Out the Golden Gate and turn left....

Whew!  We left Clipper Cove (anchorage off Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay) at 5am this morning  to beat the low tide.  By 7am we were west of the Golden Gate.  I had planned to include a picture, but someone left the lens cap on the camera... Besides, half of the bridge was covered in fog, so it didn't quite look like its iconic self.  Regardless, we *did* sail west away from the Golden Gate and turned left.

We motor-sailed to Half Moon Bay - about 43 miles.  Tomorrow, we sail to Capitola.  The goal is to reach San Diego before the 26th - hopefully with several days to spare.  When I say motor-sailed, it means that the sails were up, but the wind was so paltry we felt we needed to use the motor to get where we were going by nightfall.

Dave and I were very nervous this morning.  One can only prepare so much, and it was time to go.  Did we do enough?  Are we truly ready?

The boat sailed admirably.  My stomach did not.  The chop in the San Francisco Bay is much different from the rolling waves of the ocean and it will take some time for me to adapt.  Hopefully it won't take too long because today's trip was pretty short by the standards we are setting.

It feels very strange to have started this trip.  My sister gave me a card that said, "Ships are safe when in port, but that's not why ships are made."   While security is never guaranteed, I am more poignantly aware of that now.  Even sleeping under the stars while backpacking seems "safer".  And speaking of backpacking, thank you to my counselor friends who gave me a necklace with the latitude and longitude of camp and the saying that, "The greatest journey is the one that brings you home."  

Here's to a great journey and safe arrival home next year. 

             The family in Paradise Cay on the Tiburon Peninsula  (we kept the boat in a marina while visiting my sister in San Rafael).  This was taken Oct.  5th.

            Our son likes to be "up front" while underway. 

     The kiddos showing their cousin one of their favorite stop-motion videos.  Making stop-motion videos is something of a hobby for them.   Taken Oct. 4th.

         Our view from the cabin (West side of the Bay Bridge) while anchored in Clipper Cove.