Our First Over-Night

With the engine back together and the need to practice using Slow Flight we found a destination and checked the weather. Our intentions to have an adventure directed us to Santa Rosa.  The second Island out in the Channel Islands chain has a big sandy bay that is good to anchor in, gives some protection from the south and the west and is about 8 hours away from Ventura.  10-15 knots of wind was expected and we were beating into it at about 30 degrees off the wind.  Lincon, our auto pilot was doing well at keeping course as the wind hit 16 knots(except for an error message), Kimi looked at me and said reef? So we loosened the main sheet dropped the main sail and hooked in our first reef point and secured the sail. Not so hard I thought.  (Reefing is to minimize the amount of sail you have out)  at 21 knots it was time for another reef and by this time we are 7 hours into our sail and use to the motion of the boat.  The swells are building with the wind, waves are starting break over the bow and we still don’t have our dodger (windshield) so with every wave that breaks over the bow we get a fine mist of sea water in our faces.  I crawl up to the mast and drop the main sail just enough to put in the last reef, Winch in the sail and crawl back to the cockpit.  Looking over at Kimi we both know we were way over do for jack lines ( lines that run the length of the boat and allow us to tie our selves off to the boat and yet still move about) I do want to note that we were wearing our off shore life vests that do have harnesses in them that attach to the jack lines. The jack lines are new still in the pouches they came in stowed away.

Our protected harbor we were to anchore in was not so protected from the wind. The waves were gone but the 26knots of wind and the soft sandy bottom made us ask what our plan B was. With not having a viable plan B it was time to set the anchor and hope for the best.  I found a spot that would allow for over 3 miles of dragging the anchore before were would be in serious trouble and with 240 ft of chain out in 25 feet of water I was able to go down bellow have a few beer a shower, run the generator and charge the batteries and go to sleep. A nap was the plan for me as I knew Kimi was going to fret about our anchor and stay on watch.  I woke a few times as the day turned to night and the wind was still 20-25 knots.  Kimi stayed vigilant to anchor watch but as the wind died off at midnight she was able to sleep a bit too.

Morning came and I woke and made coffee, looked to see if we had drifted and woke Kimi.  It was time to head back. Rolled the anchore up like it was just laying in the sand on the sea floor and motered out of the bay.  The 5-8 knots of wind took us home to our dock in Ventura at a calm pace where I flubbed the landing in our slip ( I need more practice) but it felt great to be back.  Some of the journeys  Kimi and I  have are less about the moment and more about the story, the looking back, the Adventure.  When does it become an Odyssey.  (DOH!)