Sea Life (The life that we see in the sea)

October 2008
We are so fortunate to be living ‘in’ the water. Yes we go ashore and tie up at docks often but life down at the docks and out at anchor is so alive with the animals, fishes and birds. It takes you away from your personal thoughts and puts you right there in the present moment watching these animals who live along side of you. (Photos from the Monterrey Aquarium: Left: Leafy Sea Dragon sea horse about 10" in length, Right: jellies)

The brilliantly colored orange billed puffin birds with their formal tuxedoed of black and white stunning against the sea as we turned the corner in NW Washington.

The packs of sea lions in Monterey and Morro Bay feeding on the smaller fishes in the bay by cruising back and forth making loud breathing noises as they dive past. And the pelicans trailing behind for any crumbs left over. (Photo: Our neighbor at Morro Bay)

The little baby on the sea otter’s tummy. And the clack, clack, clack of another sea otter with two small unopened shells in his hands hitting them together to break open the sweet meat. The sea gull incessantly following the sea otter waiting for a morsel.

The wonderful jellies and all the exhibits at the Monterey Aquarium.

And just now coming in to Santa Barbara, a huge gaggle of pelicans. I’ve never seen so many I one place.

They are all so wonderful. I'm sure there will be lots more to come as well. (Photo at right: Live birds up close at the Monterey Aquarium)

Monterrey and Morro Bay

Late October 2008

Lots of great bike riding in Monterrey for Biagio going from Monterrey to Carmel by the Sea. The Aquarium for me. Loved the 'Jellies' exhibit.

The photo on the right shows our Morro Bay moorage and the large rock at the entrance. A nice bicycle and bus ride to San Luis Obisbo and Los Ossos from here. Scotty was adopted at Monterrey Bay and had a jolly good ride back to the boat.

Scary Sea Lions in Santa Cruz

October 2008

We did everything in our power to avoid a confrontation. Brought our dinghy to the furthest possible dock with the least amount of Sea Lions. Came back to the boat at a decent hour before absolute sunset. Made a very modest entrance to the dinhy dock. But they still attacked us. I never knew Biagio could run so fast on a vertical ladder with his bicycle in hand.

“OK boys, get back. This is my dock!!!” shouted Biagio. “You just stay there!” he proclaimed in a boisterous voice. I was impressed as if he was talking to a great big, big dog. But as he lowered the first bike down the vertical ladder, I was coaching him from up above to warn him when the loudest, biggest male sea lion was coming after him. “He’s coming at you now!” I shouted. The dock was not very large so the sea lion could reach him in only a few flipper flaps away. We just learned at the UC Santa Cruz Marine Research Center on our bicycle ride that the males can weigh roughly 5,000 pounds. I would guess that was about the weight of the one coming after Biagio. At the last minute, the male sea lion bounced in the water but could resurface on the dinghy dock at any moment and land on Biagio. The center warned us not to get to close to the sea lions because they see everything as furniture and can roll over you and also bite. So there is Biagio, with thoughts of being a side chair or a couch. I have never seen him run so fast up a vertical ladder much less with a bicycle. If fact, if I wasn’t standing there, I’m sure he would have gone all the way to the top of the ladder and onto the pier. “It’s OK” I coached him, "I think he turned back". Once again the bull sea lion returned to his corner of the dinghy dock barking at Biagio the entire time.

Then we started to attract a crowd on the upper pier deck watching us trying to get into the dinghy. I’m not sure who they were rooting for but it was probably very entertaining. We never knew exactly what this male sea lion had on his mind or whether we were going to be a couch to him.

As we started pulling away from the dock, looking at all three sea lions from a distance, we were relieved when we felt that they were more likely to jump back onto the dinghy dock than into our dinghy. Whewww… Safely back on the boat in the bay, waiting for the hot water to heat up for a shower before watching our rented foreign movies, I’m glad to be back on our rocking, rolling boat. Safe for the time being from sea lions.

P.S. I've since taken a sea lion training course and learned that we need to hold our bicycles in front of us and look threatening. This is sea lion talk for 'back off'.

San Francisco was so awesome!

September-October 2008

Aunt Leone. It was such a nice visit getting to know you and helping you sort through ‘Dad’s’ things.

Michael and Liz. Wow, good friends from Seattle with 3 Bike Fridays in one place! And further visits to come down the coast.

Doug and Lucy for your weekend visit from Victoria and the fun Patriots football game. (I’m still not clear on the rules. ‘We’ll give the points to them???’
Eva for all your “tips”.

Love ‘em. And especially crazy Larry and Ken. We love you!!!

Eureka, CA and the Redwoods

September 2008
Ligia and Marpa have a beautiful Victoria mansion here in Eureka. (Photo coming soon.) The city is known for it’s many Victoria houses and buildings. With a population of 25,000, it’s a very navigable city and easy to get around in. Our marina is located a very short dinghy ride across from Eureka's Victorian downtown or we can take our bicycles across the bridge for an easy 20 minute bike ride.

We decided to rent a car and spend a week in the redwoods going from Crescent City near the border of Oregon down to Richardson Grove in the south which is a 150 mile drive one way. Each redwood area seems to different…some dry and hot, others clouded in cool moist fog. We enjoyed all of it. Especially the motel with the outdoor very large Jacuzzi!

After spending 2 weeks with Ligia and Marpa, we finally left our comfortable slip in the marina. We had a great time watching movies together, watching an outdoor concert from our dinghy in the water, drinking wine, and just hanging out. It was a little hard to leave.

Now almost 2 weeks after our initial arrival, we’re heading down the coast for an overnight motor/sail to San Francisco.

Our ‘Overnight’ Stop That Lasted a Week - Neah Bay, WA

August 2008
It's just a short jaunt across the waters from Victoria BC to the US check-in at Port Angeles. Then another short Western hop to the Makah Indian Reservation in Neah Bay to get fuel and wait for a good weather window before heading around the NW tip of the state. When we arrived I was anxious to go because it seemed to me that there was not much to do in Neah Bay. We stayed for more than the overnight we planned.

Neah Bay is a very small village with one grocery story, 2 pizza places, one restaurant and one Makah Indian museum. ‘Oh well, we can go to the museum while we’re waiting for better weather.’ So the following day when the rain let up a little, we walked over to the Coast Guard station and the museum. There we learned more about the Makah culture. We found the Makah to be a very warm and welcoming people with a history of trading all along the coast from California to Alaska and inland. So when we heard that the biggest celebration, Makah Days, would be the coming weekend, we There was all night drumming and a throwing of the bones game called Slalah, traditional salmon bake, dancing, a decided to stay and watch the festivities. talent show, and a parade. We laughed so hard during the talent show with 3 year olds performing and a young standup comic that had nothing to say but was hilarious just being himself. And then there was the crowning several princess and warriors. Interestingly enough, to compete for the title, true to the traditional tribal customs of sharing food and wealth, the person that raised the most money was the person to receive the crown. The money was used to give out money to different charities. Just as the festivities were winding down, a weather window broke and we headed off around the tip of Washington and down the coast for more adventures. It was a wonderful stay and a great way to say ‘goodbye’ to the Northwest. But not before making some hot soup to eat during the 4 day passage to Eureka.

First Things First

Late July 2008
Gotta get all that green stuff off the bottom first. Here I am cleaning off the bottom. Actually Biagio finished most of it. It will give us an extra knot when we motor/sail. A 7mm wet suit helps insulate in the cold, cold water in Victoria, BC. Then it was off to Vancouver for 4 days with a visit from Matt and Annie, also cruising friends Terry and Lynn, then on to pick up Jess and Tracy on Orcas Island for a few days, and finally, one more stop in Victoria before heading out.

Where oh where...

July 2008

I love small spaces and organization so I thought I was prepared to add my things to the boat and stay organized. Yes, it was a challenge to find places for everything. But I wasn't prepared for the challenge it is to find those same things again. Biagio has things that he hasn't found for seven years. Well, I'll just concentrate on being grateful for space to loose things in. Now where was that brush, and that dress, and that box of cereal, and...

The Initial Steps...

A map to orient you if you are not familiar with the Pacific North West.

1st Leg - Right map - Seattle to Victoria

2nd Leg - Left map - Victoria Going out the Straight of Juan de Fuca and 'Turning Left'. Then first stop, down to visit my long time friend Ligia and marpa in Eureka, California.

Note: We will be going via the blue watery area.

Mixing Two Countries on One Boat

June 2008
Gem is currently docked in Victoria which is just a 2 hour+ boat ride from Seattle on the Victoria Clipper. Now to get my things on the boat shouldn't be hard, right? Just drive them there by car. That sounds good but customs doesn't agree. Even though the boat will be leaving Canada and going to the US, it's not possible to put my things on the boat by going through customs unless we want to pay duty on everything. Biagio left Seattle with a car load of clothes, kitchen things, etc. and had to turn back because of this slight problem. They would have let him in if I had taken out a visa for Canada but because since I hadn't done that, he would have to turn back to the US. Problem was that the US customs wanted to know where he was going with all of those things and didn't want to let him back across the border. They reluctantly gave him 24 hrs. in the US and then he would have to cross the border again. Biagio truly felt like a man with no country.

Dave and Gay wonderfully let him store everything in their garage near Everett until we could come up with another plan. On to Plan B. Anacortes in a city/marina/jumping off point to the San Juan Islands. For me it is a 1 1/2 hr. drive north from Seattle. For Biagio on the boat, it was an almost direct west sail/motor due east. So in Anacortes we happily loaded 2 car loads of things including clothes, a 15 horse motor, fabric for curtains and upholstery, and 'stuff'. So all was worked out.

Now it is 2 weeks later, and the accumulation pile is growing again. Running lights for the salon, locks for the cabinets, soy sauce and green tea from the Asian store, my folding bicycle, the new chart table chair... So let's see, how are we going to get this all on the boat this time?