Caution: You Have Entered a Photo-Free Zone

December 27th, 2008 - March 19th, 2009

Welcome back to our family, friends, and circle of blogsters. This zone is photo-free because;
1.) Bill was in charge of photos.
2.) Bill captained the Lass, bringing her North to Sausalito from December 31st to January 6th.
3.) Bill had way too many uphill adventures and was understandably distracted from his duties as photographer.
4.) After arriving in Sausalito I was unable to locate the camera, the weather was cold and rainy, with gusty winds every day. Very yucky! The good news is that we survived to sail again on March 20th, as you can read in the next blog entry (complete with pictures!)

In a nutshell...
On December 30th at 4:30 a.m.(after we exchanged a Bon Voyage and Happy New Year smooch), Bill brought two additional crew onboard and I set off with the Escalade to drive her North to the SF Bay. Despite the worst fog and coastal cliffs driving conditions imaginable, I crossed the Mexican/US border in San Diego at 6:30 a.m. and continued to Santa Barbara where I found a lovely little hotel near the marina, nursed a cold, called my childhood (now SB resident) friend Mary Ellen, and waited for Bill to arrive for a re-fuel. Arrive he did, and although the SB marina only shuts down two days of the year (you guessed right, one is New Year's day), we were able to enjoy dinner with Mary Ellen and Rudolf before Bill climbed back on board and headed for Morro Bay.

While I stayed two additonal nights in SB, enjoying the company of my friend, Bill continued pounding North for our next rendevous in Morro Bay. When I arrived the Lass was in ship shape, the day was gorgeous, and we enjoyed running errands at the local hardware and grocery stores before saying goodbye. Bill and crew left just after midnight while I arrived in Tiburon in the early evening. Kendall was still on her Winter Break and joined me at the hotel where we awaited Bill's arrival in Sausalito.

On Monday, January 6th, I got the call that they were entering the Golden Gate at 6:00 a.m., exactly on schedule. Halleluja! We made it! Except...then the stories began (without photos...sigh). Point Conception had proved a formidable foe, and one that Bill had expected to face, so that in his words, he could "earn the badge and the f 'in Gold Star"). They lost an anchor in the dark, in 20 ft. swells with 10+ ft. breaking waves and had to cut it loose for Davey Jones to claim. The radar reflector broke loose from its steel cable assembly and crashed down on Bill's head, cutting him badly. (We now have a list of medical supplies that we will buy before the world tour that includes morphine and sutures...yikes!). And YES, he earned the Gold Star!!!

Epilogue:
The one video that Bill attempted to take was rendered impossible due to the camera's automatic "shutoff when shocked" feature, proving it was indeed a very rough ride!