Part of Catch up Time April 1-8 2009

Ok, today is June 7th and two whole months have gone by and you probably wonder where the heck we are. Well, the trip to Oxnard and the Channel Island Yacht club was a smooth 6.5 hours of cruising. The folks at the Channel Island Yacht club were wonderful and we spent a night celebrating life with them. We also got great tips on the best anchorages in the islands. We first stayed at Santa Cruz Island, Smugglers Cove which was a rocking and rolling location, and did not have a good beach for taking the dinghy ashore. In fact we watched a couple go bow over stern in their dinghy, which dumped them, the fuel tank and all their items in the surf. Smugglers Cove was pleasant, but not somewhere I would return to for a longer stay. The next day we motored 2.5 hours and stayed in Coches Prieto, which was beautiful, smaller and more protected anchorage. We decided to use a stern anchor to keep us pointed into the swells and that worked well. The challenge came the next day in trying to free our stern anchor. We released the bow anchor, turned the boat around and walked the stern anchor line to the windlass and used it to free and raise the anchor. That worked, but next time we will simply use the davit winch off the stern of NuMoon. We knew the weather was beginning to change, so we motored 5.5 hours headed for Santa Barbara. We did not want to cross the channel in bad weather. We spent two days in Santa Barbara and rode our bikes around town. We got caught in a rain shower, so we stopped in a restaurant where we met Isis and her boyfriend. We had a great time talking with her and sharing traveling stories. After many happy hours drinks, the rain finally stopped, we said our good byes, Isis walked to their hotel and we rode our bikes back to the marina. The next day April 8th we started our 11 hour cruise from Santa Barbara to Port San Luis rounding Point Conception. Waiting for decent weather has allowed us to round Point Conception two times and experience wonderful seas and scenery.

We anchored in our usual spot at Port San Luis, and watched the abundance of marine wildlife circle the port.

Marina Del Rey-Santa Barbara- Channel Islands Apr 1-8 2009

The trip to Oxnard and the Channel Island Yacht club was a smooth 6.5 hours of cruising. The folks at the Channel Island Yacht club were wonderful and we spent a night celebrating life with them. We also got great tips on the best anchorages in the islands. We first stayed at Santa Cruz Island, Smugglers Cove which was a rocking and rolling location, and did not have a good beach for taking the dinghy ashore. In fact we watched a couple go bow over stern in their dinghy, which dumped them, the fuel tank and all their items in the surf. Smugglers Cove was pleasant, but not somewhere I would return to for a longer stay. The next day we motored 2.5 hours and stayed in Coches Prieto, which was beautiful, smaller and more protected anchorage. We decided to use a stern anchor to keep us pointed into the swells and that worked well. The challenge came the next day in trying to free our stern anchor. We released the bow anchor, turned the boat around and walked the stern anchor line to the windlass and used it to free and raise the anchor. That worked, but next time we will simply use the davit winch off the stern of NuMoon. We knew the weather was beginning to change, so we motored 5.5 hours headed for Santa Barbara. We did not want to cross the channel in bad weather. We spent two days in Santa Barbara and rode our bikes around town. We got caught in a rain shower, so we stopped in a restaurant where we met Isis and her boyfriend. We had a great time talking with her and sharing traveling stories. After many happy hours drinks, the rain finally stopped, we said our good byes, Isis walked to their hotel and we rode our bikes back to the marina. The next day April 8th we started our 11 hour cruise from Santa Barbara to Port San Luis rounding Point Conception. Waiting for decent weather has allowed us to round Point Conception two times and experience wonderful seas and scenery.

We anchored in our usual spot at Port San Luis, and watched the abundance of marine wildlife circle the port.

Marina Del Rey March 20 to March 31

We left Catalina and had heard from folks there, that the fuel price at Los Angeles Harbor was the cheapest price around. We called the fuel dock and they were $1.79 plus 8% tax. This was the best fuel price we had encountered for over a year. We made our way there and took on about 275 gallons. After fueling we continued to Marina Del Rey and were tied up at the dock before sunset.

We spent from March 20^th to the 31^st having a great time in Marina Del Rey. Nikki and Erika were in town and simply ran us ragged. We had a busy and wonderful time, but either those two are too young, or we are too old for that pace. We saw the final run of the shows Erika will dance in for Holland America Cruise line and both Nikki and Erika with their busy schedules were able to spend a night or two on the boat.

We also got to spend some time with our good friends Neal and Eva. It was lovely to see them again, enjoy time together and catch up on what was new with them. Neal, we are thinking of you and wish you the best. Eva, I know you will take good care of Neal and he will be causing his normal trouble again quickly I am sure.

There was to be a break in the weather and we would head out for the Channel Island Yacht Club and if lucky have good weather for exploring the Channel Islands of off Ventura and Oxnard.

Santa Catalina Island So. California

We spent from March 12th to March19th exploring the Island of Santa Catalina. The weather was decent for this early in the year. Seas were calm, there was little to no wind and the temperature was in the high 60"s to low 70's with full sunshine. We moored out first in Avalon, which is simply beautiful. While we were walking the beach walk, we heard someone calling Alexus' name. We ran into Darcy and Bob who were there on their beautiful 55 Nordhavn "Enterprise". We had a great time with them visiting both boats for “Happy Hour”. We walked all over the island and took a couple of the tours of the local area and one up to the airport on Catalina. While we were there, I caught Mackerel, Whitefish and a small halibut we had to release.

After spending about five days in Avalon, we made our way to the Isthmus Cove. We were one of about four boats in a cove that can handle 100+ boats. We took the dinghy to shore and walked about ¾ of a mile over to Cat Harbor on the ocean facing side. It was a little blustery on the ocean side. We spent two days at Isthmus Cove and then moved to Emerald Cove.

In Emerald Cove we were the only boat. The water was unbelievably clear. From the boat I saw the orange Garibaldi, full size Halibut, a huge Eagle Ray, a couple of Sting Rays and a few Sand Bass. Because the water was so clear and the weather decent, Alexus put on her wet suit and did some snorkeling in and around the kelp forest. I followed her in the dinghy just to make me feel better and not worry about her. She was more than fine as she is a Master Scuba Diver and Divemaster.

We knew the weather was going to turn for the worse and we did not want to be stuck on Catalina, so we left on March 20^th to head for Marina Del Rey and the California Yacht Club. We had stayed with the Club on our way south and wanted to stay with them again on our way back north.