Enroute to Monterey

Most of the journey south was completed under power alone and the seas were quite large, some coming from the SW and other’s from the W and NW. Luckily they were quite far apart (12-13 seconds) so we didn’t get too bashed about. At one point, not too far out from Monterey, we had a special treat. We finally had enough wind to unfurl our genoa which gave us another 1 ½ knots of speed and we were enjoying a brisk sail through the building seas. We’d seen a few porpoises and lots of birds on our travels so we were watching for wildlife… and we weren’t disappointed. We were joined by about 6 beautiful white-sided dolphins that frolicked in our bow wave, flitting from side to side, for about 10 minutes. They’re just so great and really make you feel like you’re ‘doing it’… Even after all this time we still find ourselves startled by the fact we actually left and we’re actually doing this trip… It’s hard to explain but so many years were dedicated to the planning and prepping and now, finally, it’s unfolding right in front of us… really a ‘pinch me, is this real?’ kind of a feeling. But, here we are, now tied up at the Monterey Municipal Marina and ready to explore this new place… later.. CJ