Blowing Hard Towards San Francisco
There's either good wind, weak wind, too much wind or wind from the wrong direction. This time we got the upper level convenient wind feeling. In 25-35 knots of wind, with gusts up to 40 knots, we sailed pretty much downwind along the Californian coast.
However, even in well sized waves we managed to run through a pod, or herd as I would call it, of whales. After seeing a whale just a few feet right ahead of our bow, basically a near miss, I ran up the companionway to find Isa and Ueli exciteldy looking the other way: whales all around us, three of the up-close as it could be. We admired the blows that surrounded us and were happy we did not hit any of them. For sure, the whales are back. Even the marine traffic coordination radio warned of whales and requested "mariners to keep sharp outlook" for whales and leav ample room. Well, that is sometimes difficult, as we experienced.
After these intense sailing days a short day in Bodega Bay should provide enough rest before heading into San Francisco Bay - more to follow from there, find the photos in the gale here.
However, even in well sized waves we managed to run through a pod, or herd as I would call it, of whales. After seeing a whale just a few feet right ahead of our bow, basically a near miss, I ran up the companionway to find Isa and Ueli exciteldy looking the other way: whales all around us, three of the up-close as it could be. We admired the blows that surrounded us and were happy we did not hit any of them. For sure, the whales are back. Even the marine traffic coordination radio warned of whales and requested "mariners to keep sharp outlook" for whales and leav ample room. Well, that is sometimes difficult, as we experienced.
After these intense sailing days a short day in Bodega Bay should provide enough rest before heading into San Francisco Bay - more to follow from there, find the photos in the gale here.