Hoppe's Sunset

I have to give credit for this one to Hoppe's Bistro!

The Sunset Cocktail

Sparkling wine

OJ

Splash of Grenadine

Crushed Ice

Roll and serve

Writing!

So, on a personal note, we have been blogging for about 6 months now.  It is the overflow from our hearts to share our experiences.  But, we both, the Captain and I, have a fascination with writing.  Hence, the "Pimp My Novel" and "Writes in the City" on our blogroll.  We all have our projects and our side projects.  I must say that the commitment to a blog does require tenacity.  We have plowed our way through a couple blocks so far.

This post is to announce our SHEER EXCITEMENT and TEMENDOUS JOY to be attending the Cuesta College Writers' Conference this September.  We have signed up for 4 classes each.  There were 32 to choose from. 

The Captain is taking:
1. Creative Non-Fiction: One Theme, Many Voices
2. Marketing, Publishing & New Media
3. Infusing Historical Research into Your Writing
4. Getting Your First Novel Published

The First Mate is taking:
1.  Editing: An Acquisition Editor Polishes Your First Pages
2. Publishing Nonfiction: Strategies to Make it Happen
3. Spiritual Writing for Today's Marketplace
4. Personal Essay: How Deep Do We Dig?

Aren't you on the edge of your seat too?  I can't wait!!!!!

Morro Bay Yacht Club spring race

Morro Bay Yacht Club ocean fleet had the "spring 2" race today. The second ocean sailing race of the spring was intended to be a Bermuda start 12 mile course race. This may not be an exact definition but a Bermuda start is where the handcaps for all the boats are taken into account at the start of race instead of after the race. A formula is used to determine how long each boat has to wait to start the race based on the boat's handicap. Kiskadee, the boat I crewed on, is supposedly the fasted boat in the fleet and has the lowest handicap. So we started last at 12:38. Unfortunately, light winds turned the race into only a 4 mile race to first marker and back.  Voyager captained by Wayne Ratcliff came in first. Captain Ratcliff got a really nice coffee mug, his 1st place prize!

I crewed for Captain Peter aboard Kiskadee which is a really nice 40ft  Hinkley. We started off strong, but got tired of the flapping sails and slow going after an hour and half into the cruise which we only made about a mile headway. We opened the beers and turned on the motor back to port. On the way in we saw Guyacanna aground hard and being pulled off by the kind harbor patrol.

I got some new ideas for reefing line confinguration from the other crew and how the Hinkley was set up, don't be surprised at a new post about that soon.

Memorial Day in Morro Bay

It was a gorgeous weekend for sailing last weekend!  The Bay was full of activity: kayakers, paddle boarders, day sailors, cruisers!  The Yacht club was bustling.

We went out of the bay onto the open ocean.

Dock Gnome and other Dock Accoutrements

There has been lots of weather as you can tell from the Captain's posts.  Today was supposed to be calm.  The Captain got an invitation from Neighbor Wilson to go out on his 27' Catalina this morning and troll for salmon.  They went out for two hours, but nothing was biting.

The Captain inspected our sail and did not find a new nest.  I was a little sad to hear about that.  On the up side, I won't have to be cleaning baby birdie poop off of the sail.  At any rate, dock life is thriving.

I love the stuff that our dockmates put out for decoration!  I feel extra lucky to have a communal gnome!  I would have never thought to procure one of my own, but I am very happy to share in the collective luckiness!

Check out all the other gnome statues that I found!

Dock/Garden Gnome:

Function: noun
Etymology: French, from New Latin gnomus
Date: 1661
1 : an ageless and often deformed dwarf of folklore who lives in the earth and usually guards treasure
2 : an elemental being in the theory of Paracelsus that inhabits earth
— gnome•like \-ˌlīk\ adjective

— gnom•ish \ˈnō-mish\ adjective

I was thinking about getting a fake owl to stand guard over our boat when we are gone.  I think the plastic owl is supposed to discourage gulls and other birds from making homes on the boat.

I love the shiny triangle "used car lot" streamers!  I want some for our boat, but I don't know where to get them.  Seriously, if anyone knows where to get these, please let me know!!!

I am a sucker for shiny things....

Sailing Season?

One thing I didn't expect living in California is a sailing season. In the Midwest and Northeast because of winter cold or even in the Southeast with huricaine season I could always imagine people all giddy at the beginning of spring with anticipation of being able to sail again. Well spring is here and I am the giddy one. Maybe it is just a result of a really bad winter for sailing.  I have mentioned in previous posts my difficulties in finding good days for sailing. It was tough to even find days that you could get out of the harbor due to large surf breaking in the harbor mouth.

The surf this year wasn't as bad as this picture shows. This picture is an anomaly.  There have only been waves of 50' plus like this breaking in the harbor mouth a couple times ever, but it was over 10' alot more than it was under this winter. This picture is still great, that bus is about a thousand yards in front of that wave and still looks tiny.

Spring is here as is smaller waves and I am ready for a long cruise.

This is the start of a couple of posts that will be planning a trip to the Catalina Islands this summer. Before I sail a couple hundred miles, I think the first step will be a trip to Avila which is 20 miles by boat. The main thing to find out is where to anchor when I get there. I am sure I will learn many more things before the planning is done. Updates to follow.

Weekend Warriors

Mounted a classic British Seagull motor (spare) on the back.

Ran new rope through the auto-furler.

Ran new rope through the main-sheet.

"Water Bow Line" knot tied.

"Lashing" done to secure rope ends.

Truman ran 10 miles today; I ran a leasurely 5. But, we spent almost all day in the sun! It was glorious!

Why blog? What's the use?

One of my favorite friends wrote to me, "I read your blog, but I feel like a stalker."

Well, what do I do? I don't want to make anyone uncomfortable, and of course, reading is optional. Sure, this is a little like having my own reality show. But, I've always decopaged, journalled, etc. I've resisted the scrap-booking craze!

Most of what we write is for our own enjoyment, but there are other things that blogging accomplishes:

• I prove that there are many happy days on a boat, not just the day you bought it and the day you sell it!



• I share with others the sincere and simple pleasures of the slow seaside life.



• I build connections and points of common interest with readers that I may have never met in person.
  
• I am accountable to our readers for the things I write and say that I am doing. The "accountable" life can push one past her comfort zone into successes that she may not have been able to achieve on her own.


• I buy a kick-ass camera and post tons of mouth-watering pictures of the boat and the water!

What's not to love?

"Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow!"

~Lauren