September 20 - Santa Barbara

Our run from Morro Bay on the 18^th got better and better. While still in the fog, somewhere 10 miles off the beach in the vicinity of Pismo Beach, we encountered the largest bunch of porpoises that I have ever seen. Suddenly they were everywhere – all sides of the boat. There must have been hundreds of them. Daisy almost went crazy! She was running from one side of the boat to the other and her tail was going so fast that I thought lift off was inevitable. We ran through them for close to half an hour, by which time Daisy was close to collapse and Earl’s camera was giving off smoke and then, as quickly as they had come, they were gone.

We continued on in the fog around Pt Arguello and Pt Conception, with pleasant seas. Then the fog lifted and it was lovely. By then, it was early evening, and Santa Barbara, the next harbor, was 5 or more hours away. The weather forecast was 5 to 10 NW, and the cruising guides recommended Sacate as an anchorage. In this area there is a thick growth of kelp about 150 yards off the beach and it acts to break the surge. We took their advice, ran into within 40 yards of the beach and anchored in 25 feet of water. It was a beautiful evening, with virtually no wind. We ate dinner by candle light on the back deck and watched the sun go down and the stars come out. The sky was breathtaking and we drank it in, together with our wine. We went to bed feeling extremely pleased with ourselves to be where we were. Well, that only lasted till about 1 am. Suddenly we were rolling around with winds blowing from the south east at about 30 miles an hour. The captain was not happy being blown on to the beach, so up came the anchor and we found ourselves heading for Santa Barbara in the dark. Bad things were said about NOAA weather forecasting. We arrived in Santa Barbara at 6:30, just in time for breakfast.