SF-SD Day 10, Gale 4

Last night was the most difficult one of our passage.

The grib file predicted about 20 hours of strong SW and W wind so we ran downwind toward San Diego to position ourselves about 75 miles off the coast until the winds moderated. We hove to, got a fresh grib file, and found a much different wind forecast of 15-20 kt NW winds today than that of a few hours previously. On the strength of that we resumed our sail toward San Diego at about 6 kt. However, when we closed to 25 miles off the coast we discussed the fact that the wind had not moderated as expected so we hove to 25 miles off San Diego to give us sea room in case the strong winds continued.

The strong winds continued and we had the worst night of the passage. The prevailing wind was 30-35 kt but we were regularly hit by squalls that took the wind to over 45 knots. In these relatively shallow waters of 50 meters the seas were huge. We were regularly hit by breaking waves that shook the boat from stem to stern. The worst thump was strong enough to break the lee cloth attachment of Arnold's bunk and send him crashing to the sole. (No damage to him.) That shock to the boat was strong enough to make the cutlery on the leeward side of the boat jump out of its little trays and wind up all over the place. Because it was formally my watch I suggested to Arnold that he take my bunk on the starboard and leeward side. At 2.30 AM I concluded that I was doing no good sitting at the navigation table staring at the chart plotter so I rigged up the port lee cloth as best as I could and managed to sleep by lying diagonally on the bunk with my knees against the dining table, rolling back and forth with the boat.

We were up at 7 AM and decided to make way for San Diego to take advantage of the expected lull in the wind during the afternoon. At 9.30 AM I pointed the boat for San Diego under bare pole with a howling wind and a huge following sea. After 10 minutes of this I concluded that it was too dangerous to try to make San Diego under these conditions. I was having enough trouble steering the boat but when we made our turn into the harbor the swell would be even worse and if we got hit by another squall at that time I would not be able to control the boat against the strong cross wind with Pachuca's small 22 HP engine. We decided accept reality and heave to for one more day. We expect to enter San Diego Harbor tomorrow, Saturday the 23rd.

We looked at the stainless steel saddle that had come loose dumping Arnold on the cabin sole and I was puzzled that we could not find the bolts. Also, I did not see big holes in the bulkhead where the bolts would have come through. I got on my hands and knees and could not believe my eyes when I found the fastenings. The saddle which was supposed to restrain a sleeping person in the most violent of seas was held by two 6 gauge screws with a thread length that I've just measured to be 8mm (1/3 inch). I told Arnold with disgust "This is not my work!" My work was the aft saddles of the lee cloths: jarrah backing plates with big washers for all to see. I have no idea what the person who fitted that saddle had in mind. A stainless steel saddle that strong warrants strong fittings, otherwise a lighter saddle should be used.

At 10 AM the promised moderation of the wind really happened and the squalls seemed to have receded. But with the weather really not settled and the swell still huge (17 ft on the coast) we decided to play it safe and stick to our plan.

This storm system has been huge. It has affected the entire west coast of the USA from the Mexican to Canadian borders. As of yesterday 5 counties in California had been declared disaster areas. They have experienced or are expecting huge rain and snow falls, flash flooding, major beach erosion, hail stones, etc. In a message to Arnold Sandra said that 4 gales have hit the west coast. Interstate 5, the main north-south artery for the western seaboard of US, was closed.

And Arnold, Pachuca, and I have copped the edges of all of those gales out at sea. We agree that it was a tougher experience for us and the boat than those winter gales in the Tasman Sea in August 2008. The boat took a real hammering but thanks to its low freeboard, eggshell curvatures of its thick hull and deck, and small windows, I was never worried about the integrity of the hull. (Jeff the wind steering was a different matter. I was worried that one of those waves would break on it and demolish it, but he survived intact.)

Was it disastrously bad luck that Arnold and I got caught in those gales? That depends on how you look at it. We must have been one of a very few number of sail boats that, to push the boxing analogy, were IN the ring, not just ringside.

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