We left Santa Barbara on Thursday, Oct. 26. We meant to get an early start, but couldn’t resist going to the Breakwater Cafe for breakfast again. Koiya got a Belgian waffle piled high with whipped cream and sugary strawberries. I was worried she might try to hide in the kitchen and live there forever!
The 15- 20 kt wind was from the southwest, so we were beating, but we had a wonderful, 24-nautical-mile sail to Santa Cruz Island. Great wind, a few big splashes up on the decks, and a close encounter with a HUGE car transport freighter, just to keep things interesting. A lot like sailing San Francisco Bay!
One thing we don’t get in the bay, though: dolphins riding our bow! How exciting to see them race and dive! While whales’ size and power fill you with awe, the dolphins’ speed and acrobatics are so thrilling, you want to shout and holler like idiots… which we did! Southern Californians might call them “the Blue Angels of the sea”, but really, that doesn’t give the dolphins their due respect. They are effortlessly fluid and graceful in a way that no machine could ever be.
I can’t help but wonder if the dolphins can see Koiya on the bowsprit, hear her excited shouts, and know that their brief visits are the highlights not only of our day, but our entire trip! Koiya used her Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises book to identify them as common dolphins, and in the excitement of seeing them, she often recites what she’s learned about them. “I think the best kind of dolphin for us to see is common dolphins, because they are known for being playful and riding bow waves,” she told me.
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