As I mentioned in the last post, we took off from Drakes Bay on Friday morning – into the fog.  We had dense fog all day, but the sea and wind were very calm.  Of course, we couldn’t see much in terms of sea life to report, but there are a lot of common Murres in this area.  They remind me of a cross between a duck and a penguin and they are not skittish, so they are fun to watch.

There was another sailboat (the Andante, we learned), who was following close behind us and we were in communication with throughout the day.  We met the captain, Dennis, who is single-handing, here at Bodega Bay after we both docked.  He is on his way to Oregon from Mexico, where he spent several years.  He is retired from the coast guard, and doesn’t like the fog either – makes me feel like less of a wimp.

We arrived at Bodega Bay at around 4 pm – when we approached the harbor entrance the fog lifted a little so it was easier to navigate the entrance.  Entering a new harbor always makes us a little nervous.  There is usually a lot of activity around entrances and it is unknown territory, but so far every harbor has been really well marked and clear.

We are in Spud Point Marina, which is reportedly 80% fishing boats.  It has all the usual amenities – hot showers, laundry facilities, etc.  On Friday evening, my cousin Andy and his family came over and we all went to get fish and chips locally – it was really great food, and seeing our family was lovely.  We took a drive up the coast and the coastline here is breathtaking.  Andy also delivered my new GoPro camera, and I have plans to add a weekly video to the blog once I get the thing figured out!

Yesterday my step-sister Carolyn and her family picked us up and we drove to the Armstrong Redwoods and had a picnic lunch. The trees are always so awesome and majestic.  We loved it.  We also squeezed in some shopping and had an all around good time. Today our family is coming back and we’re going to have a BBQ aboard.  Life is good!

Our next stop up the coast is the Noyo River/Fort Bragg.  It’s 85nm from here, which translates into about 18 hours predicted travel time, our longest day so far. We are looking for a good weather window for this leg especially, because it is so long.  Right now the forecast shows the winds decreasing early Tuesday for several hours, but the waves and swells are still forecast to be large, which would mean a lot of fighting against them and/or uncomfortable rolling and slower progress.  We may be here a while!

Beautiful coast

Cousins!

Foggy but calm

Andante coming out of the fog

Dorian, Andy, Britt and Evie

Us

Our clan at bullfrog pond

Murres