Trapped

Eureka, California, USA

Eureka does not want to let us go.

The conditions out at sea sounded perfect, but the swell over the bar would not let up.  It remained "hazardous" for the entire day yesterday; 10 to 12 foot rolling waves at the entrance, turning into 6 to 8 foot breaking waves in the middle of the channel.  The coast guard does not say that you cannot transit the bar, just that you had better let them know when you are going to attempt it, so they can be ready.  Does that instill confidence?

So back to the waiting game again.  I think, any day that we can safely get over the bar in the morning hours, we will probably go for it, as long as there is less than a "Gale" warning on the other side.  We want to leave in the morning in order for the timing to work out for arriving at Bodega bay in the daylight.  Right now, most of the morning hours are during an "ebb" current over the bar, and everybody agrees that that is not when you want to go across.  But, by tomorrow, there is a high slack at around 7:50 AM which might work out.   Each day, for the next few days, the slack water will be later and later, which is good, but the swells are supposed to build up again, which is bad.  We will take it one day at a time.

{GMST}40|48.4302|N|124|9.7438|W|Eureka, California|Eureka, California{GEND}

Dreary delay

Eureka, California, USA

Another two days of waiting have gone by.

It appears that our decision to delay our departure was very wise.  Last night, we got hit by very strong south winds, the first we have really felt here in the marina.  By all accounts, it would have been really ugly out at sea.

Overnight and this morning, the rains set in.  Not real heavy; just steady, dreary kind of stuff.  The weatherman has issued "frost" warnings for the local farmers the last couple of nights.  I really thought we had left all that far behind us.

There is a silver lining however.  It appears that tomorrow may provide a brief respite from the wind and waves.  There may even be a slight north or east wind for a while.  If conditions still look good in the morning, we are gone!

{GMST}40|48.4302|N|124|9.7438|W|Eureka, California|Eureka, California{GEND}

Mission aborted

Eureka, California, USA

OK, that didn't work!

The sea states got worse as yesterday evening arrived, even though this morning it didn't look too bad and the bar was passable.  We were prepared to leave but when we checked the forecast, it seems that the latest low pressure wave is going to be here earlier than previously predicted - as soon as this afternoon.  It looks as if we would be facing possible 25 knot south winds and some 5 to 7 foot wind-waves for most of the passage, on top of moderate swells.  These are the conditions that are sure to make my crew sick.  Talking to the local fishermen, they do not seem to be eager to leave the harbour.  So, once again, we will go back to waiting for a better weather window.

We would like to see at least 48 hours of predicted good conditions before we leave this bay.  The problem is that the only possible stop that we could get to in under a day, is an anchorage (Shelter Cove), totally exposed to the south winds, making it a non-option for us at this time.  Looking at the long-range forecasts, we cannot see any such breaks in the near future.  When the winds are light, the seas are huge, and when the seas subside, the next strong low pressure front is just moving in, with the associated strong south winds.  What we really need is a good, stable high pressure region to park itself off the coast, and I'm not sure that is very likely at this time of year.

I guess the lesson learned here is that, if you are going to harbour-hop down this coast, leave a month earlier than we did, or be prepared to do a lot of waiting in safe harbours along the way.  If we had just gone out 100 miles and headed straight for San Diego, we would have been there before now.  Having said that however, the few boats that we have met in the harbours along the way were all boats that were trying that approach and had subsequently headed for shelter when the conditions got to be too much for them, usually with some accompanying equipment failures.  Again, it is just too late in the season for that approach as well.  The couple of boats that we met that did, as far as we know, make the one or two hop trip down the coast, all had crews of 4 or more people, with a lot more experience that we have in that type of passage.  I still think this was the best option for us.  We just have to continue to take our time.  We will get there eventually.

{GMST}40|48.4302|N|124|9.7438|W|Eureka, California|Eureka, California{GEND}

Anticipation

Eureka, California, USA

After several days of very high seas, we may have a short break tomorrow.  With any luck, the entrance bar will be passable and we will be on our way in the morning.

Last week's storm brought on a large ocean swell, effectively closing the entrance bars all along the northern California coast and northward.  Unlike Oregon and Washington states, California cannot put restrictions on their bars; instead, the coast guard just gives a general warning as part of the bar report.  In our case, here in Humboldt bay, the big swells over the last few days peaked yesterday and this morning, with reported 18 to 20 foot breaking seas at the entrance - all vessels stupid enough to attempt the bar must first contact the coast guard to let them know the plan.

Our basic plan, and that of every other boat we can see here in the bay, is to stay put until the conditions improve.  Sometimes it is difficult to believe that the conditions out there can actually be that bad since where we are, inside Humboldt bay, the water is completely flat and the last couple of days the weather has been relatively warm and sunny (only rains at night).  I guess that is why you are supposed to call the coast guard before you venture out into the open ocean.

Tomorrow, the forecast is for much improved conditions.  The swell should have subsided considerably and the winds, for at least 12 hours or so, will be from the NW again.  If this holds true, we intend to make a break for it.  We have to go about 190 miles on this next passage, part of which is rounding the dreaded Cape Mendocino, about 30 miles south of us right now.  Of course, the mild weather will not likely hold for more than a day, so we anticipate that we will have to contend with some strong south winds by nightfall.  We have decided we prefer facing head winds rather than large seas.  Time will tell if we are right about this.

One cool thing here on Woodley island is that this is where the local NOAA weather office is situated and they are very welcoming to stranded sailors looking for some reassurance.  We wandered in and were able to see these guys busy creating the weather.  Apparently it entails creating and studying a mind-boggling variety of graphics, showing wind, waves, pressure, etc.  I don't think I have ever seen so many large flat-screen monitors in use in any one office; every person has at least 5 or 6 surrounding him.  We put in our order for some light seas and NW winds and are now awaiting the results.

Today, we again crossed the scary highway bridge to go into town to do some provisioning.  That done, we are just monitoring the coast guard reports, waiting for that all-important all-clear over the bar.  With any luck, our next post will be from Bodega Bay, probably about 2 days away.

NOTE: As I am writing this, about 3 PM on Tuesday afternoon, the current bar report is still saying 14 to 16 foot with occasional 18 foot "rolling" waves on the bar entrance.  Not really what we are looking for.  If we cannot get out of here tomorrow morning, the next weather window could be a week or more away.

{GMST}40|48.4302|N|124|9.7438|W|Eureka, California|Eureka, California{GEND}
 

The waiting game

Eureka, California, USA

Why, you might ask, are we still in Eureka?

Well, I guess we are just fair-weather cruisers.  If the conditions are not just right, we don't go.  Right now there are a series of low-pressure zones approaching the west coast of North America, one every other day or so.  Although they tend to turn north before they hit us here in northern California, the circulation is still stirring up some big south winds.  We don't like south winds - we want north winds so we can just relax and go with the flow.  The real problem right now is that these storms are also creating some big swells, which persist even after the winds have gone.

Up till now, the biggest seas we have seen have been in the 8 to 10 foot range with 3 or 4 feet of wind-waves on top of that.  That tosses us around plenty.  Now, by the end of this weekend, the forecasts are calling for 20+ foot swells with higher wind-waves as well.  We have little interest in finding out how well we will cope with that.  So here we sit, waiting for a better outlook for at least a 2-day passage.  There is no good spot to pull into for about another 190 miles south once we leave Humboldt harbour.

Looking at the chart conveniently hereto affixed, notice that the small island we are on (Woodley island, near the top of the chart) is quite a distance from the open ocean.  The result is that we cannot see what the actual conditions are out there until we cross the Humboldt bay entrance (nearer the bottom-left of the chart).  And quite often we can see some dense fog between us and that entrance, which does not entice us at all.

Meanwhile, we are enjoying our stay here.  Lots of birds and seals to keep us amused, as well as our DVD collection, and just going for walks when the sun occasionally shines.  Sometimes it seem as if the birds are having some kind of convention in the channel.

Here are some patient gulls lining up for dinner.  They love it when the fishing boats come in and clean out their unused bait.  Not quite so nice when the boat next door to us was doing it though - very noisy and messy.

Downtown Eureka - an impressive paint job on their performing arts building.

{GMST}40|48.4302|N|124|9.7438|W|Eureka, California|Eureka, California{GEND}