Home at last!!!

Ben here. WOW what a trip. I brought the boat all the way up the coast to give it a good shake down and build my confidence in its abilities....DONE!

The Catalina 38 sails really well. It carries momentum through the lulls, handles swell nicely, and is stable yet lively. Sparkman Stephens knew how to design a winner. I am very satisfied w/ the boat we are going sailing on.

I had a few fire drills: lots of water in the bilge (had the bige pump switch in the wrong position), diesel in the bilge (small leak now fixed), and engine quitting unexpectedly (fuel take up clogged.....and fixed). All part of learning a new boat. Happy Molly didn't have to witness my hand wringing/head scratching as I panicked, diagnosed then fixed each of these. No doubt more will follow, but the boat is solid and all systems operate well.

A few pic's from the 9 day trip up the coast:

The boat tucked in at Morro Bay Yacht Club:

This is Dan, crew for the leg from Santa Monica to Morro Bay around the dreaded Pt Conception. One of my best and dearest friends, he is a truly great guy. Here we are entering Morro Bay (Morro Rock in the background). Dan is very proud of his "Beetle-Juice"-esque hairdoo.

He is a sculptor and toy designer. When you own your own business, work is never done, but you CAN choose where/when to do it. Here, Dan is sculpting a dinosaur as we motorsail past oil wells...the cycle of life baby!!!

We were joined for a few hours by 5 little finches. They wanted to come by and bless the boat. They left after a long visit having given their approval to the whole affair.

This is the small desk at Morro Bay Yacht Club where you pay a measely $20 and get the run of the place. I even had a FROSTY beer from the REFRIGERATOR on the boat!! High life indeed!

Here is a short video of my 3 crew from Morro Bay to Monterey, Chris, John and Paul:

(it's been more than an hour and the video won't load....falling asleep at the keyboard here..may try again tomorrow....)

That leg was the most brutal and I can't thank these guys enough for grinding through it.


And a picture entering the Golden Gate:

If you doubt that deliveries are hard work, here is a picture of the propane we got in Santa Monica. The first bottle was cozy down below, wrapped in its plastic and snuggled in a locker. The other was up on deck w/ me enjoying the wind/spray/sun/ocean......

Molly looked at me at dinner tonight and asked, "Am I going to look old after this???" Hard not to think I was looking like that propane bottle on the right after this trip!!

I was a bit "Agro" getting the boat up here (only to turn around and head back south in 3 weeks time). This song captures the mood of the trip....SAIL>>>>

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gH2efAcmBQM

Finally, and most importantly, thanks to Molly and my boys for not only letting me disappear for 2 weeks to do this, but for embracing this whole adventure.......

Here is a link to the song I hope better defines our trip south:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9n5G0qFBsHM

Best to all, and to all, a goodnight!

Ben