I’ve made it to the quiet zone, which is how I think of Southern California weather. Calm water, light winds, easy progress. Although I am still some 80 miles from the border, these are the conditions I am getting, and I am entirely happy with that.
The coastline down this way is like a big “J”, with Cedros island being the bottom tip of the J, and San Diego the top. I was happy to cross from Cedros over the mainland part of the J, as it meant I was far from land, hazards, shipping and most anything else, which meant I was finally able to get some decent rest.
I enjoyed few more dolphin visits, and a few late whales heading north, and some really spectacular jelly fish. The crowns were about 2 feet across, puffy and orange like a cloud, with 6 feet of thick fuzzy orange stringers hanging down. Beautiful to look at, but I wouldn’t want to swim into it.
I go in and out of adverse current, and had a few hours of big round 6-8 foot swells (from weather far, far away), making things a bit rolly, but on average making good progress. If all continues going well I should cross the border tonight, and take advantage of a small low pressure sitting just south of San Clemente island. This will generate light counter-clockwise winds through the whole Southern California region, which is perfect for me, as I will make a big counter-clockwise arc from San Diego to Point Conception. I may continue to get lucky, with light west winds to take me up the coast from there for a day or two, and could arrive into San Francisco Bay sometime on Tuesday. We’ll see…
6/8 8am 31.05N 116.38W 8268nm gone, 517nm to go