Day 39, September 26th, Half Moon Bay to Monterey

The morning dawned clear and warm with no wind, so I decided to launch the boat without waking Marian. I try to do this whenever I can because I know she enjoys sleeping in. Having woken up at 5am and having had a few cups of coffee I was well prepared to handle the lines and fenders. This is only possible if the conditions are perfect, which they were. I slipped the lines and headed out of the marina. As I rounded the breakwater I saw a sight I whish I had photographed. Half Moon Bay has a rock breakwater that calms the ocean swell. On every single rock in the breakwater a single pelican was roosting. There must have been thousands of them. I’ve come to the conclusion the pelican is my favorite bird. Between the fact they fly in a V formation and use ground effect for efficiency and the aerobatics they perform when the dive in the water after food, I find them captivating. Anyway, we motored out of the marina and set a course for Monterey, about 10 hours in the distance.
The trip to Monterey was uneventful, save for the three whales that surfaced between Alanui and Paloma. We were so close we could hear them exhale and inhale – “Woshhhhhhh”. It’s amazing. Oh, there was one thing that has happened a few times and is a bit bothersome. Every once in a while the autopilot decides to change course all by itself. It’s quite unnerving as this could cause a real problem if it’s not noticed and corrected. I’m trying to figure out the cause, but to date have not come up with it. As we arrived in Monterey we saw the breakwater completely covered with seals and sea lions of every shape, size, color and odor! We also saw sea otters floating on their backs, enjoying the sun and calm seas. It was a delightful way to end a 10 hour journey. We were lucky enough to get two slips side by side. After tieing up we had dinner and went for a short walk along the harbor front. We then watched one of the DVD’s we got at our going away party. It was “The Three Amigos” and boy was it bad! That’s a DVD we won’t hesitate to trade at our first opportunity! While here in Monterey we are going to the world class aquarium and doing some tourist shopping and eating. Our next stop is an anchorage along the coast.