Sail Journey

Well, for a long time I've been wanting to try and sail from Long Beach to Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro and back. Yesterday I finally made my first attempt.

Natalie's friend Mezzie Montooth was kind enough to come with me, and even though it was her first sailing experience she was the best trooper I've had yet.

The day started out beautiful and as we cruised through San Pedro Harbor (where the oil islands are) I thought it was a perfect day for the assault. The breeze was steady but not too strong and in a good direction. I made it past the Long Beach entrance to the harbors and past most of Long Beach Harbor without incident.

Unfortunately, as we tried to make it past the Los Angeles entrance and the waves got choppy and the wind picked up. There were even white caps on the waves which is the first sign that it may be too windy for a small boat like mine. Then a wave and a wind shift made me accidentally TACK and I decided to sail more conservatively. Unfortunately, that made it even harder to make progress into the wind. Meanwhile, poor Mezzie was being sprayed by each wave we went over, was soaked to the bone and starting to get cold.

So I finally made the right decision and turned around. Even that was tricky though. As I came about the mainsheet got tangled and nearly tipped the boat. Still we managed to get it righted with out tipping. We did start taking water over the rail though so it was the closest I have come in this boat yet.

Sailing with the wind was much easier and we quickly made it back into calmer waters. Unfortunately, as I docked, my tiller broke so I don't know how I will deal with that.

When I finally looked it up on a map I wanted to cry. We had probably made it more than 90% of the way, and if I had known just how close we were I might have pressed on, but I think it was the right decision anyway. (I tried to get a map of the trip on google maps or mapquest, but haven't figured out how to get a full picture of it saved so I can post it here.)

Once I get the tiller fixed I think I'll stay inside the bay for the rest of the Fall and Winter and try another assault on San Pedro in the Spring. It was certainly the longest and best sail I've had in my Dinghy yet, and was a lot of fun. Thanks again Mezzie, that sail rocked.