Schooner Martha Adventures: We made it to San Deigo!

Sunday, Nov. 9^th -- We worked on a couple projects this morning, sanding and varnishing in the cockpit and the forward pin rail. We also did a good down below clean, vacuum and vinegar wash. In the after, Mary, Holly and Robert headed off to a wedding and I found a bagel shop to get a blog post up and get some other computer work done. Since they were gone all night, Annie, Rosie and I had a mac + cheese and movie night! Very exciting life that we lead.

Monday, Nov. 10^th – Another quiet day around the boat getting projects done, shopping and getting the boat ready. Our guests for the week, MB and her boys, Caleb (2) and Reid (4) and another women, Tenley for a Channel Islands/San Diego adventure!

Tuesday, Nov. 11^th – We headed for the islands around noon and with the light wind and direction we decided to anchor at Anacapa! With not many places to anchor and most of them being quite open, the weather has to be pretty settled (light wind and swell). We anchored up in Frenchy’s Cove around 3ish and spent the afternoon playing. Some went ashore but Annie and I took the paddled board and went around looking at the caves and exploring little beaches. We found some good shells and did some awesome rock scrambling. While working on putting the baot back on board, Reid was helping me and I told him how strong he was and he said, “I am strong! As strong as a hot dog!” They are too cute!

Wednesday, Nov. 12^th – We left early to head for Santa Cruz hoping to anchor up in Willows or Alberts. We ended up in Coches and dropped anchor, but didn’t like the wind so we upped anchor and went around to Alberts, but then the wind died and we upped anchor again and back to Coches. Too much anchor cranking in my opinion! We headed ashore and spen the afternoon walking the beach collecting shells. I found a beautiful cowry and teeny tiny abalone, just a little bit bigger then my thumbnail with a hole through the top, perfect for a necklace (Christmas is coming up!). My drawer and bag are slowly filling up with more and more shells. It was a blast to play and run in the sand with Caleb and Reid. They are just too cute, it is lovely to have that kid energy on board.

Thursday, Nov. 13^th – We had breakfast and then went ashore. Annie, Tenley and I went for a little hike up the valley and found a little natural spring running through the road! We got to stick our toes in it, which was the best! Before lunch, we upped anchor and headed for Willows Anchorage. While I was flaking chain, Caleb came up and joined me in the foks’l. We hung out in there and played with the flashlight and looked at the chain and all the lines and stuff that is stored in there. Reid also joined the party, too cute to watch them play together and figure out what all the things up in the foks’l are. We anchored up in Willows, and what a beautiful spot! It is a little beach tucked behind a cliff on one side and two huge rocks on the other. Martha was all snuggled up in there. We had a couple beautiful, yet brief rain showers! We couldn’t resist running around on deck letting the rain fall on our faces!! Later in the afternoon we went ashore for some beach play and walked back and forth collecting shells and finding cool things in the tide pools. There are SO MANY abalone shells on the beach! I think mostly because this is a not often visited spot, awesome for us! I found a beautiful little snail and brought him back to the rocks and watched him emerge from his shell (he was a vibrant red color), find the rock and then start sliding his way down to the water. Totally cool! Later that evening, we hiked up to the top of the ridge for a stunning view of Martha and the surrounding area. The sun was about to set so the clouds were gorgeous along with the fog that had settled in some of the valleys.

Friday, Nov. 14^th – We had a shore party in the morning and while MB and her boys were off on the hike, Mary and I set up a little treasure hunt for them, map and buried treasure (31 cents!) and all! After that excitement, we played in the waves, jumping, screaming and laughing with the two cuties. We upped anchor just before lunch and headed for Smugglers Cove (finally!) for the afternoon before our night sail to Catalina. We have been wanting to go ashore at Smugglers for a while but there has to be a small swell because it is pretty open to the elements. There is an old olive grove on the hill and we walked up through to the top of the hill for a beautiful view of Martha and the ocean out towards Catalina. The two youngsters hiked all the way up (there may have been a few piggy back rides) too! Unfortunately, we had to get back to the boat to run jack lines and get the boat ready for the night otherwise we would have explored more, next year! Due to the lack of wind, it was a motor-job to Catalina, but my watch had a beautiful moonrise. It looked like a big dish coming up over the horizon and slowly bathing Martha in more light. The stars were, as always, awesome. Being up multiple times during the night is always fun because you can watch your favorite constellations rise and move across the sky.

Saturday, Nov. 15^th – We were outside Little Harbor by 8 but decided that with the large swell rolling in there, it would be difficult getting in there and not so much fun to try and land on the beach so we headed to Catalina Harbor instead. We picked up a mooring and put the boat away and then took a nice long nap before lunch. Annie, Rosie and I spent the afternoon exploring, swinging and walking the beach and taking a little hike before meeting up with the rest of the gang for ice cream! Thank you MB, you are the best!

Sunday, Nov. 16^th – A very strong Santa Ana wind blew in so we stayed put on the boat all day (a little tough considering we are used to running around on shore everyday) but it meant that I had no choice but to type up all my journal notes into a blog! After that, I worked on some art projects with Mary and made some postcards and finger painting drawings with the boys. It was a quiet afternoon, resting before the night sail. We let go of the mooring around 3 and sailed out of the harbor in the all of a sudden extremely light winds and motored to get out from behind the lee of Catalina Island. We sailed off and on all night but the Santa Ana winds kicked up quite a different swell and it was a lumpy bumpy night even when we were sailing!

Monday, Nov. 17^th – We arrived outside San Diego around 7:30, fueled up and were docked at the Southwestern Yacht Club by 9:30! We did a massive boat clean and fresh water rinse/scrub on deck and put our bunks back together. The lumpy night seemed to make the boat turn inside out. After lunch, I am headed to find a coffee shop to find wifi to post this blog post and lots of photos!