A Peek, No, Actually A Look, At Our Itinerary

People have been asking about the places where we’ll be stopping before Mexico this autumn. For the most part, it’ll be the same places as last year.

Below, I’m using professional photos instead of ours because I wanted to give a different sense of the places that we stopped at. -Also because you can take a look back at our photos from last autumn’s voyage to see our personal experiences.

First stop will be Monterey. It’s a fairly short day sail. The few times we’ve gone to Monterey in the past, we’ve seen a ton of whales on the way over! Such a special experience! We’ll get a slip at the marina again this year. -The anchorage is extremely rolly & no one recommends it.

Monterey

After about a 16 hour sail/motor from Monterey, (let’s pray it goes better than last time. -Read of our not-so-fun adventure that we had along the Big Sur Coast last year. Click here: https://www.svmersea.com/blog/are-we-having-fun-yet), we will be anchoring at San Simeon. I remember, from last year, seeing the lights from Hearst Castle in the early morning, which signaled that we were close to our anchorage & therefore soon to be done with the harrowing experience.. San Simeon has a special place in our hearts now. I’m pretty sure it was windy & rolly but that doesn’t stick out in my mind. I consider it a sanctuary.

San Simeon

Then, just a day sail from San Simeon, we’ll stop at Morro Bay. We ended up loving this place last year & are excited to go back.

Morro Bay

Our 4th stop will be at Cojo Anchorage. Getting around Point Conception is can be gnarly. Although, previously, it wasn’t really, both on our way down & way up. Getting around it without turbulence is definitely a reason to celebrate. Let’s hope we have the same experience this next time.

Cojo Anchorage/Point Conception

Santa Barbara - definitely a fun town to stop in! The marina has the most excellent sushi! So great to be able to walk, get take out & enjoy it in your own boat. Plus, it’s just a beautiful town. And probably the coolest place to walk around.

Santa Barbara

The most pristine harbor that we’ve ever been to! We love the Ventura Harbor! There’s laundry, luxury bathrooms & showers & there’s a ton of restaurants of all kinds around the harbor. It’s a little pricier than other harbors but it’s so worth it!

Ventura

The super duper rolly anchorage of Malibu is pretty but not comfortable. But by this point, hopefully we’ll be de-sensitized to it. Plus, we have our anti-rocking device that we can put up.

Malibu

The photo below is one I took last year. I’m using it because it’s hard to find a shareable photo of this place online. Anyway, this will be our last anchorage until we get to Mexico. Praying the water will be a little warmer for me to be able to handle snorkeling this year.

Emerald Bay, Catalina

This photo is also from our collection of photos from last year. It’s a much better harbor to stretch all of our legs at than Emerald Bay.

Two Harbors, Catalina

Avalon will be our first new stop this year. Although, I grew up going there many times over the years.

Avalon, Catalina

Then on to where I grew up, Dana Point. -Actually Laguna Niguel. But I went to highschool in Dana Point & we were at this harbor a ton going sailing. So basically, it’s still my original hometown. My parents still live there. -Which is why we will be saving a ton of laundry to do at this stop. Oh & we love my parents, so there’s that too!

Dana Point

Our last stop before crossing the border will be Chula Vista in San Diego. This is where the Baja Ha-Ha will take off from.

Chula Vista, San Diego

That’s where I will leave the itinerary for now. I might post the itinerary for the Sea of Cortez in Mexico at a later point. However, I expect that whatever itinerary we come up with at first will change. -Mostly because marinas & anchorages will probably be a little on the crowded side. Which is actually my only real worry at this point. So, in turn, we may just get really frustrated & end up sailing across the Pacific to Polynesia. No, I’m not serious. Don’t freak out! Not only will it be the wrong season to cross the Pacific Ocean but we definitely don’t have a boat that can handle 21 days at sea without stopping. Someday, though…..

Even Zephyr is reminiscing about his time on our voyage last year!

Thanks for reading! Stay tuned in for next week, when the count-down really gets real!