Shortly before dawn on the way here, we crossed the shipping lanes of the Santa Barbara Channel. A giant pod of dolphins surrounded us, chattering and whistling around us. Beneath the water, large glowing jellyfish slipped past in our wake. We watched our radar carefully for the ships transiting the channel and felt warm in the night hours for the first time.
We arrived in Oxnard in early morning. When we walked into the marina we were greeted by a friendly sailor who handed us his car keys, saying You’ll need supplies- please be back by 1. By the way, my name’s Steve. Yes please! I believe we are a little low on chocolate….
We all slipped into our almost familiar arrival routine now of washing the saltwater off Tomten, fueling up, putting away whatever hit the floor during the passage that we couldn’t deal with, attending to Miranda (our quirky but mostly reliable engine), putting sails away, assessing gear repairs or fixes needed, Sleeping!, de-constructing our docking & passage, feeling the ever-present anxieties of being on the open ocean slip away (does it ever go completely away?)
Tomten is looking good & is taking care of us. She ploughs through whatever the seas give us. I am grateful for her stability and protection. I get a renewed sense of how people feel the connection with their boats; something that transcends the inanimate.
So far, as a friend who is cruising a little further south than us put it recently, we have been on a yacht delivery from northern Washington to SoCal. It’s been a working vacation- with plenty of rough passages and boat repairs along the way. Banging down the coast is a little short on the fun factor Except,(!) being so new to all of this, it is still exhilarating. We are learning what our boat and our selves are made of.
We had a mixed passage from Morro Bay. 24 hours of big seas and big winds all on our nose- even the sea sick meds don’t do it. It was exciting to round Pt. Concepcion where the Santa Barbara Channel meets the Pacific Ocean. We have frequently heard from that the weather changes dramatically once you get south of it. In early to mid-December, this can mean a lot. The weather bomb happening up north (Oregon) is behind us.
Sailing Tomten 