SoIt's our final day here at Port San Luis Obispo, about 4 pm. The wind is howling outside at about 20 knots, and the sky is clear and warm. The forecaster says that the wind will slow down a little tonight and tomorrow morning around Pt. Arguello. I am hoping that she is correct, because looking south at the sand dunes down toward Pismo Beach, I see a huge cloud of sand being blown up, and looking at the ocean I see lots of sheep grazing out there. So we are planning to leave in the morning before 4, with the intent of getting around the points by noon and therefore hopefully before the wind pipes back up. Assuming that it goes down.

I just discovered that my MacBook has a jack for my earphones, so I can listen to Robin Trower's "Bridge of Sighs" as I write this, without subjecting Ed and Teri to it. Next up: Billy Bob Thornton!

Heretofore in writing blog posts, I have written the entry after a passage and then uploaded it. I am trying something different this time; by writing this initial piece prior to departure, and then as we are enroute I will add to it. It's 90 miles from here to Santa Barbara; 18 hours at 5 knots, 15 hours at 6 knots. I'll be back.

So, we left last night - early this morning, actually - at 0130. we have made it around Points Arguello and Conception, and we are in the Santa Barbara Channel. It's 1247, and I am wearing a tee shirt and shorts. Bright  blue sky and bright blue water. The swells are passing under us about 8 seconds apart, and they are about 2 feet high. The wind is on the stern at about 6 knots, so we are motoring. This morning around daylight, we were abeam Pt. Arguello and the wind was from the north at 15 and the seas were 10 - 12 feet at about 8 seconds. It's called the "Cape Horn" of the west coast for a reason, I suppose! 

We are headed east, and off to the south and southeast I can see San Miguel, Santa Rosa, and Santa Cruz Islands. We have sailed past some oil platforms that are huge! Even from several miles away, they look huge. There is a lot of oil in this area, and the chart actually shows "oil springs" There must be some, too, because we have seen miles of water with oil floating on the surface. I suppose it's okay if it's natural and not there because of a human action. Since when were humans not natural? The wind is completely calm, and the water is glassy.

We arrived Santa Barbara this evening at about 1845 hrs. Since there are no slips available, we have anchored east of the marina in 5 fathoms of water. It's a little rolly, but I will sleep well because I'm tired. Ed and Teri have taken the dinghy to shore and may be getting groceries. If not tonight, then tomorrow! We are running low on some basic provisions, and we had quite a grocery list. Things like nuts, eggs, fresh vegetables, potatoes, hummus, etc. Interestingly, we have not had a real discussion about where to go next. The only 2 place we are going for sure soon are Santa Catalina Island and San Diego. I suppose tomorrow we'll talk about where to go next. It is a huge relief to finally get past Pt. Conception - we have arrived in southern California!!!