Te Ara is Headed South!

Well everyone, the day has finally arrived. After two years of working on Te Ara here in the Bay, McKay and I are finally turning our bow south and headed to warmer climates. I write this blog from the deck of Te Ara, May 12, the day before our departure. Before I get started, I want to mention that we were lucky enough to have Te Ara's previous owners come down to the Bay last weekend and get a wonderful afternoon of sailing with us. I will be eternally grateful that they saw fit to pass this boat on to us so we can chase our own adventures.

I am finding it increasingly difficult to focus on my actual job today....I keep getting distracted by the small, last minute, little things I want to get done before we leave the dock for our first big sail.

The ultimate destination will be Ventura harbor (at Casa de Shaw) but that is still a couple of weeks out..... THIS weekend, we are hoping to make it from San Francisco to Santa Cruz harbor and spend the week there, at which point my Dad will come up to meet us for the longer hop from Santa Cruz to Ventura.

For any of you nautical types who are interested in our sail this weekend, I am outlining our plan below so you can follow along. I will try to keep some updates coming through Instagram... so check for our progress there! Based on the weather reports, it should be a very pleasant sail. So here we go:

Friday May 12:

We will leave the Oakland Yacht Club around 5 pm and motor up to a guest dock in Sausalito where we will spend the night. We can do a final charge up of the batteries and get a good night's sleep here. This will shave off about 5 motoring miles of our trip the next day.

Saturday May 13:

We will leave the dock in Sausalito around 5 am (when it is just light enough to see) and motor out of the bay and under the Golden Gate. We will be crossing the notorious San Francisco Bar on a small swell day at high slack water (which is why we are leaving at 5 am -this is the safest time to cross). Once we get past the bar and into deep water, we turn south, release the sails, and "let 'er rip"! The wind is forecasted to be 10-15 kts from the aft quarter, with 3-6 ft swell also from the aft quarter. If that forecast holds true, we can't ask for better sailing. (That darn Shaw luck). We will continue south all day and have an exit point planned at Half Moon Bay. We will use this exit point if the weather is too rough, if something breaks, or if we are moving slower than expected and we can't make it to Santa Cruz in the daylight. Otherwise, we run before the wind all the way down the coastline until we hook into Santa Cruz harbor some time in the late afternoon.

Sunday May 14

If we make it into Santa Cruz on Saturday, then we will spend Sunday relaxing and getting the boat re-set. If we need to pull out at Half Moon Bay on Saturday, then we will leave Half Moon Bay again on Sunday at 5 am to motor sail south toward Santa Cruz. Sunday is forecasted to have light winds (5-10 kts) from the South West, which is less ideal for sailing and may mean a long day of motoring into the wind to get to our destination. Either way, we should be there ~mid afternoon on Sunday if this is the course we take.

I find it difficult to describe the various emotions I am feeling today. Excitement and anxiety are definitely at the top of the list. I think both are very natural to have in a moment like this. I'm excited to finally be taking this big leap for McKay and I. I'm excited to be testing ourselves and the boat in truly unknown waters. I'm excited to finally be at the pinnacle of 2 years of preparation and I'm excited to finally see my home waters again.

At the same time, I have a level of anxiety that I never felt on my sailing trips prior to this. I suspect this comes from being crew and never "captain". Now as captain..... its all on me. The safety of the crew and the vessel are entirely my responsibility and there is no option to defer to someone else. I am eternally grateful for McKay keeping my head on straight when she sees me start spinning my wheels. I hope everyone can find a first mate like that :). Im also extremely grateful to my dad for setting such a good example of seamanship as I grew up.... thanks Dad!. Ultimately, I know we are ready for this next step in the adventure.

I also know as soon as that bow turns south and we have the wind and waves pushing us home, the anxiety will all melt away and after 5 years of working toward this goal, I will finally be reunited with the joys of open ocean sailing!

So here's to fair winds and following seas!

-Gavin