Yesterday was a long, tiring day. We arose before first light, and motored out of Stillwater Cove and into Carmel Bay as soon as we could see the narrow opening between the thick kelp beds. As the sun came up we were already around Pt. Lobos, with the dramatic Big Sur coastline looming up to the south.
By the time we reached Pt. Sur, the wind was blowing hard enough to sail and we let the windvane do the steering. The swells were large and confused from several days of gale-force winds.
A large pod of bottlenose dolphins swam along with us for about half an hour. Other than that, we were alone at sea for the entire day.
We could see cars picking their way along the curves of Hwy 1.
As evening approached, the wind died and we had to motorsail to reach Piedras Blancas. We could see Hearst Castle high above in the Santa Lucia Mountains
After rounding Piedras Blancas, we got a last burst of wind and were able to sail the last 5 miles into San Simeon Cove, arriving just before sundown. Once the anchor was down, Vicki had to hoist me to the masthead to free a jammed jib halyard. There were several other boats anchored with us.
This morning, although it is overcast here in San Simeon Cove, we can see Hearst Castle in the sun high above us.
1 comment:
God, I love that coast--including Hearst's castle, and I envy your view from the sea. We saw a pod of whales here yesterday and I caught two fish from the cliffs!
Sail on!
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