We left our dock yesterday at 2:30pm and headed to Emerald Bay, Catalina. It was a really strange feeling to know that we won’t be coming back to our marina for the foreseeable future. We felt the same when we left the house the day before.

The weather forecasts predicted 10-15 knot winds, but we had 25-30 knots for most of the trip. When went to put the mainsail up we decided to reef it (reduce the sail area) because of the heavy winds. When we raised the sail, right away I heard a ripping noise. We ripped about a 5 inch tear at the most aft tie point. Yikes!! (it’s worth noting that the main sail is older, and even though we had it checked out, these things happen.). We put the main back down and after we recovered from our shock, we put our new jib up. It performed beautifully and we motor sailed, average speed about 7 knots. I was very seasick, unfortunately. I don’t think the pastrami sandwich for lunch helped.

We arrived at Emerald Bay at about 7:15 pm. There is almost no one here and the weather is beautiful! We will spend the next day or two relaxing and fixing our mainsail the old fashioned way.

I want to take a moment to thank our family for supporting us in all of this. I know that some of our family members think this trip is a little crazy and dangerous, but they encourage and support us anyway. It means a lot to us. Love you guys!