tour the kitchen and meet Thomas Keller which left him tongue tied as a talented aspiring, ambitious trainee chef I think it made the evening for him.

Golden Gate Bridge taking Sylvia and Sam to San Francisco

After all the rushing around we decided to get some peace and solitude out at Santa Cruz Island but unfortunately the weather gods had other plans and all we managed was lunch at little scorpion anchorage before the weather deteriorated much worse than forecasted and we headed to Channel Islands Harbour to wait for better weather.

Channel Island Harbour

This was a nice place to visit, and the marina was very reasonable. We got to know some of the residents and were invited to join in their wet Wednesday racing, great fun although we didn't do too well.

The weather was unusually poor for California in summer so we decided to take a holiday from our holiday and head inland to the desert. We visited Red Rock and Joshua Tree national parks and Calico a deserted mining out post/ghost town.

Kev in Calico

Calico ghost town
Driving in the desert Joshua Tree national park this road goes on forever.

After a couple of days of 34C plus we headed back to the boat and out to sea. Attempt two at visiting Santa Cruz and with much more settled weather it was a success. On the journey we saw a flying fish which looked like a giant dragon fly in electric blue.

Smugglers Cove sunset Santa Cruz

we spent time at Scorpion Anchorage and Smugglers Cove.

Whilst at Santa Cruz we did a lot of paddling about and exploring on our kayak, seeing baby seals and sea lions on the rocky outcrops. We decided to go ashore for a walk and rather than launch the dingy we paddled our kayak in. We were hanging around just outside the surf line waiting for a smaller set of waves to go ashore with when 20ft to our left a huge dorsal fin broke the surface of the water heading directly towards us. I pointlessly shouted "shark" and got the distinct impression the owner of that fin had not seen us and only realised we were there when it had to dive to get underneath the kayak. There was an unpleasant sound like sand paper on plastic as it raised our craft out of the water and we paddled like mad to get away to the shore. We unfortunately caught a large wave and were washing machined up the beach, deposited ashore with soaking wet and with little grace but unharmed. The animal in question was longer than our kayak and had a huge and now indelibly imprinted on my memory distinctive dorsal fin, and when we returned to Tesla we tried to work out what it was. The most likely candidate is a mako shark which hunt for the baby seals and sea lions in the surf line but have been known to bite surfers.

Next stop Santa Barbara Yacht Club and our next lot of crew, my mum, Nige and Harvey our trainee cabin boy.

The new cabin boy arrives Santa Barbara

Nige and Harvey Learning to kayak in the harbour at Santa Barbara

We then went to Catalina so they could see the wild life and get a different perspective on California. The day was very calm, the weather settled and blue, there were plenty of dolphin for the bow wave, some rays, sea lions and a pod of pilot whales to entertain our crew. We headed for Isthmus Cove and picked up a mooring as the sun was setting. We launched the dingy and headed ashore to eat, then walked to Two Harbours which is not very far.

Half way there in the pitch dark and we heard a crashing noise at the side of the dirt road we were following, a huge buffalo wandered out in front of us and ambled to the other side whilst we stood stock still and held our breath.

Two Harbours Catalina

Buffalo hunting in the hills above two harbours

Look I can do it by myself!

This turned into a bit more of an adventure than envisioned Harvey had been swimming and paddling back and forth between the kayak and the boat for about 30 minutes until he got too cold and swam back to shower off, as we were about to shower him down on the swim step two boisterous adolescent sea lions came cavorting round the stern of the boat 30 seconds earlier and he would have been in the water with them!

Then off to Long Beach and a stay at the Yacht Club, a short and easy half day trip. We did more tourist stuff visiting the Queen Mary which was very interesting. Then it was time to say good bye and the others headed back to England. We caught up with the crew of Salty Dog who's home port is Long Beach, got invited to a dock party and met some of their friends and fellow marina residents which was great fun.

Last Sunset at Pier 32 San Diego have to go home and back to work 10th September 2009.

2009-05-07T02:15:00.000-07:00

We arrived in the USA on the 27th March and drove to Dana Point, on turning on our US mobile we discovered the marina had been trying to contact us as they had let our slip from the next day to someone else and we had to leave by 12 noon! Not ideal as we had no food aboard and not much sleep on the way across. So we had an early breakfast at a diner then headed to the marina office to try and get somewhere to stay for one more night. Whilst they were apologetic they still said we had to go and then suggested they would try to find us somewhere else for the night whilst we go to the supermarket and stock the boat.

On our return they told us we could stay on the service dock for the night so we took the boat over there and tied up. Kev and I then went to return our hire car leaving Beth aboard, whilst we were gone the harbor patrol turned up and a man in a sheriff's outfit came to the boat and shouted at Beth that the boat couldn't stay there etc.etc. A bit harsh as it was obvious that a teenage girl on her own was not the owner of the boat nor able to do anything other than relay a message to us.

So we went back to the marina office and they sent us to yet another slip but it was too narrow by then it was 3pm and having no other choice we decided to head out to San Diego figuring we should make it by dusk and since we know the harbor quite well would find it easy to enter at night and set about phoning for somewhere to stay there for the night. Cabrillo Isle had space for us for a couple of nights so we headed there.

Early morning fishing at Cabrillo Isle

It was nice being back in San Diego it's a very pleasant place to stay but we couldn't stay long, we had to leave US waters by the 30th March as our cruising permit was running out. Clocking out of the USA on this coast is always a bit of a nightmare because it is so unusual for someone with British passports and a UK registered boat to do this here that the Customs and Border Protection Officers seem unsure what is necessary to do. So first we went to the Police dock at Shelter Island then they told Kev to take a taxi to Ash Street to their offices and present our papers. Anyway after 3hrs of faffing we finally set out for Mexico.

The day was clear and seas calm the coast line much the same as California and the only interesting thing we saw on the trip was looking ahead we thought we had reached an overfalls, it looked as if the water was really boiling and choppy, but as we got closer we realised it was dolphins, hundreds and hundreds of dolphins, why they were there who knows.

We also had a close encounter with the Mexican Navy they came out of a bay near Ensenada in a very fast aluminium boat with machine guns mounted on it and all the guys on board wearing balaclavas. We weren't quite sure what to make of this initially we had read and heard awful stories in America about Mexico/ans, but they pulled along side and hailed us on the radio asking for details of the boat destination etc. so we tried our best in our lamentable Spanish, they were very patient and eventually they seemed satisfied and went back the way they had come. We arrived in the early evening washed the boat down had a meal and went to bed exhausted.

The view at night Coral

The Hotel Coral and Marina Ensenada Mexico.

This is what we woke up to next day, not bad. The marina manager ‘Fito’ was extremely helpful and for a small fee ran us into the town and helped us to complete the formalities of entry into Mexico all of which was very quick as immigration and customs etc. are all in one small building.

Having never been to Mexico we were very pleasantly surprised, in the USA we were given the impression by both the media and people we spoke to that it was a very dangerous place full of criminals and rogues and that the Mexicans spoke no English. What we found were friendly welcoming people with whom we never felt anything but safe. The Mexicans nearly all spoke embarrassingly good English, and were unfailingly patient with our very poor recently acquired Spanish.

Staying at the marina gives you access to the hotel facilities, swimming pool, gym, spa and restaurant. All of which made it feel oddly like a hotel holiday not a boat one. Whilst we were at Corral we had the boat washed and polished by their cleaning team, they did an excellent job and we refilled with diesel at a very reasonable price.

Downtown Ensenada, the tourist area, visited by cruise ship visitors (only 2 hours to buy all of those tourist bargains) and unruly drunk American spring breakers was on the whole not great.

Although the promenade along the harbour is nice and the giant flag impressive we did get quite a bit of hustle to buy tat and take rides in horse drawn carriages.

Away from all that Ensenada was a busy lively place with some good restaurants, decent supermarkets and shops and no hassle. Ok so it’s definitely a much poorer place than the majority of cities in the UK or USA but it’s not the third world.

We decided to visit the local ‘flea market’ it turned out to be fascinating, not usually visited by tourists; it comprises a sprawling series of open and covered markets with lots of stalls along several blocks. They sell food fresh and cooked, new and second hand goods and clothes. Some of the older furniture was beautiful, ornately carved and I would have loved to take some home. We also ate in one of the street cafes, we had little idea what was on the menu, but like Spanish tapas we had lots of little dishes, delicious.

We hired a car, not the best car we have ever hired and thank goodness it wasn’t very hot as air conditioning was not an option. We drove off with our recently acquired map of Mexico’s road system and soon discovered the encouraging neatly coloured lines on the map were more than a little optimistic. The main highway is either under major repair or has only been started recently and still under construction but this does not mean it is not in use although the odd stretch resembles a dual carriageway most of it is unpaved with sections of sketchily marked contra flow. The intersecting roads are just dirt track.

We drove to La Bufora a blow hole which despite the relatively calm sea was still throwing water high in the air, to get there you have to walk through a tourist hell of hustle and tat but once there the views are beautiful and the water spout suitably unpredictable and drenching.

We visited the wine area set up by Russian immigrants about 100 years ago there is little evidence bar historical of their presence (the museum has pictures of these unlikely looking pioneers from the late 1800s through to the 1960s looking very traditional and Eastern European). The vineyards we visited appear to be Mexican run and owned now, and they have quite a modern production set up and some very nice wines.

The fields have been cleared and planted extensively with various grape varieties but the surrounding countryside is very odd and the hillsides are covered in large boulders.

On the way back we saw what looked like a very peculiar chicken running alongside the road, it turned out to be a Road Runner but we were too far away to hear if it was going ‘meep meep’.

Also in the harbour just a couple of berths up was a Nordhavn 55, the owner and an English captain arrived to take it north, and told us they were on a tight time scale as the owner had to get back. They re-fuelled prior to the trip and when they tied up again at the dock the boat had a fairly dramatic list to Port, we quiried this but the owner insisted this was normal, if it was my boat I would have been worried. It was so bad we renamed it ‘Eileen’ (I lean), but we have decided not to reveal it’s real name to save embarrassment.

When the tanks on our 62 are full we are nice and level and when using and transferring fuel we keep rebalancing the boat, this ensures our autopilot and stabilisers give us a comfortable ride or even better we run without the need for stabilisers gaining half a knot and a slight reduction in fuel usage. The weather forecast was pretty bad but they said oh well it’s a Nordhavn we’ll be fine but I imagine it wasn’t a great trip, ‘Eileen’ with a starting position of a 10 to 15 degree list must have rolled around like a pig.

A few days before we were due to leave a capable, graceful sailing boat pulled into the end tie ‘Kela’ and we got chatting with her American owners. They had been having some work done at the local boatyard Baja Naval having done some very extensive world cruising with their family over recent years and were just about to take the boat back to the USA. We were due to sail back at the same time and they invited us to join them for dinner at a local restaurant. It was a lovely restaurant run by an interesting young couple away from the main town down by the dock area. We decided to keep an eye out for each other as they were relying on just the engine (sails had been taken off for repair and a cleanup) and although the forecast was improving there was still the tail end of the recent bad weather.

They set out early for San Diego because they would take longer to make the journey and we followed later. There were still some substantial swells left but it was a fairly uneventful trip and we caught them up a couple of hours outside San Diego harbour, both boats headed in to clear customs at the police dock. There were a lot of Customs and Border Protection Officers there, but not for us, they were waiting for a Super Yacht due in at the same time but they kindly agreed to process us whilst they waited. We had to throw away some lemons purchased in San Diego then returned from Mexico with us, but other than that very straight forward.

Still sunny and smiling back in San Diego.

Humming Bird ? there were lots of these flying around the flowers at Cabrillo Isle Marina

2009-05-07T02:02:00.001-07:00

New Upholstery, curtains, carpets and chairs for salon, pilot house and cabins April 2009

2009-01-21T02:35:00.000-08:00

Christmas '08
We arrived 17th December with a large crew including 14 month old granddaughter Ella, her mum Kate and dad Ian plus our youngest daughter Beth. We decided as we only had 3 weeks not to go too far and have a relaxed schedual and so we stayed in San Diego until just before New Year and then headed up to Newport Beach for a few days before going to Dana Point where the boat was going to have new carpets, upholstery and canvas fitted.

We decided to be proper tourists and took a trip to sea world

We also spent time in the gaslamp district of San Diego and must have been to every mall within 40 miles both christmas shopping and amusing the younger crew members. We also visited La Jolla and Coronado Island to go ice skating by the sea but in the end we just walked along the prominade and surprisingly saw a humming bird, Beth and I tried to take a photo but they move too much to fast!

In San Diego the weekend before christmas they have a boat parade which we went to, all the boats were lit up, many of the participants dressed up (Elvis, Santa, Gnomes ect.) and lots of them did a karioke session on their decks as they progressed around the harbour. Great fun and lots of other boat owners, San Diego residents and visitors turned out to cheer them on all around the harbour.

Kate's birthday is just before christmas and she chose to have a breakfast celebration at a proper american diner so we went to a mad diner, all booths and chrome to over indulge in pancakes ect.

Christmas day we had a traditional turkey dinner on board but no christmas pudding because dispite assurances from web sites that americans ate them they have not made it to San Diego and all the supermarket staff we asked looked at us as if we were mad when we tried to explain what one was. All in all a very 'normal' christmas we decorated the boat and had a lazy day.

Just before New Year we headed up to Newport Beach to visit friends and show Ella, Kate and Ian the wild life as this was their first trip to the USA and on the boat. We had an easy trip, the weather was kind, wind light and swells slight, on the way we saw the usual heaps of sealions on the navigation buoys, pelican flypasts and were visited by dolphins a couple of times. Captain Ella takes the helm

Sunny journey to Newport Beach

Ella assists in steering the RIB around Newport Harbour

At Newport Beach we were able to use a mooring belonging to the yacht club and visit our friends there. We also decided to take the crew up to the snow in the ski areas near by as we don't usualy get snow in south west england, (except this year but hey how could we know) unfortunately everyone else had the same idea.

In the traffic on the way up

Keep going up still 2000ft to go not much snow here.

Made it, real snow.

We also had to do a proper tourist trip to LA and see Beverly Hills, Hollywood ect......

Then we had to say goodbye to Newport Beach and head for Dana Point our last stop this holiday. Its a very short trip and again we had fair weather.

On January 4th everyone but Kev headed back to the UK for work and the start of the school term. Kev came back a week later after working on the boat and clearing out so the contractors could change the carpets, curtains, blinds and re-upholster the salon and pilot house.

Summer Cruise 2008

2008-10-15T02:36:00.000-07:00

Kevin arrived in Tacoma on the 28th June and took Tesla to Seaview Boatyard in Seattle to have her hauled out, the engine mounts changed, cutlass bearings renewed, propeller shaft rollered and the shaft coupling refaced (this turned out to be the solution to the vibration problem). During this time Kev had lots of help from Don Kohlmann and his team Barbara and Wilma at Nordhavn Northwest, way above the call of duty especially as they hadn’t sold us the boat.

Beth and I arrived on the 9th July and joined Kev on Tesla to start the summer cruise, as usual our luggage was a mad combination of stuff you can’t get in America (or is available but not nice or very expensive like marmite) and various bits of chandlery. We spent a few days in Seattle a town we have all grown to love, and we combined buying provisions (we also stocked up on our favourite peanut butter and bought some to take home with us to the UK) and preparing the boat with having fun. We hired canoes and paddled around the lake, there are some great floating homes on the lake with lots of character, we were told later disguised in amongst these is one owned by Bill Gates of Microsoft.

Finally we decided to get out of the lake on Sunday 13th July and head to Gig Harbour (Washington) to buy a rowing skiff, first we had to go under a bridge which we only just scrape under (Kev had already taken ‘Tesla’ through a couple of times on his own, nerve racking) then through a lock and out into Puget Sound, the weather was fine and scenery as gorgeous as ever with snow capped mountains in the distance and the impressive Seattle skyline.

Gig Harbour is a pretty little place and well worth a visit, it is south of Seattle in part of the waterway.

Gig Harbour sunset over snowcapped Mt. Ranier

The Gig harbour boat chap came and collected us from the marina and took us to see the skiff, it was OK so we arranged for the boat to be dropped off that evening and headed back to move the Avon dingy so we could fit the skiff on deck. The Avon was not needed so when I went to the marina office and I mentioned we would like to sell it, one of the boat owners who was in the office said his brother–in-law was looking for a dingy and might be interested, they came back that afternoon and a deal was struck, the bush telegraph is a good thing.

The next day it was time to get moving so on Tuesday 15th July we headed to Port Townsend (Washington) which is at the entrance to the Strait which leads to the Pacific from Seattle the trip took seven hours (57 miles) it was calm fair weather and this time unfortunately we did not see much wild life. We enjoyed our stay in Port Townsend but feeling the need to press on and get underway we set off for Neah Bay on 17th July.

Neah Bay, Washington (77 miles) is tucked in behind Cape Flattery and our last stop before the open ocean. Because of the tidal flow down the Strait we had to leave at 5am, which was a bit painful but worth it, as we arrived earlier than expected, with the tide giving us a fast ride of 12 knots at various points. It is difficult to describe Neah Bay, but Beth says it is pointless, I just say it’s desolate although the locals are very friendly.

Memorial and Neah Bay

The harbour is full of fishing vessels which look as though they have come here to die, although they seem very much in use. We did however discover the best smoked salmon ever, a local chap smokes the fish in a smoker made from what looks like an oil drum. Kevin (Mr I don’t like fish) actually liked it so much he went back for more. On being asked when the smoker was open the man said “every day I have no life I just smoke fish”.

I don't think planning permission is quite the same as the UK

We had no mobile telephone signals on any of our phones but the local education and technology centre let us use the internet for e-mail and weather. We met some other Nordhavn owners (Nordhavn 46 Salvation II) heading to Astoria our next port of call and they had some good advice on passages down from here to Oregon.

The weather looks very benign for the next few days so we are heading out into the Pacific for the long trip to Astoria down the Washington and Oregon coasts and into the Columbia River (162 miles about 20 hrs). On the 19th July in company with Salvation II which moors in Portland a long way further up river. We had a fast ride down the coast courtesy of the local currents and had to run the engine at lower and lower revs as the trip progressed. Even then we arrived early at about 6am and had to hang around for the tide to turn until about 9.30.

With a huge fast flowing river like the Columbia the entrance can be dangerous; they have a bar which can throw up huge breakers if you get the tide wrong. As it was, with the help of ‘Salvation II’, it was a relatively straight forward ride in, the sun shone and although the river was running out quite fast the passage was uneventful.

'Tesla' crossing the bar photo courtesy of ‘Salvation II’

Salvation II crossing the bar

Just near the marina is a memorial to the over 2500 boats that have been lost over the years from pleasure craft to ships and the names of those who lost their lives crossing the bar. Treat the bar with with respect!!!!

Astoria (Oregon) is a relatively small town running along the bank of the Columbia River, there is a kind of trolley bus which runs on rails just behind the water front but we never managed to catch it going our way. The day we arrived there was a sizable street market going on combining food and arts and crafts but other than that the town was pleasant but very quiet. It did however have decent bike shops so as planned we acquired some bikes to keep on the boat and did quite a bit of riding around.

Sssh I'm sleeping!

We also hired a car and drove to Portland, unfortunately the road was awful and the drive took forever but Portland was worth a visit and I wish we had more time to explore. However we need to press on whilst the weather is with us as we still have a long way to go to get to California

Our next stop along the Oregon coast is Florence (132 miles) an overnight trip we left at 12 noon and arrived at 6 am to time the bar crossings and got an escort from the coast guard but all was calm. Either side of the river are huge sand dunes which then give way to tree covered hills. About four miles up we had to wait for the bridge to be lifted to get up to the marina (you just call 2 hrs before you want the bridge lifted any time day of night).

The coast guard followed us in and decided to inspect the boat when we arrived, check safety gear, make sure our papers were correct and we were using a black water tank, not ideal when you have just arrived somewhere after being awake all night and all you want to do is have a shower and some breakfast. They were satisfied but confused as we have different rules to theirs (SOLAS) which appear to require rather more robust stuff than Americans are expected to carry (flares, life jackets ect) still they seemed satisfied and issued us with a piece of paper and informed us that the coastguard may do this again after six months.

Florence is a pretty place, the town has lots of little restaurants and shops, a bit touristy but the architecture and scenery are nice as is the atmosphere.

View from the marina

The locals were extremely friendly, but apparently they don’t have many tourists who arrive by boat and we made the local news so lots of locals came down to see the British boat or perhaps it really is a very very quiet place and nothing ever happens.

We also launched our rib and went a long way up the river to the next small town (11 miles), we saw a bald headed eagle nest with two sizable chicks in it and the rustiest railway bridge.

We stopped for lunch and outside the row of shops and cafes there were some people just hanging out and playing bluegrass music, atmospheric, and when we went into the cafe and had lunch one of the lads who had been playing came and served our food. He said he wanted to do some travelling and asked us about England. The cafe was an odd place run by a commune living back to nature in the local area but the food was good and it certainly had ambience.

Our next stop was Crescent City (Oregon) (150 miles) an overnight trip aided by the fact the Pacific is a very deep ocean and gets deep close to shore dropping away to hundreds or even thousands of feet within 5 miles of shore. As a result overnight trips are relatively straight foreword you need to ensure you are in 300ft plus of water and then there is no way the fishermen can pot buoy at that depth you just need to watch out for the commercial traffic, trawlers, and weather buoys. In addition the effect of the sizeable and persistent pacific swells and the wind waves which are often from a completely different direction is much reduced in these depths making for a much smoother and more comfortable passage.

There was no river bar this time, so we had a fast ride down the California current, the night was again pitch black. As we came in to shallower water we turned on our search light to spot any pot buoys as we moved along. Suddenly we saw what at first looked like a dragon flying towards us veering crazily about in the bright beam of our search light. Then it dawned on us we had disturbed a pelican, we all cracked up and it flew off complaining. We pulled in at midnight to discover that the visitor pontoon no longer exists the post were still there but no pontoon, luckily there was quite a few empty berths so we just pulled in for the night and hoped for the best.

The security guard came round and told us we were ok there for the night but that they would probably find us a better space in the morning (the pontoon was a bit broken), he then told us why the guest pontoons were missing. A Tsunami had hit 18 months or so before and done quite a lot of damage to the marina, but luckily no one had been hurt and none of the boats had been seriously damaged.

The marina at Crescent City is not really aimed at leisure craft, mainly a fishing harbour and rather basic. The place itself has a reasonable supermarket and chandlery but very little in terms of restaurants or any real center, it is however a place which is close to a giant redwood forest so off we pedalled to see it.
The journey was very much up hill, but it was worth the effort, the trees once we got there were absolutely huge.

Kev, Beth and the trees

We decided to hire a car and drive to another area where you could ride in a cable car up over the tops of the trees. It turned out to be a very weird tree theme park all based around an American classic story a sort of Gulliver’s travels about hobos, miners and bums, not worth a visit.

Back at the marina we got talking to the owner of a fishing boat which had come in with a hold full of tuna and was doing brisk business selling it from the quay side. We asked him about the next challenge on our trip south, Cape Mendicino which gets a scary write up in our pilot book. He gave us some useful advice and was kind enough to give us some fantastic tuna for supper so Kev went back with some beers to say thanks to him and the crew who were busy gutting and filleting the fish.

We kept watching the weather as it had been quite windy and finally we decided it was settled enough to make the passage from Crescent City to Eureka (142 miles), which turned out to be a good trip for wild life spotting. We saw a whale spout and then the tail which was a classic hump back whale shape and pattern. We saw lots of dolphins and then something very odd so we went over to have a look, it turned out to be sea lions floating together in a sort of clump, weird.

Group Hug

On arrival in Eureka (California) we were directed to a guest dock sort of out on its own next to a park, first impressions of Eureka were good, very ornate Victorian buildings in a beautiful state of repair.

Then when we wandered in to town there was a band playing by the water and some really excellent restaurants. We had one of the best meals we have had in America so far, and that’s saying something because in general the quality of restaurants and produce in supermarkets has been so good.

The next day the marina had some space so we moved the boat back down river. Whilst the facilities were good the walk/cycle into town now required going past a fish/ seafood processing factory which was churning out waste which looked like raw sausage meat and stank, you would have thought it would be inundated by seagulls but even they kept away, luckily you can’t smell it from the marina! Over all we had a very enjoyable few days and the Saturday night was brilliant the whole town seemed to be out promenading and there were loads of buskers playing everything from country to classical and even an impromptu gig by a five piece band, with amps and a full drum kit playing in an alleyway.

Eureka Sunset

Time was now getting short to get Beth to an airport and she wanted a few days in San Francisco for a last shopping trip so....

Eureka to San Francisco (California) (221 miles) and around the infamous Cape Mendicino and Gorda, we timed our journey to pass the points early morning as this is when the winds are lightest another overnight trip. The night fell and again it was very dark, the blackest nights I have ever seen have been on the Pacific. As the dawn came we headed towards the points all was calm a little confused sea but there was none of the nightmare stuff of the pilot books, no worse than rounding Portland (England) on a calm day.

Watch out for that fog bank!

The entrance to San Francisco is impressive steep hills/cliffs tower above you and pass under the Golden Gate Bridge which seems along with the surrounding land to cause some dramatic fog/ cloud formations. The entrance also has a bar which can throw up very steep short seas and a tide window in similar form to the Columbia River which when combined with the heavy commercial traffic un-nerving.

Golden Gate Bridge looking in from the sea

Golden gate Bridge from San francisco looking out to sea

We were lucky (because of our R.N.S.A. membership) to be able to get a berth at the very prestigious St. Francis Yacht Club and were greeted by another British couple on their new Nordhavn 55 “Cloudy Bay”. They invited us for a drink aboard later on and we headed up into the town to explore.

Park just near the yacht club

Just like it looks in the movies, the roads are incredibly steep, and many of the buildings are very pretty. when we were tired of walking we got a taxi and had the most manic ride. Each road junction has traffic lights and as you go down a hill the road crossing in front of you looks like a wall as you head towards it. Taxi drivers drive full pelt down the hills and as you reach the junction they either fly straight across and catch some air as they head down the next hill or screech to a halt as the lights turn red.

Another evening we took a ride on a street car, they have a crazy propulsion system to get them up and down the hills. There are continuous cables under the road, pulled by a central winch system constantly moving, the cable car operators control the car by means of a lever bar which grips the cable and this pulls them along. Just like in the movies they are always packed and you get to ride on the running boards hanging on to the sides.

After a couple of days Beth flew back to Europe to join her grandmother on holiday in France leaving Kev and I with just under a month to carry on south. Before we did we walked up onto the golden gate bridge. Had the best fish and chips we had ever eaten in a very basic restaurant called “Fish” in Sausalito. Did a drive through the vineyards of northern California and visited one of the three old faithful geysers (a very small one) and a petrified forest.

Old Faithful and old faithful

San Francisco to Monterey (93 miles) on this trip we saw loads of wild life large groups of birds including pelicans, hundreds of dolphin, seals and sea lions and to cap it all three whales.

Breakwater at monterey

Monterey harbour is like a zoo, hundreds of sea lions line the breakwater and climb onto boats moored in the harbour including the Coast Guard’s rib, and some of the boats looked near sinking from the sheer number of these large animals aboard.

Coast guards are a bit different here

Sea otter with newborn pup

On the pontoon we docked at sea otters climb up for a rest and one had recently given birth and was very calm about us being around so long as we didn’t get too close. Breakwater Cove Marina also had a very helpful chandlery they got us weather reports when internet problems meant we couldn’t do our own.
At the time we were in Monterey they had a huge car show going on lots beautiful cars both old (some historic) and new on display in the streets, and at a nearby race track Laguna Secca you could see some of them racing, very “boys own” but Kev enjoyed it.

Kevin Doolittle

Our next stop after Monterey was Santa Barbara (205 miles) but unfortunately when we tried to leave Monterey our stabilisers came up with a potentially serious message that we had a very low hydraulic oil level and they had to be shut down. We checked the oil level as the hydraulic system also runs the bow and stern thrusters we would find it difficult to get back into our tight marina berth but it was normal. We decided to head back to Monterey and try and get the stabilisers fixed, whilst Tesla is still very seaworthy without the stabilisers it is a more comfortable ride with them and less risky to crockery and glassware!

After several phone calls to the technicians at American Bow Thruster and Kev following their instructions on the phone to wire out sensors they came to the conclusion the board in the control unit had developed a fault and the control unit needed to be returned to them for repair. Luckily they are based just north of San Francisco and if we could drive up there they would repair it whilst we waited. The people at ABT were brilliant, apparently they do not get customers who use their products come up and visit but they gave us a guided tour. They make everything from scratch both the hardware and the electronics; they are very enthusiastic and helpful. This visit really inspired confidence in their kit and even better they upgraded the control panel for free and we only paid for the repair. Whilst we were there we also picked up a service kit for the stabilisers as they recommend renewing the seals after 5 yrs. When we got back to ‘Tesla’ we plugged in the repaired control panel and the stabilisers worked perfectly.

So.... off we went again, however between us and southern California is Point Conception this is a daunting prospect with an even worse write up than Cape Mendicino. The crew of ‘Cloudy Bay’ the Nordhavn 55 we met in San Francisco had a rough ride on the way up to San Francisco, giving up on their first attempt and only getting round on the second try. The weather forcasts proved correct, and waiting had given us the weather with us yet again, we had a smooth passage and although the sea was a bit confused at the Cape the swells and waves were small.

We went past several oil wells on the way and what looked like a big oil spill however it seems this just seeps up from the sea bed.

Santa Barbara was lovely completely different from our last visit with SJP when it had been shrouded in mist (June gloom they call it), fantastic palm fringed beaches and a Mediterranean feel. We did a lot of cycling and had an excellent Indian meal one of the best I have ever eaten. Kev also decided to teach me to row the new gig harbour skiff which was not the easiest of tasks, then we got chatting to the crew of the water taxi who challenged him to a race against the Water Taxi ‘Li’l Toot’, they only just won which was pretty good on Kev, row power!

We also found some of the ugliest boats we have ever seen.

Next trip was to Newport Beach (106 miles) and plenty of company on the way

My father had got us in contact with a friend he had made when he lived out here many years ago a keen sailor and member of the yacht club Audrey very kindly arranged for us to stay at the very smart Newport Harbor Yacht Club for a couple of days. Newport Beach is a very low lying area with miles of sandy beaches and a sizable recreational harbour tucked in behind the beaches.

We spent hours cycling along the beach front and around the New Port Bay area, it’s a popular retirement and holiday destination therefore very busy in the height of the summer. Unfortunately we couldn’t stay at the yacht club longer than the weekend as we were using a member’s space whilst they were away but a kindly neighbour of Audrey’s offered us a space on their dock for a few days, no charge, so hospitable.

Unfortunately about 11pm as the tide went out the bow grounded at low water, it was not good news whilst the bottom is sandy and there were no bad noises or waves to bump us against the bottom so a soft landing we had a nerve racking couple of hours until we refloated. Whilst their tides are very small by British standards only 7 feet or so it was enough to ensure we moved to a buoy in the middle of the harbour for the next night.

Americans are fishing mad and will fish from any platform, boat, canoe or inflatable arm chair.

We launched our row boat and used it to go back and forth to Audrey’s dock to get ashore however when we got back two enormous sea lions had climbed on to the swim platform and it took lots of shouting and arm waving to persuade them to leave, they returned several times to see if we had gone away and they could reclaim their prize. We ended up creating a deterrent using upside down plastic chairs (like tank traps) to put them off.
We also needed to get ‘Tesla’ booked in for the maintenance work on the stabilisers, a few chips on the hull and a fresh coat of antifouling as it had last been done in summer 07 and was starting to fail. But in the Newport area was impossible to find a mooring, as it is so popular, we started to phone around and were recommended to Driscoll’s Yard in San Diego. They were very helpful, very confidence inspiring and were sure they could find somewhere to leave the boat until we returned for Christmas so we arranged to drop the boat off over the Labour Day weekend (beginning of September).

On our way to San Diego is Dana Point (21 miles) and the office of the Nordhavn agent through whom we bought ‘Tesla’ so we thought we would stop over and visit them plus make contact with some contractors who were recommended to us by “Cloudy Bay” for canvas and interior work on the boat. Again we called ahead and spoke to the yacht club in Dana Point and our R.N.S.A. membership enabled us to visit. It was very friendly but small and we only just squeezed into the space. We spent a busy couple of days getting quotes for work to be done in the spring and didn’t see much of the area, maybe next time we will take a proper look round.

After three days we made or final journey south for this summer from Dana Point to San Diego (56 miles) the end of our journey from 48 degrees north to 32 degrees north only 120 miles from the tropic of Cancer a total journey of more than 1300 miles.

Approaching San Diego

Navigation aids make a comfy bed

San Diego is a very Mediterranean looking city with exotic plants (bougainvillea, cacti and succulents) although we didn’t get very long to look round this time we will be spending some more time there at Christmas which we are looking forward to. At the boatyard we had to pull up next to another yacht being worked on in the water so they could lift us when they returned to work after the long weekend.

As you can see we were one of the smaller yachts they work on!

Very sadly on the 2nd of September we said goodbye to ‘Tesla’ and the USA to return home for work and the start of Beth’s final year at school.

In the begining

2008-04-06T21:29:00.000-07:00

Tesla
After a last minute scramble we managed to register our new boat on the British Ships Register, sort out US visas and pack the most boat stuff we could within the luggage limits in to eight cases for the USA flights. We needed the US visas as the visa waiver which applies to European citizens arriving by air does not apply when you leave with your own boat and return to the USA. So our preparation also included a visit to the US embassy in London with proof we had reason to return to the UK and an interview to decide if we were undesirables, plus a round trip to Cardiff which is where the British Ships Registry is.
We arrived in Seattle and hired a huge 'Suburban' to transport the ridiculous amount of luggage we had brought from the UK to the boat including, cutlery, cups, crockery, life jackets, wet weather gear, dive gear and goodness knows what else. This was a very useful vehicle despite initial skepticism as to how sane or eco friendly a vehicle we had acquired and it proved a very good load carrier as over the next few days we set about getting the boat ready for our first cruise. It’s amazing how much space bedding for four beds takes up.
We also had to get rid of various items left behind by the previous owners, however just down the road from the marina was a mission which provided beds and food for the homeless and they were very happy to receive the blankets, pillows and sleeping bags. Quite by chance we then had the satisfaction of driving past later that night and seeing the distinctive blue sleeping bags laid out in use. The most satisfying form of recycling and I hope they slept well as it is very cold here.
We then changed the car for a very small run around and finished our time in Seattle by going to US Customs and Border patrol's office in 'back end of beyond' Seattle filling in clearance form 1300 and handing over the princely sum of $19 for permission to leave.
We decided to eat in a highly recommended restaurant at the marina as it was our last night and after a long wait got a table, the menu caused some hilarity amongst the teenage crew as goodness knows what language it was alluding to but starters were referred to as PUPU. Americans do not think this is funny apparently and one of the featured appetizers was the captains Pupu tower which floored the girls and earned them dirty looks from the waitress.
Finally ready on the 26th March 2008 we set off with a mixed weather forecast as we had to be out of US waters within 45 days of purchasing the boat. We had a really nervous time getting out of the marina, first time piloting our new boat and we had been put in a very tight corner; however all went smoothly and soon we were out in Puget Sound. We saw several seals which pop their heads up to have a look what is going on like inquisitive dogs and a few dolphins which seemed to really dislike our sonar and swam away fast in the other direction.

The sail up through Puget Sound went very well although we had some vibration from the engine, we had some mechanics check the engine alignment in preparation for the trip but it seems this had not done the trick. We had some amazing views of the snow covered Olympic Mountains in the distance and steep forested hills tumbling down to the sea, even Admiralty Inlet which is notorious for being a rough passage in the wrong wind over tide situations (a bit like the Needles Passage only longer) was smooth and easy. Having made good time we decided to go straight to Victoria on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. As soon as we got out of the shelter of the land and into Juan de Fuca Strait the weather deteriorated and with winds gusting to 40 knots ten degrees off on the port side it was a bit rough.
Tesla behaved well and Captain Kev was confident that the nearer we got to Victoria the less the wind would affect us particularly as the fetch was so short for the seas in that wind direction. The waves did slow us down but the further we got the smaller they were and we reached Victoria by 2100. We immediately called Canadian Customs and Border Patrol to check in; they took our names and boat details and gave us a report number but said they wouldn’t be able to check us in properly until tomorrow and to call back in the morning. Tired and relived to be in Canada we went to bed.
When we woke up the next day we got our first proper look at Victoria, the inner harbor is very attractive surrounded by some impressive buildings and large hotels.

Victoria Harbour By Night & Day

The customs then gave us a clearance number over the phone but as the crew wanted Canada stamps in their passports we went up to their office just one block from the marina and got them done.
The island is about 125 miles long by 30 wide so quite big and Victoria is set up to host lots of tourists so in the summer I guess it is probably very busy, this time of year though what with the snow and rain not perhaps peak holiday time and not the ideal time to sit out and enjoy a coffee overlooking the harbor. This did not seem to put off the locals though and at the weekend many of them turned out to stroll around the harbor and eat at cafes on the water’s edge.
One of the odd things about Victoria was the number of people who appeared to be either sleeping rough or camping out on a walking holiday and also smoking cannabis in the street, perhaps it is legal there, but it was very strange on such a small island. We came to the conclusion the Canadians are a hardy lot.
The crew loved the small boutique shopping including finding some Ugg boots for Beth which apparently wouldn’t sell as they were in such a large size. All I can say is Canadian women must have very small feet as they were only British size 6. We also hired a car and took a drive out of Victoria and into some of the more mountainous areas in the middle of the island. Beautiful rugged countryside with lots of small farms and homes in various states of repair, we drove as far round the coast as Naniamo and up to a lake inland, there was a fair amount of sleet and rain depending on the height of the terrain but not enough settled snow for a good snow ball fight.

This is where we stopped for a snack Mmmmmmmmmmmm

The sailing in this whole area is dominated by the very strong and unusual currents that run through the islands and channels. We had hoped to go up to Vancouver on the mainland but the currents through the Haro Strait were wrong for the rest of the week in daylight hours, and as this is a 24 mile passage through the strait with currents at several knots not feasible to punch our way through even in calm weather especially with the engine alignment incorrect. So we decided to head for Anacortes on Fidalgo Island, which is a port of entry to the USA and the Rosario Strait for which the currents would be favorable.

We had a very calm and good passage with quite a lot of sunshine, however as we arrived at the marina the heavens opened and small damp snow balls fell out of the sky as we tied up, thoroughly soaked we then phoned American Customs and Border Control to request entry to the USA and a cruising permit for our boat. They asked that only Kevin came up to their office with all the boat documents and all our passports, handily it just at the head of the gangway sharing the marina office building.
We were allowed a 1yr cruising permit and again had to pay $19 for our 1300 clearance form but all the formalities were soon over so we headed up to explore.
The marina is having a face lift and the new pontoons and the shower/ toilet blocks are in good order. The views are outstanding with a backdrop of snow covered mountains on the mainland and a fairly rugged ‘park’ with a beach at its feet.

View From The Marina at Anacortes

The town itself is an easy walk with a Supermarket and a Westmarine Chandlery very near the marina and lots of interesting shops and restaurants in the main street, the town has an interesting atmosphere, kind of ‘Shipping News’ meets ‘Northern Exposure’, I really liked it, it’s a very friendly place.
They are still building some fairly sizable ships at the end of the town so as you walk down the main street you see the odd sight of a ship in construction looming over the end with no obvious way for it to get to the sea, but apparently it is on some sort of rail system which extends in to the water. The town has various murals dotted about on corners of buildings these are mostly paintings of previous inhabitants from all sorts of points in time over the last 100 years some with information about their occupation and habits some no explanation at all.
After lengthy discussions with the original engineers who had tried to align the engine and Nordhavn’s 62 specialists we had another firm of marine engineers come out and check the engine alignment before we moved on. Unfortunately they seemed to think the engine alignment was within tolerances and the prop or prop shaft might be bent or damaged. Either way there was nothing to do but plod slowly back to Seattle and some yard facilities that can lift us.
On the 3rd April we decided to move on and stop off at Port Townsend on the Quimper Peninsular to break the journey. There was frost on the top of the dingy covers when we set off but the sun soon melted it and it turned out to be a glorious day, funny really but it didn’t seem that cold so we must be getting acclimatised. We again saw several seals and dolphins but none came very close, the views of the Olympic Mountains were spectacular and we decided we would try to get to them by car and see some real snow.
On arrival at Port Townsend we were given a space in the marina nearest the town centre, which was fairly quiet due to the time of year and then headed up to town to explore. The main shopping and restaurant area is along the street which is closest to the water and we found an old fashioned 50s diner and all had ice cream sodas, Kev said it reminded him of being a kid.

This is historic Port Townsend and most buildings date from the 1890s, the crew seemed happy to explore and found some unusual shops in the ‘down town’ area. There was an interesting selection of restaurants but no supermarket or other provisions stores, just clothes, books, ornaments, bric-a-brac etc. We had to climb the hill to ‘up town’ which runs parallel to find food stores and a very good local bakery. We had a passable Mexican meal that evening in the ‘down town’ area.

In the morning we looked out to find otters fishing for their breakfast in the marina and on catching a tasty fish climbing out on to the pontoons to eat it. This seems to be a regular occurrence as we saw the otters most of the following mornings too.

We tried to hire a car so we could get to the mountains but this proved impossible as the only cars available required the hirer to already have US car insurance.

We decided to move on and found ourselves a space in a marina right in the Pike Street area of Seattle. The approach to Seattle is pretty spectacular a typical US cityscape with high rise buildings dominating the sky line. The marina access was a little un-nerving with an awkward dog leg but once inside secure and well sheltered and mainly given over to temporary visitors, their notices appeared to allow only a short stay in the summer season. The position is excellent, with easy walking access to the Pike Street Market (vegetables, fish, arts and crafts) and all the city center shopping the crew could wish for.

We decided to do the real tourist thing and went up the space needle (left over from the world fair 1950s I think) and the Jimi Hendrix museum. The views from the space needle were great but it was very expensive.

The museum was interesting mainly focusing on the history of modern music and instruments. Plenty of interactive stuff with computers, instruments, film and sound, definitely worth a visit if you’re interested in popular music but more aimed at the teens than anyone else.
After a few days of city life we had had enough of hustle and bustle, we still hoped we might get some real snow and we also were looking for somewhere to leave the boat for a while, after lots of phone calls we found a temporary marina space in Tacoma which sounded ideal.
Tacoma is a smaller town with an industrial history but is definitely trying to smarten itself up.

It felt quieter but seemed to have all the necessary amenities including car hire near the marina. The marina staff were very welcoming as were the other berth holders, we got plenty of tips on good local restaurants and services.
We also established that the snow covered mountain we could see was not too far away in one of the national parks so we hired a car and set off in search of real snow.

As you can see we found some finally, although ‘tracker’ Sylvia found some big paw prints which she thought was evidence of bears and high tailed it back to the car.
We spent the next couple of days cleaning and sorting out the boat ready to leave, already it felt like home and we really didn’t want to go back, but school and work are calling. We will be back again for our summer adventure in no time so on Monday 14th April we flew back to the UK.