I've been bad!  And I apologize!

I haven't kept the site up for the last 12 days.  So let me bring you up to date -

We had a very nice three day stay in Monterey.  We got in on Monday and our crew left on Wednesday.  We flew back to Seattle on Thursday.  Why so fast?  I'm trying to balance business - school - and boating.  Some times - like that particular week - are more pressing than others.  As a result, I'm not always able to spend as much time "on station" as I'd like.  Hopefully, we'll be able to stay a little longer in Santa Barbara.  (And we'll have two more days in Monterey next week).

While we were in Monterey, we visited the aquarium (world class) and had lunch or dinner at several nice restaurants.  The Chart House sits on stilts over the water.  We were treated to a marine mammal show - harbor seals with their babies and sea otters with their babies.  Quite a treat.

While the boat's in Monterey, I've decided to get some maintenance done - oil and filter changes, tighten down some "weepy" fittings, replace a couple of bulbs and batteries, etc.  The biggest item is that during our engineering checks (done every three hours) on the way from Seattle to San Francisco, Mike wrote up a discrepancy - the water pump relief port had a slow, weeping kind of leak that was allowing a very small amount of coolant to escape.  When I got to San Francisco, I checked with the guys at Emerald Harbor Marine in Seattle.  They said that this shouldn't be a problem go continue to Monterey, and have it fixed there.  Which is what we've done.  The boat mechanics in Monterey identified the problem as a water pump that is allowing fluid past the seals, either because the seals have warn out prematurely or because the water pump shaft is starting to wear out and wobble.  Either case, it needs replaced before it fails completely.  So, we've ordered a new pump and had it shipped down to Monterey, where it is being replaced this week prior to our arrival.  A good case of careful attention to the mechanics while underway that allow us to avoid a big problem offshore.  Good job, Mike!

I've added some photos to the album - both the SF to Monterey leg and the Seattle to SF leg.  The photo entitled "Rollers" shows typical 10' waves that we encountered along with 50 knot winds after we'd made the turn in to San Francisco.    We were headed directly parallel to the wave direction, generally not a good idea with tall waves and strong winds.  So, just as the wave started to reach us, I'd turn into the wave and climb up the face on about a 45-degree diagonal.  When it passed beneath us, I'd turn back to the correct course.

We return to Monterey on June 16th.  Unless something comes up, I'll make my next post then.

See you in Monterey -