G'day mates! I am writing to let you know that I am safe and sound (as they say). The reason why there have been no updates is solely due to the fact that I am no longer writing this blog. Thank you kindly to all that have followed us. Please feel free to email us directly for future updates. Thanks - Megan

6:45 PM - Thursday, December 15, 2011

Current location: San Diego. Arrived  Tuesday night and got a slip here on Shelter Island. Perks include unlimited showers, beautiful view of San Diego Bay, and one of my favorites - stepping right off the boat and on to LAND.  Downsides include walking many miles by foot to retrieve your breakfast/groceries/yarn/etc. Ok so the latter I have not yet retrieved, but I'm just sayin...
I'm kind of out of steam and the days between my last post and today's seem to have all knit together into one big blur so I'll just let you know some of the highlights. When I last posted, we had just arrived in LA Harbor and anchored there for the night with the hopes of getting a slip in the morning. Unfortunately we were rejected from the harbors there for a couple of reasons and so we moved on to Long Beach where Anna came to our rescue and picked us up from shore and welcomed us to her house in Laguna Hills that she shares with her husband Matt, and darling four legged furball, Bella. Bella um, reeeeally liked the Captain. Oh, and speaking of which, if you are planning on investing in toys for your four legged friend, I highly recommend the Scheetz method which involves saving your money, and instead using an invisible ball for a game of catch!

 It had been about a week since our last shower and we couldn't have been more grateful for hot showers, bbq, a trip to the grocery store, and a night spent off the boat and on an air mattress. As for Anna...well she was just, really into the dinghy....haha.

Anyway. Thank you Anna and Matt. You guys were lifesavers. And your shower was really nice too. And your goat cheese burgers. And your blankets on your air mattress sure were comfy. It sure is nice to have friends...

Um, and then the days following that were kind of blurred together...anchored out in Dana Point for a couple of nights waiting out the rain. Oh my goodness. Speaking of rain. It's raining outside. What?! That's just great. I'm really glad I chose this very hour to walk a mile to this internet cafe. Was this in the forecast??

Anyway. Dolphins, and orcas, and grey whales - oh my! Yep we saw all three of these amazing creatures on our route to San Diego. Unfortunately I was only able to capture the dolphins on camera.

The dolphins are cute. They like swimming along with the Red Star. Can I post videos on here? Let's see.

Pretty awesome.

The whale was amazing too. It was huuuge!

By the way, I'm reading Life of Pi right now. I know what you are thinking...that book was so like 10 years ago. But in the past I have not had any spare time to read. I'm amazed at the amount of time this vaacation has given me. I'm amazed that I actually have time to READ A BOOK. Also just finished Buzz Aldrin, What Ever Happened to You in All The Confusion? Funny how both books involve life boats. Hope that's not foreshadowing anything. ANYWAY... oh! Visited a great used bookstore here in Point Loma and guess what I happened to stumble upon - T.C. Boyle's "Tortilla Curtain". Of course I had to pick it up.

Ok. I'm starting to bore myself now. Does anyone read this anymore? Is there anyone out there? Is it still raining outside? Will we ever get to Mexico? Sigh.

9:00 AM - Friday, December 9, 2011

Good morning, Vietnam! Oops, what I mean to say was good morning, Los Angeles! After an exhilarating night of creaks and groans and rasps and moans and swishes and splashes, we departed what I will always remember as the haunted Santa Rosa Island. Of course this island was not haunted, but as I mentioned in my previous post, this was simply MY perspective of the situation.  Every now and then Andy and I will switch up our positions in the bed, so instead of lying with our heads facing the bow of the boat, we’ll flip around so we are facing the stern. Why do we do this? Just for kicks. And sometimes after sleepless nights of tossing and turning, with the intentions of a better night’s sleep. Sometimes it helps! Sometimes it does not and you end up dreaming of large shadows of bug-like aliens creeping down the companionway, delightful purple colored my little pony characters who introduce themselves as “Jennifer”, and you think “this dream isn’t so bad after all”, but no, look who else has shown up  - it’s an ultra scary sorcerer man in a black hooded robe standing at the top of the companionway. He looks eeringly similar to the old wrinkly man on Star Wars, and just as he lifts his fingers and it looks like lightening bolts may fire out of them, you turn to your sleeping Captain and start shaking him “wake up! Wake up!” but he doesn’t wake up. Then you wake up and realize it was all a dream. In this case, the latter happened, and too chilled to go back to sleep and risk what else might emerge from that companionway I lay wide awake next to a happily sleeping Captain and instead listened to all the intriguing colorful sounds that awake from an anchored boat.  And that is how I will always remember Santa Rosa Island.  I think I’ll sleep in the other direction from now on…      

But enough about the weird and crazy dreams that apparently transpire from my twisted head…

We departed the Island of Sorcerers and Aliens and My Little Ponies around 6:30 AM and arrived here in Los Angeles Harbor around 2:30 AM this morning. But I take no credit in the arrival since I abandoned the Captain early in the night to rest my twisted head down and prepare for another night of warped and misshapen dreams. But I won’t get into those right now. If for some strange reason, you DO have interest in the oh-so-vivid dreams that I seem to be having every single night since our departure from Sausalito, please feel free to visit my dream blog at http://redstardreamsandnightmaresandsorcerersohmy.blogspot.com.

9:00 AM - Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Current location – Cuyler Harbor at San Miguel Island. Arrived here Monday around sunset after a thrilling sail from Cojo Anchorage. And by thrilling I mean – I thought I was going to die. But wait, let me back up a bit here.  Saturday morning we decided we weren’t quite ready to leave Morro Bay as early as anticipated so we ended up taking the dinghy into town, doing a load of laundry, taking showers, treating ourselves to breakfast & wifi at The Rockin Dog Café, and filling up our precious water jugs. Afterward we made a short and sweet spree over to San Luis Obispo where we anchored for the night.   

Sunday morning, knowing we had a big day ahead of us, rose at 4:30 am with the hope to get around Point Conception and anchored by dinner time. Mission accomplished and by sunset we had planted ourselves in Cojo Anchorage.  A little discouraged by two sailboats washed up on the shore, Andy set the GPS anchor alarm - an alarm that would sound if our anchor drifted a certain distance during the night. The next morning, it did just that, and before we knew it the winds were roaring and we were being pushed towards shore, so just like that – it was time to vacate and move on.

And that brings me back to the part where I thought I was going to die. Let me preface this and ensure you that we were not going to die, but that was simply my perspective of the situation. The wind was blowing harder than it had on any other prior day – and the waves were bigger than any other waves we had seen prior – and the boat was heeling over even more than any other prior days.  And so while I sat in my foulweather gear, clutching the lifelines, listening to the driving wind, my eyes glued to each looming wave, bringing the Red Star up to the top of each wave, and back down to the bottommost, I couldn’t help but think – this could be the big one…this one could knock us over.

Meanwhile back at the ranch, the Captain here was yes – experiencing the same weather as I – the same wind, the same waves crashing, etc. but instead he was extremely calm and composed, and I looked at him while he cautiously maneuvered around a boat which was completely on its side, crouching down to attach the jib, getting absolutely drenched in the process and hardly flinching (I can’t say the same for myself), getting up to raise the jib, and doing whatever the heck else he was doing up there (at one point I saw him pulling out his pliers as if he was making small alterations and adjustments right before the demise of the Red Star). And the whole time I sat there refusing to go inside (where I felt even more certain of our demise than outside), with one eye on a totally relaxed Andy, and the other on each thundering wave. More than anything I just wanted Andy to tell me that we weren’t going to die, that it was completely IMPOSSIBLE for the Red Star to topple over upside down, but the thing about Andy is that he’s honest. While he did insure me that everything was okay and we weren’t going to die, he did respond to my capsizing boat inquiry with “Well sure it could! But it’s probably not going to. And even if it does, it’ll come right back up again”. Great.  Just great.  To make a long story just a bit less long, the wind ended up eventually dying down, the waves ended up eventually lessening, and the boat ended up leveling out. As for me…well, I ended up leveling out too…one Dramamine and one Ativan later. And just like that, the wind ceased.  Interesting how that happens…

We made it to San Miguel Island by sunset, and had a pretty eventful night of rock and roll, but when we awoke the next morning, we awoke to one of the most picturesque harbors and one of the most beautiful days thus far.

The sun was shining, the air warm, the water serene, and our own private harbor and beach – just for us – oh, well – and the elephant seals too.  

Yesterday morning (Tuesday), after a gourmet breakfast courtesy of the Captain, we set out to shore in the trusty dinghy. Passing by loads of elephant seals (mostly females, but a few males too), we made it up the canyon to one of the few spots that visitors are allowed to hike up to – Cabrillo Monument.

European discoverer of California, Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, was believed to have died at Cuyler Harbor in 1543, and in 1937 this monument was placed in his memory.

Took some pictures and opted for hiking towards the Ranger’s Station – the other spot that visitors are permitted to visit.

Those two spots are the only locations visitors are allowed to hike to on San Miguel. All other hiking has to be ranger escorted and obviously previous reservations have to be made. What a shame – a beautiful island all to ourselves and we were only limited to less than 1 mile of hiking.

 I asked Andy then, “Do you think we’re the only ones on this island right now?” He responded “Probably not”. I responded “But maybe probably we ARE!” Less than a minute later, as we approached the ranger’s station, a man with a camera around his neck came into view. He was a photographer, and he had just arrived via plane with a group of others – namely, the fictional novelist, T.C. Boyle, who was writing a novel that takes place on the island, and he had come to research and see San Miguel for the first time. The rest of the group was composed of four others, including a non-fiction writer who has written nearly 10 books on the island and who’s claim to fame includes belonging to the “all 8 club” (a small elite group of those few who have actually set foot on all 8 Channel  Islands), and the very knowledgeable ranger.  Civilization! Other human beings!

They were just about to depart on a hike around the island and the ranger kindly invited us to tag along. Of course we couldn’t help but accept the offer. What a treat to get a private guided tour of the island jam-packed with history, geography, and mystery too.

We couldn’t have picked a better time to arrive at the Ranger’s  station that day.  As for today, today we sail to the next island over – Santa Rosa Island.        

12:00 PM - Friday, December 2, 2011

Ahoy! Greetings from Morro Bay! News update: We’ve decided to cancel our trip to Mexico. Who needs Mexico when you’ve got Morro Bay? Yep, we’re still here. Can’t get any better than this – a hot shower along the Embarcadero…just a short kayak trip away – and it only costs one quarter for every 2 minutes! This is livin…

Of course I’m only kidding…we still plan on heading down to Mexico…eventually…. It’s just so nice to take our sweet time. We are on vacation aren’t we?

By the way, I just want to take a moment to respond to my last post. I didn’t mean what I said about being stuck on a boat with a crazy person. I’m not stuck. Shore is actually quite close and Andy even set up the kayak so I could head out here by my very own self today! J But yeah. He’s not crazy….all the time. Sometimes he’s really quite endearing…and plays nice songs on the guitar too…

Today is really nice. Much calmer than the last two previous which were pretty windy there for a moment. The beach here is beautiful. It’s so relieving to be able to walk along a beach without another human in sight. Well, except for this one

Another correction to a previous post. What we previously identified as a sandpiper was actually a long-billed curlew. Lots of curlews here on the beach. Cute little guys.

We did, however, identify these guys as some kind of sandpiper. Maybe a least sandpiper or sanderling? We sort of walked in on their town meeting…

And of course Andy felt the need to adjourn the meeting...

Went on a nice run through Morro Bay State Park yesterday. After 4 days without showering, we decided to go out with a bang and get to our dirtiest and sweatiest states before rewarding ourselves with a nice hot shower at the local restrooms along the Embarcadero – 2 minutes for every quarter. That was really nice.  You sure don’t appreciate the luxury of a nice hot shower until you don’t have it at your disposal whenever you want it!

Spent the rest of the day with a lot of rest and relaxation…reading, knitting, crossword puzzling… Even got the Captain to play a game of Scrabble with me.  He claims that it isn’t his forte, but I beg to differ.  Who ever heard of a bolide?! I predict many games of Scrabble in his future…

In case you were wondering, we are eating quite well on the Red Star, despite Cara’s 3 star reviews  (or so the napkins claim…). Since the only real cookbook I own on the boat is the Greens cookbook I try and experiment a new recipe every now and then.  And Andy is a really great cook too. We’ve been taking turns, but I have to say cooking every meal can get quite exhaustifying, especially after factoring in the dishes (as well as trying to factor a persimmon into every meal). But it’s nice…and makes us appreciate the very few times we do decide to treat ourselves.

So I guess the plan is to leave early tomorrow morning for San Miguel Island. (We always say early…) Here’s a cute little pelicano for you to enjoy while you wait for our next post.              

           

7:20 PM - Tuesday, November 29, 2011

If anyone is reading this, please help. I’m stuck on a boat with a crazy person. That is all I have to report today. That, and we didn’t leave for Morro Bay until this morning. We ended up lounging around in San Simeone Bay for the remainder of the day yesterday. After a late start, we decided exercise might be beneficial to our mental states, so we threw on our running clothes, hopped into the kayak, and headed for shore. Due to our lack of finesse in the dismount, we ended up getting tossed over by a wave and soaked….which was um, a little unexpected and chilling to say the least. After wringing ourselves dry, we continued on our way…running a nice little 4 miler up Highway 1 –highlight – gigantic elephant seal in a heavy slumber on the beach.  Saw some cute little sandpipers, as well as your usual tidepool dwellers – sea anenomes and hermit crabs. Andy led the run back, speeding the pace up quite a bit and leaving me in the dust – but, what’s new? Sigh. The kayak back was a little more successful, and I took my first saltwater bath of the trip when we returned. Also chilling, but better than being covered in sweat and sand.

Got into Morro Bay around 3 pm today after a nice 5 hour sail. 

Desperately seeking a hot shower.  Pretty happy about our current anchorage though. Morro Bay Harbor is extremely protected here so no rockin and rollin tonight, thank goodness. Really looking forward to not spilling my breakfast. Also really looking forward to not tossing my lunch across the boat and desperately searching for it. As for the Captain, he spills his coffee at least once a day regardless of the movement of the boat.

We may hang out here until Friday due to heavy winds in the local forecast.  Hopefully we can get some more running in, because like I mentioned before, I’m stuck on a boat with a crazy person and he would probably the say the same if he were writing this. Please note that I did offer the blog entry for today to Andy, but he politely refused, so I will have to speak for the both of us. The sea lions are barking outside and Andy keeps saying they’ve followed him from Pier 39. I know he secretly loves them though…he just can’t get enough of those guys…

That's the news for tonight. Keep you posted in the next couple of days. Oh, one more thing - Happy birthday, Kristen :)

9:30 AM - Monday, November 28, 2011

Current location: San Simeone Bay. Estimated time of arrival: 4:00 AM this morning. Estimated time of departure from Monterey Bay: 11:00 AM yesterday. Miles traveled: 90. Hours spent actually sailing: 3 at most. Estimated speed of the Red Star during that time: 3.5 knots.  Hours spent actually sleeping: 4 at most. Hours spent shrouded in fog listening to Led Zeppelin: undetermined – a lot. Current location of coffee: to my right, and spilling down the front of my fleece. Current location of the Captain: sleeping in the cabin down below. Current location of persimmon pudding: in my belly – I was hungry when I went to sleep, and hungry as soon as I awoke! Thank you kindly to Maria and Oswaldo for the abundance of persimmons currently on the Red Star. A persimmon a day keeps the doctor away! And if anyone wants to make the trip down to Morro Bay, we still have a whole other persimmon pudding in the frig. Estimated distance to Morro Bay: 23 miles. Estimated time of arrival: 5 hours. Estimated time of departure: Undetermined – whenever the Captain awakes from his slumber.