Morro Bay

It is getting close to another departure day.  The seas are finally taking a rest from the gale force winds that have dominated over the last couple days.  Four cruising boats, us included, hope to head south Saturday and two will be headed north - back home. Yesterday the gale winds filled the bay, pushing and pulling Steadfast from the MB Yacht club dock.  By early afternoon the strong winds were not ceasing so we added a few more fenders and dock lines to ease the on going stress the wind and chop was causing.  On a slightly freaky side, our neighbor saw a 40 foot power boat blowing down the channel after it broke from its mooring ball.  Luckily she ALSO saw the Harbor Patrol boat close on its heels and no harm was done.  

The picture above is what evenings here usually look like to the west.... a silhouette of sailboats, sand dunes and Morro Rock, which stands 581 feet.  Warning, warning - Geology/Spanish lesson  ... A morro is a rocky outcrop in the shallow waters of a harbor, often round in shape and sometimes very high.  They are commonly made of hard granite or quartz.  The word is taken from the Spanish word morro, which has several meanings, including a rounded headland or bluff.  A couple other famous morros include Moro Rock (245 ft) in Sequoia National Park and Sugarloaf Mt. (1299 ft) in Rio de Janeiro.   O.K., lesson over! Whew!

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Above Picture - The little guys and I saw this congregation of Pelicans on an old barge while toodling down the bay in the dinghy this morning.   

Steadfast's windlass deck foot-switch has been on the "blink" over the last few weeks...aka stopped working due to the entire switch corroding into one solid piece of rust. Today I finally pulled the switch out of the deck, cut, cleaned and epoxied the hole, finally bedding the new switch in with SS screws and 5200 adhesive sealant. Now, I hope, pulling up the anchor won't require my aching back anymore...just my big toe!  Thanks Keiley for bringing down your dad's power drill.  That was one less thing I had to buy and hike back from the hardware store across town.  Boy, between the grocery store and the hardware store, I think I racked up 15 miles running, literally, around this week.

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