“To be truly challenging, a voyage, like a life, must rest on a firm foundation of financial unrest. Otherwise, you are doomed to a routine traverse, the kind known to yachtsmen who play with their boats at sea… cruising, it is called. Voyaging belongs to seamen, and to the wanderers of the world who cannot, or will not, fit in. If you are contemplating a voyage and you have the means, abandon the venture until your fortunes change. Only then will you know what the sea is all about. I’ve always wanted to sail to the south seas, but I can’t afford it. What these men can’t afford is not to go. They are enmeshed in the cancerous discipline of security. And in the worship of security we fling our lives beneath the wheels of routine – and before we know it our lives are gone. What does a man need – really need? A few pounds of food each day, heat and shelter, six feet to lie down in – and some form of working activity that will yield a sense of accomplishment. That’s all – in the material sense, and we know it. But we are brainwashed by our economic system until we end up in a tomb beneath a pyramid of time payments, mortgages, preposterous gadgetry, playthings that divert our attention for the sheer idiocy of the charade. The years thunder by, The dreams of youth grow dim where they lie caked in dust on the shelves of patience. Before we know it, the tomb is sealed. Where, then, lies the answer? In choice. Which shall it be: bankruptcy of purse or bankruptcy of life?”
- Sterling Hayden
We recently purchased a 1979 Amel Maramu ketch, a legendary cruising boat that is quite popular in Europe and with many American sailors as well. Join Jean and I as we perform our shakedown sail, a leisurely cruise from San Francisco to Monterey Bay. We start off with a quick sail to Half Moon Bay where we are joined by Dave’s parents for a dinner at Barbara’s Fish Trap. Barbara’s is an old favorite of ours. Winds were light leaving the Bay so we mostly motored upwind until we cleared the channel and were able to turn south. Here’s a picture of Pacifica, more specifically Point San Pedro where Jean grew up. Dave grew up just a mile or so from this point. Dave’s dad drove out to Pedro Point, as it is more commonly known, and called us on the cell phone to say he could see us. That was right about the time this picture was taken. Pacifica is about 15 miles south of San Francisco.
After spending the night in Hall Moon Bay we set off for Santa Cruz. We enjoyed some great sailing with the boat hitting over 9 knots at times. Here’s a shot of us rolling along nicely.
When we arrived in Santa Cruz we were told to raft up to a steel sailboat on the end of one of the docks. There is a shortage of dock space in Santa Cruz so sometimes you have to tie up to another boat instead of a dock. We spent our first full day in Santa Cruz repairing a fitting that was part of a modification made by the previous owner of the boat. Although we spent a good part of the day working on it the good news is that the local boatyard was able to reweld the fitting for $45 so we didn’t spend much money and we learned more about the boat. There’s an old saying that cruising equates to working on your boat in exotic places. Although Santa Cruz isn’t exactly exotic Jean and I are enjoying ourselves quite a bit and decided to spend an extra day or two.
When we first arrived we realized that we were docked a short distance away from a sistership, a 1983 Maramu. As soon as we were done tying the docklines the owner of that boat came by to greet us. Here’s a picture of us at the dock in the right hand side of the picture with the sistership on the left hand side. They have a dinghy on the back of their boat. When this picture was taken we were no longer rafted to the steel boat that is just in front of us.
After our day of boat projects we had a great dinner at the Crow’s Nest and enjoyed some music from a local band featuring 3 or 4 African artists. We danced for a while before settling in for a relaxing night on the boat. The next day we enjoyed a dinghy ride in the harbor followed by a buckwheat pancake breakfast prepared on our new Force 10 stove. Then we walked to the popular Santa Cruz Boardwalk where we enjoyed our first roller coaster ride together on the “Giant Dipper”, one of the oldest roller coasters in the country.
After a walk to the nearby wharf where these pictures were taken we went back to the boat.
We ended the day with a sunset dinghy ride to the harbor entrance where we watched pelicans and other seabirds dive for anchovies while seals, sea lions, and otters enjoyed their own repast. We have spent a lot of time just watching the sea life from the boat. Tomorrow we head for Moss Landing where we plan to enjoy some kayaking in Elkhorn Slough.
