Teachable Moments

Dana Point, CA
October 14, 2009

“Teachable moments” is a phrase that is well-loved by preschool teachers. It simply means taking the opportunities provided by everyday life and most of the time just merely pointing out things to kids. They usually take it from there.
So far, this trip has bee full of teachable moments. Today, I got one that was in my favorite subject area: geology. The boys and I went to explore what was on the other side of the breakwater behind which we have been anchored. I have observed that the nice walking path went around the Ocean Teaching Center and toward where the breakwater meets the base of a bluff. I was hoping that there might be a beach just on the other side.
Not only was there a beach, but the sun beginning to break through today’s overcast (which had earlier been raining on us) coincided with our exploratory mission. Luckily, Brad had strongly suggested swimsuits for the boys. They played in the water building sand castles for the waves to take out for awhile and I read.
At some point I realized the bluff behind me had great sedimentary deposits clearly showing the sorting that goes on as the depositional environment changes. On closer look, farther up more toward the top of the bluff I saw a great example of an unconformity. I went in for a closer look and literally stumbled (or squished) into clay that had run down off the bluff and was deposited at the base from the last couple of nights’ rain storms. The clay got the kids’ attention – they found that there were two different types being washed out of two different deposits. They played with it for a few minutes and then I went through the observations that I had made earlier. Bryce took them a step further noting some “faults” in the bluff where the “stripes” didn’t match up anymore.
Next time, I will be prepared with my rock hammer and identification charts for classifying rocks that we find!!!

The osprey on our masthead did NOT

break our instrument array to Brad's relief!

Can you see the layers and the unconformity?

Geology lesson beach

Rain

Dana Point, CA
October 13, 2009

You’d think that rain would not be a big deal, but I guess when you are from Seattle and haven’t seen any in over a month, it is missed.

We have been in Dana Point for a couple of days because it is a great anchorage with good access to just about everything we need. The weather was uncertain as best and we really don’t need to be in San Diego til the weekend at the earliest. So, here we have stayed.

Last night's sunset from the guest dock

before the rains came

In the wee hours, I was awakened to a strange sound. From my sleepy state, it took me a minute or two to realize what I was hearing was RAIN. It rained hard for awhile making little piles of dirt at the base of each piece of rigging (this is from the Santa Cruz Island and Catalina Island dust that we have been living in for the last couple of weeks).

Most of the morning was rain-free (in Seattle, we would call it occasional mist, not quite drizzle), until, that is, the boys and I embarked upon a half mile walk to the bus stop. As the torrential rains soaked us, Bryce remarked, “This [the rain] is what I miss!” Luckily, it stayed pretty warm so that our spirits weren’t dampened. The bus driver, who was on his break, took pity on us and let us onto the bus early. We were almost dried out by the time we got to our destination: the movie theater. Along the way, we ate bagels and found a great bead store to add to our collection of special bead for our time keeping project.

Now, as we sit here at anchor, we wonder if the electrical storm off in the distance over the San Pedro Channel (water between us and Catalina Island) will come our direction. It took us awhile to recollect our last encounter with the wet stuff. Besides fog, which can be damp, but does not qualify as rain, the last time it rained was in Sausalito. That time it wasn’t the sound of rain but rather rolling thunder that awoke us. It is funny how something so common in one place is so uncommon in another.

Rainy Day Activities

Dana Point Yacht Club

Austin performs a little maintenance

Retrieving a skyed halyard from the top of the mizzen mast

Ski Resorts Are For Me

Dana Point, CA
Ocotber 11, 2009

As we sit here in a very nice anchorage (no room at the free dock - actually that's not true, the racers would have made room for us, but we were already very comfortably anchored), I can't help but compare this calm, quiet spot to our anchorage last night. We were in Avalon on Catalina Island. It is legendary, so we had to go see what it was all about.
We had spent two nice days and nights on the other less developed side of the island in Catalina Harbor on our anchor. There were mooring balls available, but the water in the anchorage was so clear and looked like a great spot for snorkeling (which it was). We did go into the little "town" of Two Harbors and could have stayed longer as there was a laundry and little store for emergency rations.

The line is training wheels for the novice snorkelers

Anyway, getting back last night. Avalon is a tourist town, so just get out the wallet and start paying for every little thing. We probably could have anchored, but decided to try a mooring. I think this is a three day weekend for some, so the inner harbor was full up and we got a second row spot in the outer harbor, around the corner from the famous casino (which houses a restaurant, movie theatre and museum in real life). The moorings are bow and stern ties so that basically all the boats are parked in rows, as in a parking lot. Imagine you are in a motorhome and you park it in a parking lot for the night - now you get the idea. One thing I like about anchoring is that everyone is so worried about swinging and dragging that you get a little space. The way the boats are on these moorings in most of Catalina's harbors remind me of the resorts in Hawaii where the lawn chairs are lined up next to the pool with about 2 inches of space in between in order to fit as many guests in as possible. It was very unclear where a dinghy could be left, so we just went with the flow, got out the wallet and hopped on a "shoreboat" to go into town for a look around. We celebrated our 16th anniversary over an Italian dinner with the boys (don't worry, we have raincheck for a special bottle of wine-thanks Ken and Joanna!!! to share alone at sunset one of these evenings). Said shoreboat took us "home" and everyone else in the anchorage until the wee hours. We also were serenaded by the band at the beach bar until also 2am. Since we were out around the corner from the actual harbor, we were much less protected from the swell and rolled most of the night. There are very strict rules about being off of your mooring by 9am, so we just gave up and headed for Dana Point. What a contrast to the other places that we have visited.
I do believe that I do best at resorts that involve skiing!!!

The Beach Bar adjacent our mooring

We did have a great view of the Casino

Good Bad Decisions

Channel Islands, CA
October 5, 2009

One of the "FAQ's" that we have gotten often while embarking on this adventure was, "What is your itinerary?" It really seems to frustrate some of our friends and family that we don't have a solid schedule with dates and times that we will be in certain places. I have tried to explain that while cruising it is actually a very bad idea to try to keep to a schedule of being at certain places at certain times. When one tries to keep to a schedule on a boat, one tends to make bad decisions in deference to keeping to said schedule rather watching the weather and other conditions that affect the boat.
Well, I made a bad decision yesterday, but I want to say it was a bad decision for which I have come up a long list of good side benefits. We should have just stayed put in Ventura yesterday, but we didn't.
No. Even though it was blowing a steady 25 knots with gusts up to 35 knots, I decided that the 5 mile run down to Channel Islands Harbor was short enough that even in bad conditions, we would be fine and we were. However, it was tricky getting the boat off the dock, the waves were pretty huge and very close together (not a comfortable ride and a little scary, too), it was no picnic getting inside the first breakwater here and we were lucky docking the boat that we had friends on the dock to help! Also, note to self: when other boaters are making the rational decision to stay instead their planned leaving, the space promised to you may still be occupied - we were again lucky they could squeeze us in. Those were the reasons that we just should have stayed put.
Now for my rationalizations or the benefits of braving the bad conditions that are not at all present today.

• We had great people from the Ventura Yacht Club who came down to help us get off the dock (most of them were hanging out at the Club waiting to see if there race would be canceled - it was and we provided them with some entertainment as I am sure they watched us bash out the channel from the comfort of the bar).
  
• I have not done much sailing of my house in these kinds of conditions. I now have a little feel for how Capaz sails in heavy air and heavy seas going nose into it, then pretty much broadside and finally with following seas. A taste was all I needed to know that next time the vote to stay should be seconded, but I can do it!
  
• I am getting better on the radio as I did the hailing, "Channel Islands Harbor Harbor Patrol" repeated three times to ask about the conditions at the harbor entrance. He decided to come out and make sure we came in OK and then, complemented Brad on his handling of the boat given the conditions.
  
• We ended up having a very nice relaxing afternoon by the pool here and then spent the evening with two other boats of friends from Seattle. If we had waited, we may not have been able to check in here at the PCYC and take full advantage of the amenities that they have to offer, because they are closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. As it is, we got checked in, checked out and needless to say, are taking full advantage of our reciprocity.
• Finally, we were in the process of "scrubbing" our water tanks. This is when the water tanks get "funky" and need to be cleaned which requires draining the tanks to about the 1/3 level, adding a soap and bleach solution to each tank and then taking the boat through some conditions where this could slosh around the tanks a bit. Boy, did it get sloshed!!!! Brad was able to complete the process (draining the solution, refilling the tanks for a rinse and then, draining and refilling them with fresh water!!!!) and take a quick dip in the pool with the boys and a little soak in the hottub with me!

Despite my bad decision having so many good benefits (this may be yet another one), we have a new rule on Capaz (co-opted from our good friends, Brian and Erin on Delos) : When making decisions about staying or going, the more conservative opinion ALWAYS wins!!!

Final Note: Sorry, there will be no pictures to accompany this post as the photographer was too busy holding on in the cockpit to venture her way into the cabin to retrieve the camera, but suffice to say they would have been incredible!

More Snorkel Practice

Ventura, CA

October 3, 2009

Snorkel Practice at Ventura Beach

The water is getting warmer and there are certain members of the CAPAZ crew who are itching to go snorkeling. As we moved onto the boat, one of the decisions we made that became clear had immense forsight was buying a membership at the Olympic Athletic Club. What we originally wanted was pretty much 24-7 access to hot shower that did not require quarters. The yoga classes and the workout machines were added value, but the pool with a weekly swim was an invaluable investment. The club permitted snorkeling gear and so, every time we went swimming the boys "played" around with the gear.

Today, when they went into the ocean here in Ventura (at the public swimming beach behind the breakwater), they were like fish back in water. All that practice seems to have paid off because they are pretty much pros. Now, if we can only convince Austin that it truly is easier to walk backwards when he has is fins on his feet - we will be in business. We will be heading to Catalina in a few days and the word is that the water is even a bit warmer than here (65*-70*) and there are some great places to snorkel. We might just be ready for it.

On a side note, the kids earned their Junior Ranger patches at the Ventura Channel Islands National Park Visitor Center. You may learn more about Ranger Jessica in future editions of the Capaz Chronicle.

Getting sworn in as

Channel Islands National Park Junior Rangers

One Month

Santa Barbara, CA
October 1, 2009

We have spent an entire calendar month aboard CAPAZ on our big adventure. Time is very elastic for us. Most of the time it is difficult to pin down what day of the week it is. We try to keep track so that we can follow the NOAA weather reports.
The boys have a project for marking time. Before we left Seattle, we visited a bead store. They picked out four different colors of beads to represent what we are doing each day of our adventure. Blue is for nights spent underway. Brown is for a night spent at a dock. Silver is for anchoring overnight and if we ever leave the boat for a little land adventure we have green beads.
Much to their delight, Bryce and Austin also found a big bowl full of charms that they raided. Each charm represents a first or something special: first fish caught, first pelican, a visit somewhere, etc. We found a charm at the San Simeon gift store to add and if there is a special occurrence for which do we not have a bead or charm, we can make one out of sculpey. This is what our beads look like for the first month!

Fog, Fog and More Fog

Yellowbank, Santa Cruz Island
Channel Islands National Park
September 29, 2009

. . . . . that is my impression of the Central California coast. Inland there was a record breaking heat wave in process, all we got was fog. I expected fog in San Francisco, after all it is known for its fog. I can only now talk about this subject because we seem to have broken into Southern California and out of the fog (I am keeping my fingers crossed).
When we arrived in Monterey, we had high hopes for the warm part of our big adventure to commence. The day that we visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium was beautiful, requiring ice cream as we walked back to the boat. Brad dubbed the next day a Beach Day! Unfortunately, that is where and when our fog troubles began. One more day in Monterey and we left for Pebble Beach.
We could see the famous golf course, but it was shrouded in fog. We left the next morning for our run to San Simeon Bay in, you guessed it . . . .Fog. Luckily, we have great radar.

The Fog waiting to roll back in off the point

At San Simeon, the fog came in from the other side of the point between 3:00 and 6:00. It would clear between 9:00 and 11:00 in the morning. It never really cleared from the ocean side of the point. It was very warm up on top of the mountain were the Hearst Castle sits. Our last full day in San Simeon Bay, the fog cleared early around 9:30 and didn’t return til almost sunset. That day we got in our Beach Day with boogie boarding, laying in the sun, and even hiking out to the point. The next day we left heading south to Morro Bay in you guessed it . . . fog.

Bryce's Beach Artwork
A Quick View of Morro Rock from Morro Bay

How Morro Rock looked during most of our stay

Time for things like a little Solitaire

Bryce rows Mom and the bike ashore for a grocery run

Cool Bow/Stern Anchor with Delos

Morro Rock is huge and we didn’t even get to see it til the second day we there because of the fog. Despite the fog, I rode the bike to the grocery store (a couple of times) and the boys went kayaking to explore the big sand spit the protects the Morro Bay. We got kicked off the Morro Bay Yacht Club dock so that they could use the dock for a regatta. It was so calm (and foggy, a good part of the time) that we decided to anchor with Delos rafted alongside, both boats using each one’s bow anchor. It was a great set-up. We left Morro Bay after three days in the thickest fog yet.
It was true pea soup fog. Going out of the channel was a very tricky because you could not even see from one channel marker to the next. We left in the afternoon headed for an overnight run to the Channel Islands passing by Point Conception which has quite the reputation for confused seas and big winds. We only had . . . fog. Actually, Brad was on watch and did see about 15 knots of wind just before Big Bad Point.
We crossed the Santa Barbara Channel in the early morning with the fog clearing a bit so that we could see the oil rigs 3 or 4 miles off in the distance. Of course, you can probably see them in pretty hazy conditions because they are lit up like 20 story Christmas trees. As dawn broke the beautiful Channel Islands appeared out of the . . . . . let’s call it . . . mist. After catching up on some zzz’s, we were short on sleep from our overnight passage, I kayaked around our anchorage of Cuevo Valdez and the boys went by dingy to check out the Painted Caves. The fog cleared and we moved east to a better overnight anchorage called Fry’s. I kayaked around it and the boys made pigs in blankets for dinner. It was a fairly tight anchorage we were sharing with four other boats and it had rocky cliffs close by, so Brad and I slept in the main salon on the lounge so that we could hear the anchor alarm. We saw stars last night for the first time in awhile. This morning, we awoke to broken clouds and no FOG!!!!! However, the weather is calling for gale force winds in the Santa Barbara Channel, so we decided to high-tail it to the more protected side of the island.

Brad drops the boys off inside a cave at Cuevo Valdez

Bryce and Austin exited through the beach enterance

Pick up at the cave on the other side of the cove

The boys go in search of the Painted Caves

Kayaking around Fry's Anchorage

Chefs Bryce and Austin prepare their pigs-in-blankets

Delos is the only of five boats left in Fry's Anchorage

We were anchor closest to the big rock in the lower left corner of the picture

As we rounded the eastern most point of the island, we came upon a bunch of fishing boats in the two anchorages that we were checking out. We assume that they are ducking in to avoid the big winds. So far, the wind has not come up but we just heard about a tsunami advisory (not an alarm or warning) in effect due to an earthquake in the Samoan ???? Islands. We may be out of the fog, but it is certainly not dull around here.

Brad on the beach at Yellowbank

Bryce and Austin hiking above Yellowbank

Anacapa Island in the background

Family Photo - Hiking on Santa Cruz Island

Smugglers Cove to the left, Anacapa Island mid,

and Yellowbank below to right

Yellowbank Anchorage from Capaz at dawnFishing boat neighbor leaving at dawn

Anacapa Island