Adventures in Paraclete
Pacific Coastal Cruise
San Francisco Bay to San Diego Bay
Summer 2011
Eight Bells for Lee Hollingsworth: On the eve of our maiden ocean cruise,
we lost dear friend and seasoned mariner Lee Hollingsworth, captain of
Sea Raven. With Lee’s aptitude for all things mechanical and his love of boating,
Bill felt a kinship with him. He quickly became a part of the fabric of our lives after
Jackie and Valerie met on the dock of Delta Bay Marina and struck up a
friendship. Just a week before his death, Bill had spent time with Lee and talked
to him about joining us for some coastal cruising. He left their visit with that being
a possibility on a future cruise. While that will no longer be possible, we carry
Lee’s spirit with us on this cruise and dedicate this journal of our adventures and
continued learnings to his memory.
A note about Paraclete
We are asked often what the name of our boat means. It is a Greek word meaning “one summoned to
comfort”… the “Holy Spirit.” I first encountered the name with a colleague Eileen Gold, who had named
her business Paraclete. Her business provides support and referral for families providing care to
loved ones, particularly people living with Alzheimer’s. The name stuck with me, and several years
later when we bought our boat, I proposed it to Bill for the name. Paraclete has since given us many
hours of comfort and peace and also provided us an opportunity to share the importance of the name
with others.
Bon Voyage
The night before we left San Francisco Bay, we invited several friends over to celebrate our departure.
We were joined by Deborah Doctor and Ruth and Bob Gay. Bob had spent several years in the Navy
as a biologist and shared some of his harrowing adventures on the high seas out of Norfolk, VA. As
the subject moved to the topic of “seasickness”, all three concurred that Bonine is the recommended
drug of choice. I, of course, had bought out Raley’s supply of Dramamine.
Day 1, June 28
We left Emery Cove in San Francisco Bay at 7:45 a.m. and headed for the Golden Gate – which we
could actually see at the time in spite of some fog. But by the time we reached Alcatraz, the Gate was
no longer visible; and by the time we reached the Gate, it was raining. But we persevered, timing it just
right to pass ahead of an incoming freighter that was heading across our path toward Richmond.
It was an easy ride across the San Francisco bar and we headed straight out through the shipping
channel to an area known as the pilot area, about 10 miles out, where we turned south. The pilot area
is where San Francisco Bay authorized pilots take over to bring a boat into the Bay or relinquish a
boat they have brought out from the Bay to the captain. Our objective in going out more than five miles
before heading south was to get out past the crab pots. While the pots are often marked with an
orange floater, they’re very challenging to spot with the swells.
We started our trip on the flybridge because visibility is so good, and, because we had thus far been
primarily river cruisers, that’s where we were used to driving. We had all the provisions we needed to
get through the day so we would minimize the times we had to go below, as walking up and down the
steps on the boat is treacherous in the ocean, especially on wet decks. However, even though the
flybridge is enclosed, it isn’t air and water tight. So after several hours, we retreated to the lower helm.
While cozier and dryer and a bit easier ride (“bit” being the operative word), in the lower helm we have
to stand to be able to see out of the part of the windshield cleared by the wipers.
Our hours of vigilance in being on watch and riding the swells was definitely fatiguing. So we both took
cat naps sitting up – not at the same time! – which is not anything we had ever felt compelled to do
while cruising. Not being a napper, I was amazed how quickly I dropped off. Of course the influence of
Dramamine was certainly a factor.
Bill and I pride ourselves in all the research we did and preparations we made before we set out on
this adventure. So we were a bit dismayed when several things failed us within the first few hours. We
invested in a great wireless headset which enables us to talk to each other in a normal voice wherever
we are on the boat. No buttons to push – you just talk. It’s critical to be able to communicate at all
times as situations arise that require quick action – like when docking and tying up and you’re in
different areas of the boat with competing noises. But after only a couple of hours, we could no longer
get them to work. There was too much going on with the storm and provisions sliding around to dig out
the directions and troubleshoot it, so we did without. We did get them working again a few days later,
and they were very helpful.
Second, there is a wonderful service called “Dial-A-Buoy” which you can call on your cell phone (yes,
we had cell phone service most of the time we were cruising!). You punch in a zone # for a coastal
area, and you get the latest weather and water conditions available from NOAA (National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration). While I had tested the service before we ever left Sacramento, do you
think it worked when we were out at sea? So more testing to come. Finally, we were unable to get
VHF Channels 1 and 2, which provide non-stop weather reports, when we were on the flybridge. So
these last two glitches did not add to my peace of mind since one of the principles of boating,
especially in the ocean, is that you always monitor the weather.
In the spirit of being prepared, we both took a pill for motion sickness as we set out in the morning. I’ve
found another key is to keep your eyes on the horizon, which means keeping moving around and doing
other things to a minimum. While I was at the helm, Bill couldn’t resist going below several times and
tending to things, only to suddenly realize he was getting seasick! He eventually overcame it but only
our next day on the high seas will reveal if he can sit still next time.
The cruise from our marina in SF Bay to Santa Cruz harbor took 10 ½ hours. Even though Santa Cruz
is just around the northern edge of Monterey Bay, it is a challenge to find all those old familiar
landmarks – the pier and boardwalk – coming in with the fog. So we still weren’t home free until we
navigated the ever-present kelp and jetty into the harbor. While boaters are usually willing and ready to
help you dock and tie off, in the cold and rain at 6:15 p.m. there were no welcoming souls on the dock.
Needless to say we were quite weary by the time lines were set and shore electrical and water hooked
up. We were in bed by 9:00.
Day 2, June 29
We are applauding ourselves for having the forethought to plan to stay in Santa Cruz two nights! We
had planned to do that because Santa Cruz is one of my favorite places and holds lots of beach
vacation memories. But given how tiring our first day was, we are now realizing how nice it is to sleep
in after a long cruise day and relax and enjoy the area a bit. It also gave me time to start our journal,
do a little shopping and walking, and have dinner with Jack and Iris Farr and time for Bill to check on
the boat and clean up from the storm.
Day 3, June 30
After a relaxing day in the Santa Cruz harbor marina, complete with my taking my requisite beach walk
and adding to my shell collection, we set our heading for Monterey and embarked on what we thought
would be a pleasant, short cruise straight to the southern shores of Monterey Bay. We were so
confident of this that we had not checked the weather, as it was a beautiful sunny day in Santa Cruz
harbor. But there were more lessons to be learned.
Monterey is of course a very open Bay, so it’s a mirror of what’s going on in the ocean beyond its
boundaries. The high pressure that was rolling into California and bringing the hot temperatures to
central California was also bringing higher winds from the northwest. This brought swells and wind
waves from multiple directions which caused Paraclete to roll and pitch continually. While we felt safe
and confident of our boat’s seaworthiness, this constant motion keeps you off balance and is very tiring
on the crew. After only 2 ¾ hours we arrived in port – again weary and glad for the journey to be over.
The good news is we had no seasickness, so that’s good to know we have learned to manage that in
spite of what the seas throw at us.
One of the challenges of our cruise is learning how to approach and enter new harbors and marinas.
While we have charts that give all the requisite details, visibility has been reduced with fog, so we have
felt our way carefully into our three ports. We had called ahead to the Monterey port captain and been
given a berth assignment and some general directions into the marina. But there still are challenges to
getting your bearings. In the case of Monterey, once we rounded the jetty we were faced with many
boats that are moored to buoys, what appeared to be a small marina on one side, and another large
one beyond a concrete wall with a narrow passage. Once we figured out we were to be in the large
one beyond the wall and navigated there, we started our search for dock letters and berth numbers.
The berth numbers are usually more visible from the dock than the water, and the numbering system
varies between marinas, with some having odd and even numbers on different sides and some
consecutively numbering berths. We will say that one advantage of all the marinas we’ve been in so
far, compared to the Delta, is that the current and winds are minimal. If you can dock your boat in the
Sacramento Delta, you can probably dock it anywhere. Bill is a master and so docking is a real shot
to his ego.
After settling in our berth, we started checking weather as our plan was to leave at o’dark thirty on
Friday the 1st to take our long cruise down the Big Sur Coast, where there are no protected harbors
and marinas until Morro Bay. We estimated this would be a 12-14 hour run.
Well it wasn’t to be. The forecasts were for increasing wind from the northwest with seas getting
rougher with wind waves and 9 to 12 foot swells predicted through the holiday weekend. While
disappointed at the long-range forecast, we were grateful to be “marooned” in such a beautiful place
with so many interesting things to see and do within walking distance.
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Bill & Jackie McGrath
| The Good Ship "PARACLETE" |
