Victoria, BC to the Sea of Cortez

Hawgwash said:

Where are we with the oil leak?

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The latest is that the internal leak (i.e. the drip into the oil pan) has subsided substantially. Since San Francisco it's probably been 50ml or so. Why has it decreased? Not sure. I've got a different type of oil in the engine now (Delo 400 15W40 vs some generic Canadian Tire 15W40 diesel oil), and maybe the Bars Leaks Engine Repair additive has done something to help, too.

I've finally got a new fuel lift pump coming from American Diesel, so if the oil leak is actually from the lift pump (it can be difficult to tell when that's the source), then it should reduce even more, or stop altogether.

I'd say I'm losing more oil out the back end than anything, although the more I stare at the exhaust the more it looks like a white smoke than blue.

Again, will continue to monitor as we make our way to San Diego and I'll figure out if we need to get it looked at or if we can just manage it while we head further south.

The original plan was to hang out in Monterey until Wednesday, but there's some nasty weather due to hit this part of the coast on Thursday, so we decided to leave today (Sunday) in order to get to Morro Bay well in advance of it (11 foot swell with wind on top).

Ironically that meant heading to Pebble Beach during a Small Craft Advisory. Though the wind wasn't too bad, we saw 8-foot short period waves just outside the marina. We slowed down to 4 knots and ended up having to tack our way to the Pebble Beach anchorage to avoid getting hit directly on the beam. Ended up anchoring under a full moon just by the mooring buoys. It's very rolly and I'd definitely have tried a stern anchor if we hadn't arrived after sunset.

So why leave in nasty weather? Leaving on Wednesday would have meant 17 days in Monterey which was already an extension of the two week limit for transients. The SSB and solar panel are already installed and working well, and we already received the watermaker, so we just threw the watermaker boxes in the v-berth for now and headed on out. Figured we could deal with rough seas for a couple hours. Would the marina have forced us out in bad weather on Wednesday? Doubt it, but we also didn't want to find ourselves in Monterey for three weeks plus.

11 hours to San Simeon tomorrow. Still 5-7 foot swell and 1-3 foot wind waves, but we'll be taking it on the stern instead of the beam, so it should be an okay ride. Tuesday will be a quick 4-hour jaunt to Morro Bay.

Is that Stillwater Cove where you're anchored? I hope you had an ok night. For future reference it's not recommended if there is a southerly swell running (there's a SW component right now.)

That having been said - it's one of my favorite spots (check the name of my boat.)

Richard

VicTrawler said:

So why leave in nasty weather? Leaving on Wednesday would have meant 17 days in Monterey which was already an extension of the two week limit for transients.

Would the marina have forced us out in bad weather on Wednesday? Doubt it, but we also didn't want to find ourselves in Monterey for three weeks plus.

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With all due respect, those type decisions are the ones that get us in trouble. How long you'd intended to be there or had actually been there really doesn't need to be part of your decision as to whether conditions are appropriate for leaving.

Glad you made it safely to your next stop. Don't argue with your decision but do have a problem in making things like I quoted part of that decision.

BandB said:

With all due respect, those type decisions are the ones that get us in trouble. How long you'd intended to be there or had actually been there really doesn't need to be part of your decision as to whether conditions are appropriate for leaving.

Glad you made it safely to your next stop. Don't argue with your decision but do have a problem in making things like I quoted part of that decision.

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I agree. Weather should be the only consideration in your decision to leave port. On a practical side no harbor master is going to ask you to leave during SCA conditions, although they might expect you to get underway at the first opportunity after the seas abate.

Well if any thing you are finding out the capabilities of your boat in rough seas. Kay and I wish you the best. Please be safe.

ksanders said:

I agree. Weather should be the only consideration in your decision to leave port.

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The mere mention of Morro Bay gives me goose bumps.

He is underway according to his spot, but has a ways to go....


SPOT Shared Page

Alaskan Sea-Duction said:

He is underway according to his spot, but has a ways to go....


SPOT Shared Page

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I'm glad to hear he had a safe night - he must have if he's now underway. In that case I can share something that I felt inappropriate while he was still in Stillwater Cove. I know someone whose boat sank there during a southerly swell in October 2009. Admittedly he made a number of mistakes, but it's really not a place to be in those conditions.

https://www.latitude38.com/lectronic/lectronicday.lasso?date=2009-12-02

Richard

Hawgwash said:

The mere mention of Morro Bay gives me goose bumps.

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I don't have the option of doing it by boat right now but I'll be driving the California Coast Monterey to Santa Barbara in a short two weeks.

I have a customer replacing a generator end in Santa Barbara harbor, and he told me that a 50' slip there goes for in the $160K range

ksanders; said:

I have a customer replacing a generator end in Santa Barbara harbor, and he told me that a 50' slip there goes for in the $160K range

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Exactly double that in Vancouver.
$320k US.
Yaletown Boat Slip for sale: Quayside Marina, Free hold Slip 50 x 25

When I said goose bumps, I was thinking of the entrance.

ksanders said:

I don't have the option of doing it by boat right now but I'll be driving the California Coast Monterey to Santa Barbara in a short two weeks.

I have a customer replacing a generator end in Santa Barbara harbor, and he told me that a 50' slip there goes for in the $160K range

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If you find one for $160K grab it. We looked at a GB42 in a 50' slip in Marina 1 and the guy wanted $250K for the slip. And he'll get it. There's a guy dangling a 40' upwind who doesn't really need to sell and wants $150K for it. The last 40' sold last week for $112K, and it was considered a bargain.

It's a mad mad mad world down here. I just signed the final paperwork (and cut the check) for our first trawler, which may just be in a SB guest slip for a couple of weeks starting Sunday (if we can close on Friday.)

ksanders said:

...

I have a customer replacing a generator end in Santa Barbara harbor, and he told me that a 50' slip there goes for in the $160K range

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As I understand it, Santa Barbara is a municipal marina and the slips are not privately owned. The permit for the slip can be transferred with the sale of a boat however. So is this $160K price tag on top of the FMV for a vessel occupying the slip?

Richard

questionmark said:

If you find one for $160K grab it. We looked at a GB42 in a 50' slip in Marina 1 and the guy wanted $250K for the slip. And he'll get it. There's a guy dangling a 40' upwind who doesn't really need to sell and wants $150K for it. The last 40' sold last week for $112K, and it was considered a bargain.

It's a mad mad mad world down here. I just signed the final paperwork (and cut the check) for our first trawler, which may just be in a SB guest slip for a couple of weeks starting Sunday (if we can close on Friday.)

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If you are serious about the slip I can get the person selling it to call you.

I don't want to bug him for general inquieries though as he is my customer, not someone I know all that well. PM works.

Britannia said:

As I understand it, Santa Barbara is a municipal marina and the slips are not privately owned. The permit for the slip can be transferred with the sale of a boat however. So is this $160K price tag on top of the FMV for a vessel occupying the slip?

Richard

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Acording to him you are buying the rights to rent the slip from the city. The same thing applies even if you "own" a slip. There is generally a fairly large "condo association" fee that includes maint, and money for eventual float replacement.

I have no need for a slip in SB even though it would be nice since my mom lives there, I have a need for the $$ more than the slip.

Morro Bay's a sweetheart in normal weather like any number of other inlets. It became infamous by some videos shot of the CG doing some foul weather practice out there. Doesn't look too good the end of the week. Next couple of days not so bad.

http://www.wunderground.com/MAR/PZ/645.html

Hawgwash could be recalling George C Scott leaving MB against locals advice. Yes there is an 80' motoryacht in there.

CPseudonym said:

Hawgwash could be recalling George C Scott leaving MB against locals advice. Yes there is an 80' motoryacht in there.

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Yeah, that's what I think of when I hear "Morro Bay."
I have a large framed picture of Mojo hanging in my living room and a letter from Scott J Redd, the photographer, explaining the circumstances.
He had heard the scuttlebutt and knew what was coming so set up his camera and waited. Just to the left of the buoy is a USCG cutter tagging along.

Just to the left of the buoy is a small boat (a Calkins Bartender, maybe) doing just fine

The slip sale dance in Santa Barbara is pretty unique , it is correct that you can buy the rights to pay the lease to the city for the slip. When we sold our 35' slip there in 92 we got just under 15k for ours, the entire exchange is done through a attorney and the funds held in escrow. The city picks up a "fee" to change legal lease rights to the tune of about $ 400.00 per lineal foot of boat, including all overhanging stuff!. They have a cash cow and they know it.. that is why they allow transfers. When I spent a few days there in May on a trip up the coast there were a couple 35' slips available in the
$ 75,000-80,000 range.
The reason it is so pricey is it is the best place to keep a boat in all of
so cal.. period.
I like Washington but if I could have a slip and house there for what I have invested here i would be gone in a flash.. except for the drought thing.

HOLLYWOOD

Slip sell in SB is thread drift guys.......


Hope Mark and Eden have a safe journey......

Looks like I have some catching up to do here. We're now in Morro Bay. The entrance was a non-event. 2-4 foot swell. River-like.

Santa Cruz was still the most challenging entrance for us... even worse than the Columbia River, but much shorter!

Must be a lack of competition among multiple marina providers (as if there were many) in Santa Barbara with its mostly very-rich residents. Thank goodness for the San Francisco estuary (bays and delta) with its many private and municipal marinas. Berths are relatively cheap compared to home prices.

How were your anchorages on the way down from Pebble or did you go straight through?

Britannia said:

Is that Stillwater Cove where you're anchored? I hope you had an ok night. For future reference it's not recommended if there is a southerly swell running (there's a SW component right now.)

That having been said - it's one of my favorite spots (check the name of my boat.)

Richard

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Yup, it was rolly as heck. So was the next one (San Simeon). It was either that or cruise in the darkness, and I'd rather be in an unpleasant anchorage than pull an overnighter, though they're both not great options. Doesn't look like the SW swell is going to let up anytime soon.

BandB said:

With all due respect, those type decisions are the ones that get us in trouble. How long you'd intended to be there or had actually been there really doesn't need to be part of your decision as to whether conditions are appropriate for leaving.

Glad you made it safely to your next stop. Don't argue with your decision but do have a problem in making things like I quoted part of that decision.

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You're absolutely right. Fortunately things worked out, but at the end of the day there was no need to go out in bad weather.

Britannia said:

I'm glad to hear he had a safe night - he must have if he's now underway. In that case I can share something that I felt inappropriate while he was still in Stillwater Cove. I know someone whose boat sank there during a southerly swell in October 2009. Admittedly he made a number of mistakes, but it's really not a place to be in those conditions.

https://www.latitude38.com/lectronic/lectronicday.lasso?date=2009-12-02

Richard

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Appreciate you waiting until afterwards to post the story! We actually anchored in darkness, though under a full moon and with a great handheld flashlight. Managed to find a decent spot just before the mooring balls and the anchor set on the first try.

caltexflanc said:

How were your anchorages on the way down from Pebble or did you go straight through?

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We anchored at San Simeon as well. Took the advice of a reviewer on Active Captain and tucked into the point as far as possible but it was no use with the SW swell. Pretty miserable night. If we had arrived earlier, with more light, I may have attempted a stern anchor to keep us pointed into the swell.

After two lumpy nights a dock at the yacht club must feel great. Really enjoying the voyage......

rochepoint said:

After two lumpy nights a dock at the yacht club must feel great. Really enjoying the voyage......

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Feels like we're in a hotel room. Didn't know a boat could be this steady and still afloat.