Last night was a shocker. Not quite sufficient wind to keep the sail from collapsing in the seaway. A little more wind or a bit less sea and everything would have been fine. All night spent crashing and banging, rocking and rolling – all to keep moving at between two and three knots.
Our distance made good yesterday was only seventy-nine miles. Its proving to be a slow trip, our average speed so far is a miserable three point six knots. Mustn’t complain, I know one guy who took two months to get down this coast.
The sunrise was awesome. First the moon popped up, then Jupiter followed by the sun. I was happy to see the sun, last night was perishing cold – I was wearing two wardrobes. The fickle wind persisted until just after noon when a north westerly breeze started in – just as forecast.
Its turned out to be a beautiful warm sunny day, this is California weather a day early. By three in the afternoon all sail was set and heading south at over six knots. We have passed Coos Bay and Cape Blanco will be abeam around seven this evening. Only another hundred and sixty miles to the infamous Cape Mendocino. If the wind holds I can make my date in San Francisco. Voyage distance 567.8 miles.
The Adventures of Captain Ray Penson 
Leave a Reply