Emerald Star

We arrived in Santa Barbara on 9/23. The trip from Morro Bay was remarkably uneventful. Rounding Point Conception can be one of the more "exciting" experiences when going up or down the California coast. But we'd watched the weather websites for a few days and took off as soon as a low pressure system had gone through the area. The sea was the calmest we have ever seen on a long passage. The wind never went above 5 knots for 20 hours. That meant we motored the whole way. But that's OK, it beats having an adrenaline rush with big swells and lots of wind for several hours.

The view from the boat in Santa Barbara Harbor during the not so early morning.

There is a Great Blue Heron just under the name of the blue power boat.

It's 2:00 a.m. Near Point Arguello.....

The ocean is so calm that the stars are reflected on the water. Diane's on watch. Ray and  the dogs are asleep. We're all in the cockpit. Suddenly there's a "whoosh, whoosh, whoosh" noise. There are around 8 dolphins that start playing in the bow wave of the boat. They seem almost close enough to touch. Due to just a little bit of phosphoresence in the water, they can be seen coming up from below before they jump out of the water.  The dolphins keep circling and jumping for about 15 minutes, then dissappear.

Ah ha! That's why we do this!