fingers crossed, if you don't mind

[Alan H]

Tomorrow (saturday) I am going to deliver my boat, solo, from Santa Cruz California to Alameda, in the San Francisco Bay. I have to do this solo, becasue I want to qualify for a 400 mile offshore race later this summer, and I need aminimum of 50-mile solo passage to do that. The wind will be predominantly out of the NorthWest, and it will be a windward beat all the way from the 'round the corner turn at Santa Cruz until I hang a right to go under the Golden Gate. If the wind velocity stays under 20 knots I will have a nice sail, and if I get too tired I can always pull in at Half Moon Bay (about 50 miles up the coast) and catch a few hours of sleep. If that's not convenient I can point the boat offshore, engage the auto-steering and drop below for 90 minutes of shut-eye.

However, my boat is a 27 foot ultralight, and she's "wet" so if the waves get big and close together, and if it blows much more than 20, it's going to be a nasty ride. Once around the corner, there's basically nowhere to "hide" until you get to Half-Moon Bay. Once you leave Half Moon Bay there's nowhere to hide until you're under the Gate.

As singlehanded passages go, this is not a terribly difficult one, and I've sailed this stretch of coast twice before. I've driven the coastal road hundreds of times. I will have a self-steering windvane on the boat so I don't have to sit at the helm for 24-36 hours, straight. But this is a new boat to me...only my second sail with her, ever. Ultralights don't go to windward well, in a blow. If it REALLY blows up, it could be very dangerous. It probably won't, but I'm...

anxious... hyped...amped....concerned. All of these are healthy. I'm NOT "scared" or terrified. I know exactly what I'm taking on, here. Not only that, but there will be boats coming back from a race to Monterey this weekend. I'll have some company out there, probably about 40 boats will make the passage over Saturday-Sunday. If I scream for help over the VHF radio and fire off some flares, I'll probably be seen and heard.

....but I'm still a bit anxious.

So if you have a few extra moments this weekend, send up a call upstairs for me and cross your fingers for a moment.

Alan