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Where In The World is...

4K views 27 replies 6 participants last post by  FredA 
#1 ·
... OC??? Been in the bay area for several days. All's fine and Steve, Tracy and Nolan are having fun. Steve says he's dropped 10 to 20 years and 25 lbs. The shot down to the bay area from Westport WA was not ideal from a sailing perspective but had it's rewards with "thousands" of dolphins surfing in 12 foot, phospherecent swells at night and whales serenading him. They are planning on going up into the delta for some west coast striper fishing in a few days. Tracy's working on the web site and they hope to have it up shortly.
 
#3 ·
Thanks Fred for posting our blog site. MY wife Tracy has done a great job on it so far. This Wifi stuff is really pretty primative with poor connections and so many dropped connections. But we are getting better at it and improving our equipment all the time.
Our trip up the Delta was real fine with strippers everywhere and also so many sturgen jumping all over the place. If anyone will be spending time in the San Francisco area you should try the fishing in the delta region. Not as great as Cape Cod or the East coast stripper fishing but real different country to fish in. It is like a mix of Wyoming ranch land and New Orleans Mississippi delta. there are a lot of folks from the M-delta living out this way from the sounds of the very southern drawls one encounters when asking about the fishing. There seems to be no sight fishing even on the miles of flats they have out here. There are whole bays that are 3 miles long and 3 miles wide that only have 1 to 2 feet of water on them at low tide. Tons of strippers but no crashing bait or bird activitty. Stripper fishing here is more like large mouth bass fishing casting into rocky nareas and around the many slough drainages.

We will leave the SF area early next week if we get a weather window and head south. Half Moon Bay, Channel Islands, Hearst Castle then San Diago. November will bring the end of the Hurricane Season in Mexico and we are looking forward to warm nights, Gin & Tonics, more of them anyway and some really good fly fishing and surfing.
 
#5 ·
Really Fred dancing to old surf music on passage is our way of life. Still in bay area because of weather windows. Expecting seas of 20 to 30 feet at 14 seconds so we will sit tight. There is always something to do in the San Fran area like fishing for Leopard Sharks and going to the modern art museum. I'm really getting the itch to fly fish in waters warmer down Mexico way. I keep looking at the weather maps and by god it's winter up in the north pacific time to get out of here. Once we get around Cape Conception life will be smoother.
Glad to hear the stripas on the cape are still around mean while the strippers as they are called here are hard to find outside the delta area.
 
#6 ·
Hokahay Steve

Hey Steve when I was in the Navy training to get ready to head over to Viet Nam we spent a lot of time running around in the sloughs and back channels from the "Bay" up to and beyond Vallejo I saw those strippers everyday but for some reason on weekends I would grab a $50 flight to Sea Tac and go watersking on the OP with friends several named Mary.:lildevl:
Just got back from my first round over in the Snake country The mob at the Corral has co ntinued to grow FYI.
I had a great time even fished with the Pescaphile for a few days and had camp together at Hell's Gate in Lewiston. We will keep an eye on the Sail Blog keep checking in here too.
What ever happdned to $50 flights???:(
 
#7 ·
Moonlight,
Boy I can picture you crazy navy boys way back in 69 sceaming through mile after mile of the Delta in your gun boats. As for 50 dollar flights you got a better chance of being called back in the service. Glad to hear the Snake is the Snake, say hello to everyone and send me an e-mail or pm on how fishing is. We will be getting a window on Monday and are really ready to get out of San Fran our first major destination completed. Better adventures are ahead.
 
#16 ·
From today's blog post. sounds cool.

Tumakohoa Pass, Fakarava, Tuamotu Archipelago
Tracy
06/11/2008, same

Never bungee jumped, never parachuted, never hot-air ballooned...but the tourist activity of choice here is to drift dive through the pass. Between a small atoll which is the village of Tetamanu, the ancient capital of the archipelago, and a chain of pink sand beaches with flat azure coves with bone fish, is a 200 meter opening to the sea. It is somewhat like some bars of the West Coast; massive amounts of water flow in and out of the lagoon, with true slack often not corresponding with high or low. One gets in the dinghy, motors out to the surf line at beginning of inflow, then jumps over holding a line to tow the dinghy behind. One just floats through the pass without effort, back into the lagoon. Underneath is a world of vivid exuberant healthy coral, with thousands of reef fish jumping and sneaking and cruising around..together with their brethren the black-tipped reef sharks and gray sharks. During the day the sharks are not hunting much, and Steve swears the "cute" black tips look like cats hanging out. By late afternoon, the big-eyed fish of the night start to come and and the sharks go into hunting mode. We all went in, with varying degrees of trepidation, and found that it was, well, pretty comfortable. And went in again and again and again. Amazing. Wish you were here. Off to Tahiti today.
 
#17 ·
Sorry for not posting more but internet in French Polynesia was real bad. We are now in America Samoa for those who might be interested in our journey. The trip from Bora Bora was 9 days and the first 3 to 4 were really bad weather. A Low pressure system moved way north from out of the roaring forties down by NZ and moved 640 miles in 24 hours creating a squash zone with 40 knot wind and sea up to 30 feet. We made out fine as Hannah really liked it but Tracy and I were very tired from all the banging around. Many cruisers like us got hamered with knock downs, lost masts and loads of other damage. They are all safe now here in Pago Pago and we are working on getting parts from the USA sent and doing repairs as cruisers stick together. It was told to us that American Samoa was a lousy place to go but we have enjoyed it as the people are friendly and the island is beautiful with tourists. They just hosted the Polynesian arts fest that takes place every four years and all Islands in the pacific come to show their stuff. The dancing was as good as it gets. Fly fishing here not much from what I can see but did find some mangrove mud flats that might have bones. Tracy put a pic of the flats I fished of the Island of Fakarava in the Tuamotu group. If you check out our blog site at www.sailblogs.com/member/svhannah you can see that it is truely paradise and no fly fhishermen to be found. Lots of fish for the taking.
Later
Steve and Tracy
 
#19 ·
Hi Juro,
Life is usually pretty mellow when out cruising. Today in Pago Pago harbor was not mellow as many cruisers were dragging anchor, smashing into other boats. we all were out in our avons in choppy seas trying to help out. Winds are going down now only 17 knots or so so I may get to have a rum drink yet tonight.

A little eye candy of some fine bone flats on google earth at s 16 31 6 W145 28 6
 
#20 ·
OC -

Glad to hear the storm is breaking. There's a bleached out log on the Skykomish where I'd love to hear these tales some April morning down the road.

That waypoint looks nothing short of a virgin bonefish paradise. It's proximity to bluewater and remoteness from man must make it a home to giant bones of dreamlike size, or so my mind wanders. I feel an urge to explore that place but have a feeling few people will ever have that experience... we venture vicariously through you!
 

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#21 ·
Hey Steve

Good fun following the Sail Blog Log you two have been posting. I greatly enjoyed the post re the allnighter and no you wouldn't want to do that for four more days weeks or let alone four years ! Thankfully gales pass and the heart is lifted to new and higher highs on each of there passings. (pretty deep for an old beach sailor eh)
I am heading my old Airstream on a Voyage North in the next few days Cane will be cast and fish will be rizzen I will of course get your share for you so that you will not be left out. I trust you will do the same for me on the Tropical Fish front!
All is well here in PA.:cool:
 
#22 ·
Juro, Hope to be in Seattle in early January maybe even cast aline for early steel. Can't tell you how incredible those flats were. What a place to go for a couple of weeks to enjoy the simple raw beauty of the South Pacific. Maybe a bit expensive with airfare and lodging but well worth it i you have some extra cash under the mattress.

Moonlight, great to hear from you sent you an e-mail recently but not sure if you got it or not. Yes please catch me a steel on the cane as my cane is all stored away in climate control locker. Glad to hear all is well on the home front and hope you run into sinktip up north. We are pulling out in an hour or so for an all night crossing to Western Samoa and the sea port of Apia. Looks good with 15 knots of wind early in creasing throughout the night to 25 with seas at 10 feet eight seconds. So a little bouncy but pretty quick trip as long as I keep good radar watch for the breaking waves on the open reefs that abound. Glad to hear you like our blog site, Tracy has done a good job on it.
Hope we can get a good internet conection in next port I do know the beer is cheap!
 
#24 ·
Hey Fred, Great to see your keeping up with the blog. Yup we are in the Kingdom of Tonga in the Vava'u group of islands where one would swear that they are in the Pacific North West Island groups. Dozens of green islands about 20 to thirty minutes apart, some have villages other just coconuts. plenty of fishing and clamming here on the reef as there is no cigqutera poisoning here in Tonga. Tons of lobsta too just walk the dry reef as it gets dark and pick them up. Not much fly fishing just lazy I guess rather catch goat fish and grouper for meals while fishing in a dugout canoe with some local guy. Diving and snorkeling is great, water temp 80 degrees and clear water colorful reefs. We are getting ready to head further south tomorrow to the Lifuka Group then on to the south end of Tonga. We will wait there for a weather window to New Zealand which should be a ten day trip with plenty of bad weather. There are about 200 cruisers like ourselves getting ready to do the same and all of us are very nervous about it and all are really fine tuning the boats. 19 boats left two days ago and are being called back by their router as a major low developed real fast at S 30 degrees just past NZ.
Hope Tracy and me can get together with some of you right after Christmas as we will be back on Cape Cod for a week or so at the old house in Dennis. Also be at old house in Seattle after that and the ranch in Wyoming for the holiday. Let's party hardy. Tracy has updated the blog a lot lately so check it out.
Steve and Tracy.
 
#26 ·
Looking forward to seeing you after xmas. I've been putting an e'mail together, in my head, with all the news that's fit to print. I'll get to it this weekend maybe. That can be some wild weather heading to NZ. Be safe. I've got a minor problem with my NZ project but it ain't going to get me a trip. It would be cool to catch up with you guys in Auckland.
 
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