Leg 4: San Francisco to San Diego

California delivered everything it promised.

We left Half Moon Bay on September 13th with a light southerly that became a proper NW breeze by afternoon. Monterey by the next morning — the bay full of sea otters floating on their backs, indifferent to our passage. Big Sur that afternoon, the cliffs dropping straight into the Pacific, no road visible, no houses, just rock and swell.

The Santa Barbara Channel was fast. A classic NW 15–20 pushed us through the night at 7 knots SOG, the oil rigs lit up like a floating city to starboard. We ducked into the Channel Islands for an overnight on the hook at Santa Cruz Island — the clearest water I've seen outside the tropics — and then a straightforward day sail to Catalina.

San Diego came on October 4th. We anchored in the bay, cleared back into the US (crossing the Channel Islands puts you technically offshore and requires a check-in), and started thinking about Mexico.

Best day: 7.1 kts avg through the Santa Barbara Channel · Highlight: Santa Cruz Island anchorage

Distance: ~520 nm · Days underway: 5 sailing days, 2 weeks elapsed