We left Rio Vista on Wednesday October 13 planning to anchor near Benicia for the night and then carry on to San Francisco. We had absolutely no wind and ended up motoring the entire way. When we arrived in Benicia our small exhaust leak we thought we had fixed had opened up. Spilling black soot all over our new cushions on one settee and up the wall next to it. We opened the windows and let it air out then cleaned up what we could. We made a plan on how to get to San Francisco and hopefully it wont get any bigger.
We made Angel Island by the next afternoon ahead of schedule. Unfortunately we couldn’t catch much wind and we again had to motor. We had decided to move the settee cushion so as not to ruin it. Also used a fan to help funnel the exhaust out of the cabin. By the time we got to Angle Island the black soot was every where. We spent the evening unloading our dinghy and cleaning up the out side. We even dinghied over to the island to walk around a bit and let the soot settle so that we could yet again clean it up. By the time we returned to Hiraya we could clean it up all again. Had a nice dinner and enjoyed the evening. This anchorage was not protected from the Ferry traffic, boating traffic, or the shipping channel. The waves would eventually reach us and rock us side to side.
The next morning we woke and couldn’t wait to dinghy back to the island. We spent the entire day hiking, walking, and dinghying all around Angel Island. Learned a lot of the history of Angel Island through out the years. But our minds were distracted by the trip the next morning into the Pacific. We got back to Hiraya and got her ready for our first jump. That night we tried to get sleep. But the anticipation was building. What will it be like? Are we going to love it or hate it? Is it going to be as magical as we think?
We woke before the sun. As the aroma of coffee filled the air we quickly got together our items we want for the sail and placed them in the cockpit. Binoculars, radio, cameras, sunglasses, drinks, and dry crackers were just a few. As the sky began its morning glow we raised anchor. There was a slight breeze. The wind app reported light breezes continuing through the day. We raised the main sail as the anchor was coming up. As we motored to the edge of China Cove the wind picked up just enough that we were able to turn of the engine and enjoy a quiet sail around the island toward Alcatraz. Because of course we were going to do a drive by on our way out.
As we hit Alcatraz the winds died and we had to fire up the engine and motor on out toward the Golden Gate Bridge. As the Golden Gate got closer we didn’t know if we should laugh or cry. We didn’t know if we should be scared or not. We weren’t sure what this feeling was. We talked, we took pictures. We watched a sea lion catch a fish. We watched the birds fight for that fish. We seen a couple dolphins. We watched the boat traffic. Listen to the radio. We messaged our kids and closest friends. We giggled. We stood in awe looking out toward the Pacific.
Then with a big smile and a gleam in our eye we were in the Pacific. We took that left, cleared the traffic, which wasn’t much. The wind picked up just off our port side. The head and main sail filled and we were off. We could see the coast of California on our port side and to the Starboard we see open water and glimpses of the Farallon Islands. Ahead of us we see our path. It is clear. This is right where we as a couple are suppose to be.
We spent the next several hours answering messages from family and friends. Taking a million pictures and sending them to everyone. Isn’t technology great for that? They got to share in our excitement in real time. As the messages slowed and we were settling into a rhythm we had the boat balanced, we could turn off the auto pilot and just enjoy the sounds of the ocean.
We watched and laughed every time we seen a dolphin come out to play. Every bird danced and dove as they were putting on a show just for us. Then off in the distance Sam sees something. He is confused for just a moment as it happens again. “A spout!” “There are whales!” Up until this point we hadn’t seen a pod of whales, ever. We watched as they swam away and then returned. One swam and breached right next to Hiraya, spouting 3 or 4 times before diving. A short while later Jes looked over the rail as the sunlight hit the water and there was “something larger than the boat and it had a fin.”
We can’t say for sure or not what that was as it was only a glimpse. But it was amazing and a little unsettling. Then with in the hour we saw a fin raise menacingly off our port side. No breaching just came straight up and then down. That was a shark!
Just then our good friends Larry and Carol video chatted us. We pick it up and we excitedly told of our adventures. It was good to see, face to face, people we love, and share our adventure with them. It was short but special. We hung up and began our approach to Pillar Point in Half Moon Bay.
We are on our way! It has been a great experience so far!