40 Hour Weekend
Last weekend, a window of good winter weather allowed Atalanta and crew to make the trip from Monterey to San Francisco and back in two days, with a short overnight in Sausalito. Our goal was to take full advantage of the good conditions and experience sailing the Central Coast in a compact period of time.
Ready for an early morning departure
Leaving the Monterey Harbor entrance as the sun came up
Our intrepid crew joined the boat in Monterey and we were out on Monterey Bay in time to catch the morning easterly, which allowed us to sail most of the way to Santa Cruz.
Pointed north just as the easterly was filling
From Santa Cruz, the east wind went light and then gradually filled in again from the northwest. We motor sailed around Pigeon Point, past Half Moon Bay, and as we bore off around Pacifica, the wind backed enough that we could set our sails and turn the motor off for the remainder of the trip to the Golden Gate.
Spectacular skies are one of the treats of winter sailing on the Central Coast
As we neared the San Francisco bar, the wind was blowing around 20 knots and we were grateful for the reef in the main. Then, as we approached the Golden Gate Bridge, the breeze died and the ebb forced us to motor in the final couple of miles to Sausalito.
View of the north tower from under the dodger as we glide under the Bridge
View of the south tower from inside the Gate
Once landed in Sausalito, some crew departed and others bedded down for the night on board. We awoke to a beautiful morning, welcomed two new crew, and had a leisurely breakfast to allow time for the strong northwesterlies outside the Gate to ease as the high resolution weather models indicated. We were off the dock at 9:15am and enjoyed a brisk trip out the Gate riding a 5 knot ebb.
Picturesque Sausalito during Sunday brunch hour
The strong ebb on the bar creates what is affectionately known as the washing machine, and we took some green water over the bow under full sized staysail and reefed main. By then the wind had eased and we only saw about 20 knots, so the sail plan was balanced and the boat and crew were happy.
We steadily bore off as we pointed south toward Montara, and soon we replaced the staysail with the genoa and shook the reef out of the main. The wind veered from northwest to north and eventually to the northeast, when we jibed the main and poled out the jib. The wind strengthened again and we practiced putting in a reef in the main on a broad reach, a technique I had wanted to try. It worked like a charm and we never had to turn into the wind, which kept things very calm and controlled.
Alisa helming through the washing machine, quickly leaving the Gate in our wake
Off Pigeon Point, the kite came out as did the sun
Eventually we set the big asymmetric spinnaker and continued to make great time. Just off Santa Cruz, the wind suddenly went light and veered around to the east. We snuffed the spinnaker and close-reached toward a dark cloud that was coming off the shore in the easterly. Although the forecast was for 10-12 knots of wind on Monterey Bay from the east, the cloud provided us with 18-24 knots for most of the way across the Bay. It made for a very fast trip! Averaging 10 knots for the final two hours, we arrived in Monterey at 8:35pm after 11 hours and 20 minutes from Sausalito, once again proving Atalanta to be a capable, safe and speedy offshore design.
All smiles on the slide south
Sublime skies
In all, the entire trip took about 40 hours to complete, a short but action-packed coastal adventure. Judging by the smiles all around, it was a good amount of time to be at sea and during a good time of year. Winter on the Central Coast can be stormy, but it can also offer beautiful windows that allow sailors to experience and practice many techniques in a wide variety of current, wind and wave conditions.
Contact us to learn about Shearwater Sailing’s upcoming offshore adventures.
Fernando in his happy place
