The storm was headed in but it appeared that we had just a small window to get south. We left at 4:00 AM so we could arrive in Morro Bay prior to dark. Morro Bay is another harbor that is based on an estuary and therefore has a river flowing out of the bay. The bottom line -- another bar -- and not in a good sense.
The weather was very nice as we pulled out of Monterey Harbor. Dead calm. As we rounded the point it started getting pretty rough. We knew that there would be a short area of high winds and waves but it was stronger than we thought. We reconsidered heading back but we held off until we were beyond the point and in open water.
As we rounded the point we had the wind at our bow and we were reminded of the Gold Beach incident and once again we reconsidered our decision. We held in for just a short while longer and it started to calm a bit. The entire day was uncomfortable but not unbearable.
As we approached the bay there was a power cat entering as well. We chatted on the radio and he said he was familiar with the bay and he would enter first and give me a report. It looked horrific but as we passed beyond the sea buoy things calmed down and we came in without incident.
We were invited to dock at MBYC -- Morrow Bay Yacht Club as they have a guest dock of 150 feet. Both Coda and Flow State (the boat that came in ahead of us) fit onto the dock.
MBYC was very gracious and invited us up for a drink at their Friday night happy hour.
It was really great to be still after 13 hours of pretty rough seas so we enjoyed the company and the drinks and went to bed.
We got the bikes out the next day and took on the town. We took a 10 mile ride out to the jetty and the big rock and around the golf course. There are plenty of places to eat along the bay and many shops. The day was sunny and warm and it was just pleasant.
The weather changed with the major storm moving in from the pacific. We had a rough night with south winds of 30-40 knot winds. Morro Bay itself does not afford great protection from the howling south winds so waves were slapping against the swim platform all night. I got up late since I did not sleep well and we went back out to the channel to look and see how it looked. Here is a video from the jetty.
I am thinking we should wait for things to calm down a bit prior to departure.
Matt returns on Wednesday and things are shaping up for a weather window on Thursday.
Technical Data:
Time: 14 h 14 m ( 04:12 to 18:26 ) Distance: 109.46 nm
Fuel: 56.40 Gallons Fuel Rate: 3.96 GPH Fuel Economy: 1.94 NM/G
Avg Speed: 7.89 kn Max Speed: 10.71 kn
Engine Runtime Start: 3101.30 Hours Runtime End: 3115.55 Hours Fuel: 56.40 Gallons Fuel Rate: 3.96 GPH Fuel Rate Max: 14.66 GPH Avg RPM: 1360.83 Max RPM: 2043.25 Avg Oil Pressure: 52.49 Low Oil Pressure: 32.49 Avg Temperature: 176.36 Max Temperature: 195.80
