Well, here we are now, 10 years later with many upgrades to the boat and many miles on this body of mine. The boat is in great shape with new chain plates throughout, new rigging, and new sails for starters. Debbie and I have worked hard to make this happen and now it is finally here. What can I say, we are persisting when all avenues of progress seem closed to us. Sometimes the world throws up barricades to any path that is not perceived normal but I’m here to tell you that normal is for the faint of heart. Don’t let societal norms dictate your future. Many years ago, I became a nurse. A male nurse is not a societal norm. Neither is living and cruising on a sailboat but here we are. Welcome aboard for our latest cruise to points south and beyond. The plan? Well let’s quote a famous cruising couple that set the hook in me. Lin and Larry Pardey,” for as long as it’s fun” and,” go small go now”.
We launched our current adventure with the 2025 Westsail rendezvous. A quick trip to Pier 39 in San Francisco Bay after both our retirements. We rented out the house and the slip at Glenn cove Marina. We made our way to Half Moon Bay without too much drama only to discover oil under the engine. We monitored the situation as we made our way to Monterey. More oil. I called our engine installer from 2006 and received some diagnostic suggestions. We delayed our departure for a day which turned out to be significant. The weather ended up being our next dilemma as we worked our way south through a mixed swell that tossed us this way and that as we progressed down the lost coast of California. Predict Wind and the NOOA weather service predicted gale force winds and we retreated to Morro Bay only to discover more oil in the bilge. The oil came from the transmission and most likely from the input shaft. I ordered new seals and we received bad news. Debbie’s mother was not well. She had surgery recently and it seemed to be too much for her failing heart. We divided to meet this new challenge.
Debbie returned to Vacaville and stayed with dear friends Mike and Kathy as we navigated these new challenges. The boat was on a mooring which added to the complexity of fixing the leaking seals. The weather was against us as an atmospheric river set in to make things ugly. The race was on. The new seals were overnighted to me from the east coast by H&M Marine. H&M are the best marine company on the west coast. They are the local Beta Marine dealer and a cut above the rest! Debbies best friend Kathy Modin volunteered to do the notoriously bad passage around cape conception to Santa Barbara. I quickly inserted the seals, reinstalled the transmission, provisioned, and made ready for sea.
The trip around the corner ended up being slightly anti climatic except for rising water in the bilge. Yes, you read that right. After we rounded the corner at Conception, I got the bright idea to turn on the water maker. Yes you guessed it we sprang a leak and the bilge pump started cycling way too often. Easy fix for now I just turned it off. Santa Barbara was a sight for sore eyes. We tied up to the harbor patrol dock and checked in. We got Sosiego settled in her berth, Kathy returned home and I rented a car to return to Vacaville.
More fun to come as we continued to work our way south to Ensenada. Keep tuned.
