We left Morro Bay on Friday afternoon, intending to arrive at Point Conception, the so-called "Cape Horn of the Pacific" at dawn the next morning, when weather would be the most benign. This was our first night passage since we left Oregon, and our first time "buddy boating" with another yacht, a family of four on a 35-footer called Albatross. There was a thick overcast, but the wind and waves were moderate, and phosphorescence from marine microorganisms kept us company all night long. The autopilot is out of commission, so we were glad to have enough wind to sail, using the windvane to steer the boat. As we neared Point Arguello we could hear the booming of the surf, and soon the wind piped up to 25 knots and we had to furl the main and reef the jib. But as we closed in on Conception, only a further 12 miles, the wind died, the fog lifted, and our tension evaporated. We pulled into Cojo Anchorage for a few hours' sleep.
2 comments:
Are those sooty shearwaters?? We had a similar view one afternoon on the jet skis off the coast of Washington! Millions of birds!
I'm not sure, but I think these were petrels. They were pretty small, with about a 2 foot wingspan.
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