The day after Memorial Day, Bill and Charlie headed out towards Santa Cruz Island for a week long trip The morning winds were light and the seas were kind of choppy so they decided to motor over. Unfortunately, about 2/3 the way over the engine died. Charlie figured that pounding into the swells caused some debris from the fuel tank to clog the fuel system. Not wanting to diagnose and fix the problem in the heavy seas, they decided to sail Spray back to the marina in Channel Islands Harbor. They had a great sail back with building winds and following seas. They were able to sail right up to the end-tie on D dock and were greeted by Dave and Chris for an uneventful landing. After a brief rest, some lunch and a couple of beers, they flushed and replaced the Racor fuel filter / water separator. Although the filter / separator contained some debris and water from the tank, the source of the engine failure was a dislodged glob of blue sealant that plugged the intake line to the filter. They removed the offending glob of sealant, cleaned the filter bowl, replaced the filter, and the engine fired right up.
On Wed morning, they left bright and early with plans to sail around Anacapa Island and into Smugglers Cove on Santa Cruz Island. By the time they got to oil platform Gina, the winds were blowing over 20 kts so they reefed the main and Genoa. The wind built to a steady 35-45 knots as they approached Anacap Island and the seas grew to 4-6 feet. When they got to the back side of Anacapa, the seas flattened out as predicted. However, the winds continuted to blow at 35-45 knots. When they got to the gap between Anacapa and Santa Cruz Island, the sea got choppy and the wind started gusting to 55 knots. They continued to Smugglers hoping that the island would provide some shelter from the wind. It did not. The unrelenting winds continuted to blow 35-45 knots. The only other boat in sight was the Coast Guard Cutter waiting in standby to rescue those in trouble. Charlie and Bill decided to return to CI Harbor and wait out the storm. The return trip was very quick with strong wind and following seas. Spray's new Raymarine X-10 Smartpilot auto-pilot did an excellent job of steering while under sail and power, even with the high winds and 6-8 foot following seas. Charlie was glad that he opted for the heavy duty below decks auto-pilot.
The winds continued to blow at over 30 knots through the next day. On Friday morning they departed once again for Santa Cruz Island. This time they headed directly for Prisoners Harbor. They encounted over a thoushnd dolphins on the way over. They sailed into and empy Prisoners Harbor and had a nice lunch.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
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