Log book
Leaving the Golden Gate to Half moon Bay
1st December 2016
08.30 a.m. Leaving Richmond Yacht Club
Clear sky with sunshine and west wind. We put mainsail up just before pass under the Golden Gate bridge. Water inside the bay is calm but outside we can see swell with the binoculars. I sat at the bow to take video and some photos for about half and hour. Later the swell is more deeper I then experienced real sea sick and vomit the whole food I ate this morning. Will never do it again to eat anything before out in the ocean.
We can see the front line of the entrance to the Golden Gate. Left side has a Light house and a group of village. On the right side is a long patch of town, house and beach front construction lines a long way to south.
We did not make a shortcut out of bay . Turn left(south or to port) after pass the last buoy.
Swell…Along the way out the golden gate
4.30 p.m. Dock at Pillar Point Harbor, Half moon Bay
Half Moon Bay, Pillar Point Harbor
A commercial Fishing harbor atmosphere. With many live aboard boats anchored in the outer harbour and moored at the docks The symbol of the Half moon bay is a big moon satellite stand on the land. Half moon bay is the end of San Francisco Bay Area on the Pacific side about 30 miles from the Golden Gate Bridge. The city is part of San Mateo country. This harbor you can buy fresh Dungeness crab direct from a fisherman’s boat.
Moorage fees: US $ 26 / night
This includes free nice temperature shower, Laundry service but the electric cord is 50 amp plug in which we did not have. There is a 30 amp provides in guest slip but we did not want to move the boat. The harbour has an intricate system of overlapping harbour walls almost like a maze. The main reason for this is the famous Maverick Surfing waves which roar in just North of the harbour entrance. This time of year the swells tend to be very high and with wind waves 5 to 9 ft generated from the 25knots of wind the water is less than calm. We attempted to leave twice returning after an hour each time as the passage would have been endured rather than enjoyed. The day we left we had sunshine low swell and winds 15 to 20 knots. It was a great 50 mile sail and we made port just at dark.
There are local restaurant close to the harbor in a few minutes walking. Offering happy hour drink and live music. As it was winter time some restaurants were closed. Still keep these local restaurant busy on weekend. As they offered happy hours we could enjoy the music and sit inside or outside with the many propane heaters.
To go shopping there is a bus US $ 2.25 per person take you to the small town of Half Moon Bay about 10 miles away near by. See vegetation plant along the way. One thing we did find in the harbour was a very rare odyssey. DuFour only built 152 model 35 like ours. Most stayed in France. But we found our sister ship a few berths away. Small world.
Due to the weather forecast we could not keep continued the passage. Hard to explain. Cruising in winter is like a destiny….. You are continually looking at and listening to the weather forecasts. The fronts come through quickly and the windows have to be matched with the next port. Coast hopping is stressful as you are constantly coping with crab traps, literally thousands of the semi submerged things and the need to get into a harbour before dark, as they are usually complicated and difficult to navigate in daylight and are dangerous at night as they all shoal and have very small opening into the ocean. Also they tend to be spaced out at distances that make it difficult to reach in a small cruising boat in daylight hours. The dream of sailing down the coast in steady winds for days on end will have to wait a year.
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