8 Jul 2007
A week on Calypso
It’s Sunday morning after a week long stay on Calypso in Santa Cruz that has been full of adventure, romance and fun. We’ve sailed 3 times including a lovely evening with Pam and I at anchorage for a sunset dinner and to watch the fireworks. I also managed to cycle several times including a trip up the coast to Davenport.
The weather has been varied this week starting out with beautiful warm days til the 4th then turning to fog for the remainder of the stay. There was a break on Saturday afternoon when Liz and I went out for a 4 hour sail, the wind was strong outside but calm by the wharf. We sailed back and forth from the wharf , gybing around the mile buoy, startling the sea lions and then reaching back to the wharf. We were surprised at one point when we found ourselves in the midst of a one-design spinnaker run and later were amazed as large flocks of brown pelicans circled around us swooping to within inches of the wave tops.
Today is a day to do chores on Calypso as there seems to be an endless list of todos in maintaining a 30 year old boat. We lost a small plexiglass deck plate yesterday that has been loose for awhile reminding me of the need to fix things when they first present themselves.
I am struggling with replacing the broken original alcohol stove. We’ve been using a 2 burner propane camp stove but the hassle of setup discourages its use plus the propane canisters aren’t environmentally friendly. I’ve started researching propane conversions so more on that later…
Tomorrow is back work day after a week of relaxing and dreaming of days sailing and cycling the world. The launch of GreenWanderer has put all this into a new perspective. Everything from researching the “big boat” to the commitment to my cycling program has taken on a new sense of urgency. A smile is on my face as I consider the new possibilities that lay on the horizon.
Bon Voyage, Jay
