We woke to a gloriously sunny morning in Capitola. After a hearty breakfast, we departed south for Stillwater Cove off of the 18th hole at Pebble Beach.
Crossing vast Monterey Bay under engine power we were treated to an exhibition of wildlife that could rival any day out at the aquarium; otters, seals, dolphins and whales, all now par for the course on this trip it seems but we also got to see a sunfish and most surprising and special of all, a huge leatherback turtle. We all saw it at the same time as it passed on our starboard and we had a bird’s eye view of its enormous, reptilian shell.
Pushing on to Stillwater, we had a challenging navigation through the kelp but by noon were anchored with a beer in our hands, lunch on the table and a million dollar view.
It was hard to tear ourselves away from the spectacular setting but with the prospect of a good long sail back to Capitola we were on the move again by 1 pm. And what an afternoon. A stunning sail with steady strong winds, waves big enough to make it exciting and several sail changes to keep us on our toes. Mike was put to work on the foredeck by the power of Greg’s delegation while Susan and I discovered that 4 arms powering the winch yields faster results than 2. Girl power!!
Feeling the need for a warming cuppa, Mike offered to make everyone a coffee but judging by his face, he quickly regretted it. As we heeled over, the cupboard he had opened launched its contents towards him. Seat cushions flew across the cabin and books slammed onto the floor…YARD SALE!!! The result was a broken coffee pot but, fortunately, that was the only casualty.
4 1/2 hours later we were back on our mooring ball at Capitola and settling down for another glorious evening, once again in the company of the otters. Susan and I could have sworn the baby one was waving at us and that was before we’d had too much wine!
Bellies full with bison burgers cooked on the BBQ and faces red and glowing from the sun and the rum, we saluted the summer solstice before retiring to our cabins, tired, a little tipsy but very happy.