Sail - July 2018

SAIL MAGAZINE

draw, but most of the crowds were on the beach enjoying a warm sum-

mer day. h e only downside to anchoring at Santa Cruz was the dii -

culty of getting ashore. h e public landing on the pier is the only place

to tie up a dinghy but it is not very secure, is subject to some swell and

is ot en cluttered with sea lions.

Next day we crossed the bay to Monterey and dropped the pick in the

harbor to the east of Fisherman’s Wharf. h e anchorage is exposed to

winds from the north, but luckily it was light and from the west-south-

west so we enjoyed a calm night. Monterey was a center for sardine-

packing until the industry collapsed in the 1950s due to over-i shing.

We strolled past the old canning factories on Cannery Row, now

converted into trendy shops and restaurants, but decided not to pay the

breathtaking price for a ticket into the aquarium, as we probably see most

of the exhibits from our back deck. h e density and diversity of sea mam-

mals of the coast of California is remarkable. Humpback whales, dolphins

and porpoises are ot en around when we are sailing of shore. In the har-

bors, seals, sea lions and sea otters are a constant source of entertainment.

h e overnight passage from Monterey to Morro Bay around Point Sur

was a rip-roaring sail, with a 6t swell and winds gusting over 40 knots on

the starboard beam. We rolled in the headsail and put three reefs in the main

but were still racing along at 7-8 knots—that’s fast for us! As dawn broke

we saw that we had split a seam close to the top of the mainsail, which had

to be hand-sewn once we reached Morro Bay. Toward noon we rounded

Morro Rock, the sugarloaf mountain that marks the entrance to the bay, and

dropped anchor behind the sand spit in beautifully calm water.

A colony of sea otters lives in Morro Bay at the foot of the Rock close to

the anchorage. h roughout the 19th century sea otters were hunted almost

to extinction in the Pacii c Northwest, but a small colony of 30 survived at

San Luis Obispo, and the group in Morro Bay are their descendants. It was

great fun to watch them going about their business in the still water of the

bay, their bodies sleek and sinuous as they dive then surface clutching a

clam and a rock. h eir furry, whiskered faces seem to concentrate as they

hit the clam with the rock to open it, then eat it and do it all over again.

SUNSHINE AT LAST!

Point Conception is the headland that marks the boundary between the

mostly northwest-southeast trending coast in Northern California and

the east-west trending coast of Southern California. It is another cape

with a bad reputation for strong winds and rough seas, but we had a

beautiful sail with a 15-20 knot breeze in smooth seas. We rounded the

Point and anchored for the night at Cojo Anchorage, a small cove just

behind Point Conception with a fantastic view of the lighthouse.

From Cojo it was a daysail to Santa Barbara, where we dropped anchor

east of Stearn’s Wharf in 15-30t of water. Santa Barbara is known as

the “American Riviera;” the Spanish-style buildings, the long sandy

beach and the warm sunny climate do give the city a Mediterranean feel.

Sunshine and blue sea, palm trees and beach volley ball—it was just like

a Californian postcard. We had i nally made it to the sun. s

Suzy Carmody and husband Neil have lived and cruised aboard their Liberty

458 cutter for 11 years. They are currently cruising down the Central American

PHOTOS BY coast. To follow their adventures, check out their blog at carmody-clan.com

SUZY CARMODY

Anchored o the beach in Santa

Barbara, the Distant Drummer crew

basks in the sunshine at last