Descanso is a 52' motoryacht coming home from Seattle, Washington via Victoria, BC making her way to San Diego, California. I was invited to join the crew and be a part of moving this fine craft down the Pacific Coast to her current proud owner, Wayne Hansen. She finally made her way to Newport, Oregon where I joined her crew, Captain Chris Couch and her first mate, Clint. Repairs made after a false start due to a problem with the generator and several day delay - she made her way to Newport. Marcel made it possible for me to leave my car at home and drove me to my motel at the coast (THANK YOU!). Without the support of my family and friends I know this would not be possible.
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| Marcel |
Side note: Marcel - get those car headlights adjusted soon.
In the morning of January 18th before Descanso was to arrive I walked about the great bridge and park area near the marina and found some absolute beauty in the morning light to share. The Oregon coast certainly holds it's own as one of the most gorgeous places in the world.
Wikepedia says: "The
Yaquina Bay Bridge is an
arch bridge that spans
Yaquina Bay south of
Newport, Oregon. It is one of the most recognizable of the
U.S. Route 101 bridges designed by
Conde McCullough.
[2]" Read more at the links provided. Yes, I stood ontop the road way of this bridge this morning - windy and beautiful!
Descanso's estimated time of arrival is 12:45pm so I waited at the picnic table at the South Marina, Dock "E" until she cleared customs and made her way to her slip for an overnight stay & refueling. She was traveling with her crew of two for several days now to Newport.
I downloaded the Otis Redding's standard -
"Knitting" By The Dock of Bay (my version) and listened in the unsually warm January sun while working on a pair of socks for Oliver (no, Jenny, I haven't finished those YET!)
My boat arrived right on schedule and quickly I find
comedy abounds. Clint is the Jerry Lewis to Chris's Dean Martin - this team has moved boats together for 15 years. I could have never picked a more entertaining duo to hang with. Clint hales from a family of entertainment. Comedy flows in his blood. He knows movie references, dialogue, characters with a quick and brilliantly funny take on just about everything. Chris pleads the fifth when asked to attempt to describe Clint. There may be no describing him only that my sides hurt and my cheeks ache! So silly but completely serious about the job at hand. These two fine gentlemen take the business of moving the boats very seriously. I know I am in good company as both of these men teach a land lubber like me how to properly handle the boats. How did I get so incredibly fortunate? As we shared this journey together I found them both very willing to disseminate knowledge and skills of many years. Hours passed like minutes making me wish I only had more time to take this all in. Clint teaches sailing in San Diego when he is not delivering the odd boat. I hope to make my way to attend his courses in the very near future. Besides ~ I have 3 pair of his reading glasses I need to return to him so why not?
Night is very dark after the moon goes down. Chris talks to me of man kind and how important instincts are, now missing in our lives. Common sense is discussed. If you had a chance to read through his writing previously linked at this blog you will have an idea of how he approaches his job. He is passionate about his life and his work - a thing missing with many of us. I much admire his journey. He is one of the strongest yet sensitive people I have ever met. We are a disconnected people. We can reflect given the time here on the water without distraction. I believe this to make him stronger and more secure in his beliefs. Will I ever find that nirvana? I can only hope. He just texted me and asked if I see the full moon tonight (as our trip finished a couple days ago as I write this). I tell him it is raining hard here in San Diego. I will never look at the moon in the same way again after this trip. Chris knows this. He replies: "It was magical"
Upon leaving out of Newport, Oregon on January 18th Chris almost immediately spots a pod of orcas! Already this trip is unmatched in my life and we have only been out for a very short time. They were too far away for pictures but there was no doubt what we were seeing was the defined tall dorsal fins of these incredible animals. Chris has a talent through many years of practice to spot sea creatures, boats, points on land as we are now on his stomping grounds. This place is familiar to him. He calls out points of reference like you and I might recognize the corner market in a city where we live. I feel disoriented. He knows exactly where he is. Not long after the orcas we see gray whales moving along off the starboard side. We slow to take it all in. With respect and awe, we give them a wide berth as is required but we still are able to see the barnacles on their skin, see the blow holes as they surface, hear them breathe! This was simply the most freaking awesome thing I have ever seen! Hands down. Tears still come to my eyes when I think about these moments on this trip. Portia ~ I understand your love and passion for the life you have chosen. You have my utmost respect and admiration.
This magical trip was another of many firsts like taking turn at watch. Without a moon you are blind. The moon is our only light at night. It is so dark that we must turn down the navigation screens to dim and cover bright dash lights with tape so our eyes can stay focused for the darkened view ahead. Radar gives us "targets" (other boats, buoys, oil platforms, etc.) to watch for from all directions and miles out. They appear as small red & yellow ovals on a screen marked up like a dart board. The land masses are big red smears that look like peanut butter spread on toast. The water is black. In the black water you can see the occasional fleck of pale green light called "clutter" - probably waves. This is your eyes at night in addition to watching all around you for any change. Checking the binoculars for lights of the targets. All this ~ while you continue on a heading set in auto pilot that flexes slightly to the left or right requiring you correct the heading a few degrees to keep us on track. Radar shows our true heading - straight ahead while the other screen showing track - is a compass heading, pointing in the opposite direction for this trip. This makes life a little confusing at first. I conspire a method to help me remember by holding out my arm as if holding a tow rope to my right or left when correcting our heading to turn toward track. Sometimes it is difficult to tell if we are right or left of track without zooming in on the screen. By my last watch I felt a level of accomplishment with this task. By then I was no longer taking the prophylactic sea sick meds and I did feel much clearer and less tired during watch, that is for sure. Thank you both for your patience in teaching me as worked to move her home.
On our first evening out Chris turns out the navigation lights and walks me to the stern. The boat is traveling at about 10 nauts in the pitch dark. He wants to show me something very special. No, not that.... mind in the gutter? Lights from the ocean called
Bioluminescence! I am so glad he shared this moment with me. Later that night on my watch I saw a porpoise race up beside the boat like a glowing arc! If I had seen that and not had this explained to me I would have wounder what effect the meclizine was having on me!
Bioluminescence occurs in marine
vertebrates and
invertebrates, as well as
fungi, microorganisms and terrestrial animals.
Symbiotic organisms carried within larger organisms are also known to bioluminesce. It is the production and emission of
light by a living
organism. Its name is a
hybrid word, originating from the
Greek bios for "living" and the
Latin lumen "light".
On January 19th we arrived in Monterey Bay, California. We were fortunate enough to have time in our schedule allowing us an extra day to walk the beautiful path that follows the ocean wall
Marine Protected Areas in Monterey Bay. Wikepedia says "Like underwater parks, these marine protected areas help conserve ocean wildlife and marine ecosystems." This is a very special place. Portia, my daughter, did her internship here at the
Monterey_Bay_Aquarium March 2012 participating in the creation of the NEW Jellyfish exhibit ~ making this place even more special to our family.
"The
Monterey Canyon, one of the largest underwater canyons in the world, begins off the coast of
Moss Landing, exactly in the center of Monterey Bay." "Monterey Bay is home to many species of
marine mammals, including
sea otters,
harbor seals, and
bottlenose dolphins; as well as being on the migratory path of
Gray and
Humpback Whales and a breeding site for
elephant seals. Killer whales are also found along the coast, especially when Gray whales migrate, as they hunt the whales during their migration north. Many species of fish, sharks,
mollusks such as
abalone and
squid, birds, and sea turtles also live in the bay."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monterey_Bay
As we clean, refuel, take on fresh water, exercise, sun, eat - the sea otters groom, eat, live in the marina. Harbor seals, egrets, pelicans (sea birds of all kinds) and jellyfishes clearly call this marina home. It is clean and welcoming. After having seen a few other marinas now I am truly impressed with how pristine the water is here in the harbor.
After safely bringing her this distance her Captain attends to her and the Descanso shines in the evening sun. The first mate has left us making his way home and on to another job attending boats and their people. Paradise never looked to good while cruising the foot paths of the California shores. I love the silver orca charm commemorating our trip from the old bay front shop, Chris. I'm glad you found your pearl.
At the Breakwater Cove Marina we get our meals in the Breakwater BBQ and Deli. We met a wonderful woman there who is the owner/operator. She shares with us she is the mother of twins. What are the odds?! Here we stand, all three of us - separately - the parents of twins. She fixes us nice meals, speaks of life as a parent and a business owner. I like it here. I want to come back some day soon.
Funny side note: while we fueled I hear a sound constant from a ramp setting on the dock "Eeak, Eeak, Eeak..." as the motion of water lifted and lowered. I look up and see the marina sign is partially covered by a net so appears to say "Eakwater Cove Marina". I think - how appropriate. Made me laugh.
As we leave the harbor at Monterey we look back at Pacific Grove. The surf is high crashing into rocks making a dramatic splash spraying mist high in the air. Apparently the sea conditions, with long period swells is perfect for the surfers. It was perfect for us as well.
Our sunset that evening left us running for our cameras. The moment always best when shared on deck ~ I can tell you that. Pictures only help us relive the moment.
The video here is to help share the experience of the beautiful Bottle nose Dolphin playing at the bow of Descanso. Awesome.
We are headed into Santa Barbara to pick up Wayne Hansen, owner of Descanso. We left out of Monterey mid day, motored through the night sharing watch. We saw many more oil platforms now. They are lit up like cities at night. These now became our traffic, watching them go by. In the afternoon we see many more whales and dolphins. Many grays spout in the distance. I've never seen this so clearly in my life. Trying to see this from shore is much more difficult. 
Late in the afternoon the smell is very distinct. It woke me from a nap at one point, odor like creosote. I came on top to see what was wrong only to find the water having a sheen of oil everywhere. We were in the middle of the ocean. The sea lions sunning were floating in the midst of the oil slick. Chris says "naturally occurring" leaks from the earth. I have a hard time swallowing this as humans punch holes in the earth extracting it. Platforms are creepy looking, like machines called "A.T. A.T. Walkers" from Star Wars. Portia later tells me that the design for the movie came from the oil rigs. We are on a stretch of the coast that, again, is stunningly beautiful. Rolling hills, cliffs and what appears to be a beautiful university campus along the shore line. I imagine out loud that the smell must be strong on shore, Chris says yes when wind conditions are right. There goes paradise.
Fueled and on our way, Wayne now joins us as crew prepared to take watch dividing up our chores through the night. I enjoyed my time with him while sitting on his left as we motor past Catalina island in the dark. He has many stories and I love to hear them. Wayne had been invited back to visit an updated PT boat by a good friend. He says the big change was all the electronics and women being present giving them full credit and found them to be very competent at there jobs. He did ask aloud how many of the hundred and fifty or so on the vessel could actually shoot a star (navigate by stars) and only two was the answer. More lost skills with modernization.
This is a man of the sea who has made his way in life on boats. A career in the military, he speaks of his 4 tours in Vietnam and this long standing participation on the majestic world of sailing. His true love is sailing. He describes his purchase of the Descanso as turning to the "dark side", motor yachting. He shared with us as we entereded the San Diego Bay in the early morning hours that he owns several sailing yachts, with several more in the marina previously owned by this strong enthusiatist. He has been very active in the Americas Cup and was more recently an advisor to ESPN during the event giving him the best seat in the house. When I asked for his photo for the blog he declined, telling me with a twinkle and a smile that he is "in the wittness protection program". When we arrived at the San Diego Yacht Club for breakfast with Wayne where my son, Donovan joined us, it was quite apparent everyone knew Wayne. Wittness protection? Funny, Wayne. Thank you for the wonderful breakfast and one of the most enjoyable journeys in my life ~ cruising on the Descanso.
