September 22, 2004
1700
At Sea N 36o 36' W 122o (15 nm west of Monterey)
We had a great day today, starting with getting under way from Half Moon Bay at 0630. The wind was light from the east so there was no fog and, even though it was a bit colder than we're used to, we were happy to be underway again. Strange how we can spend a summer in Canada and not get cold until we get to San Francisco. I guess Mark Twain was right.
Our course took us around Pt. Pescadero and then south towards Pt. Sur taking us well offshore from Monterey Bay. This turned out to be great for whale watching. The first sighting, of gray whales, was in the late morning. They were nice to look at but since they weren't doing anything interesting we continued without altering course. Then, just before noon, Sharon yelled out "I just saw a BIG fish jump!" Linda and I both turned to see a humpback whale breach clear out of the water (well, it was BIG, even if it wasn't a fish). This we had to see more of, so we altered course to get a closer look. At a range of about a mile we set sail and turned off the engine so we wouldn't disturb their fun. We slowly sailed to within a quarter of a mile; all the while one whale rolled over and over, slapping its huge flippers and its tail on the water. As we got close it was apparent that it was a young whale doing all the frolicking. The other, larger whale was no doubt its mother. We kept a safe distance and spent at least half an hour watching them until the mother whale told the youngster to get moving and they slowly swam away.
Around 1300 the wind was strong enough to keep us moving at over 4 knots so we set the main with the jib and drifter together on the head stay. This configuration worked very well until the wind dropped below 5 knots and we started the motor again. At least we were able to record sightings of more grey whales, Risso's dolphins and Mola Mola before having to motor again.
We should be arriving in Morro Bay tomorrow afternoon, ahead of schedule thanks to all the light winds.
John, Linda and Sharon
|
|