Santa Cruz Slammed as California Coast Experiences Heavy Surf
Unless you’ve been on a media detox, you’ll have heard the news of heavy surf slamming the California coast, and washing away the Santa Cruz Wharf on Monday. A major storm in the Pacific Northwest is said to have fueled the extreme wave action, believed to be 20-30 feet, and swells reportedly over 50 feet.
This video posted on the @ktvu2 Instagram page shows the Santa Cruz Wharf as a pile of floating debris. Three people were stranded on the remains. All made it safely ashore.
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A day later, Sam Forbes-Roberts was out doing some last-minute Christmas shopping when he learned the cleat holding his 46-ft trawler on the dock had been ripped away. He rushed back and spent the next 12 or so hours keeping his boat afloat, tied between five pilings. “I spent the night retying on the pilings with the tide.” Sam described the water as rushing through every 10-15 minutes with maybe 10 feet between the waves. Some would reach the wall at the end of the harbor and rush back out to sea, adding to the turmoil and destruction.
“It was like watching an accordion,” Sam told us. Whereas the clinking sound of swaying masts can be pleasant, he says, “The cacophony of masts bashing together, fiberglass crunching … that sound will stay with me.
While Sam was securing his boat, his girlfriend Meghan Robinson took this video of one of the surges coming into the harbor:
“There are pilings sticking up everywhere, boats upside down. A lot of debris,” he adds. And although the sun was shining as we spoke, Sam said there was more to come. He was therefore making some repairs and readying his boat to move down to Moss Landing, where he said he would be better protected.
The waves and surge in Santa Cruz Harbor have left many of the harbor’s liveaboard community in difficulties; their homes are now either sunk, damaged, or inaccessible. “I feel fortunate,” Sam says. He has the means to adjust and continue. Others have nowhere to go, he adds.
This video shared by @thequalifiedcaptain captures the waves and swell washing through Santa Cruz Harbor, leaving a trail of destruction.
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News sites and social media are awash with videos such as the one above: docks being lifted, boats being tossed like toys in a bathtub, and a number of sunken vessels. A local mariner, Oliver, says he witnessed two 10- to 15-ft sailboats being capsized by the forceful wave that tore through the docks. “It was crazy, people yelling, ‘The surge is coming,’ the docks lifting. At least two docks are shut down,” he told us. And although the ocean has settled down since its peak earlier this week, Oliver says it’s still “pretty aggressive.”
The National Weather Service advises: “Large breaking waves of 20 to 30 feet” will continue to reach the coast from Point Reyes to Big Sur through early Sunday morning. Beaches farther south to Santa Barbara are forecast to experience waves of “10 to 15 feet lowering to 8 to 11 feet Sunday afternoon and continuing into Monday night.” The high-surf advisory remains in effect until 3:00 a.m. next Tuesday.
Two Deaths Darken Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race
The 628-mile race from Sydney, Australia, to Hobart, Tasmania, got off to a picture-perfect but brisk start on Boxing Day in Australia. Sadly, the strong conditions during the first night have claimed the lives of two sailors on separate boats — each was hit by the boom. These are the first two deaths in the race in decades. The last time lives were lost was in 1998, when Larry Ellison and crew took line honors aboard Sayonara.
One death was reported just before midnight aboard the McIntyre 55 Flying Fish Arctos, and the second at about 2:30 a.m. aboard the Beneteau 447 Bowline. Another crew member went overboard from the Cookson 50 Porco Rosso but was rescued.
We watched the start of the race at 6 p.m. on Christmas Day and happened to catch the above screenshot of the only US boat in the race, Ron Epstein’s JPK 11.80 Bacchanal, as she started reaching toward Hobart. Misfortune struck Bacchanal and she was forced to retire with a broken boom while running third in IRC 3.
We also watched the 100-ft LawConnect, with Bay Area sailor Rodney Daniel aboard, sail a great first leg out of Sydney Harbour leading rival Master Lock Comanche (formerly Andoo Comanche), only to lose the lead when their Code 0 failed to unfurl as they headed downwind. They eventually got it unfurled and began the chase to catch Master Lock Comanche. That rivalry ended when Comanche suffered mainsail damage, forcing her to retire. LawConnect went on to take line honors for the second year in a row at about 2:30 a.m. Saturday, Hobart time.
In total, 22 of the 104 starting boats have now retired, with at least three dismastings.
The winds are shifting forward and getting lighter as the boats head toward the finish. The loss of two sailors will remain a dark cloud over all competitors as they battle their way south. You can follow the race here.
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Treasure Island Sailing Center Tacks on the Shift
Sometimes, you have to take a step backward to take two steps forward. The directors of the Treasure Island Sailing Center (TISC) have decided to take a pause for the next two to three years while TISC’s base on the SE corner of Treasure Island is under construction. As they explain on their website, “Major earth-moving and construction projects will soon cover TISC’s existing footprint and block access to the water.”
The program has operated in Clipper Cove for 26 years, during which time they have served 26,000 sailors, including more than 14,000 students, through their flagship Set Sail Learn program with the San Francisco schools. Beyond their sailing programs, TISC had an active dry storage yard, which was home to the Cal Berkeley sailing team and the competitive Vanguard 15 fleet. During the shutdown, both have had to move. Cal Sailing is heading to the Richmond Yacht Club. The Vanguard 15 fleet has received an offer to base themselves out of Alameda Community Sailing Center (ACSC) for which they are “very grateful,” but they are “still figuring out what makes the most sense for the fleet and haven’t decided yet where we’ll be relocating,” Sam Wheeler commented below. “ACSC is one of the options on the table, and we hope to make that decision in the coming weeks.”
Treasure Island Sailing Center is looking to continue hosting the Set Sail Learn program for schools at a location yet to be determined.
By moving off the property, the hope is the current site reconstruction can proceed with less interruption, and TISC will be in a much better position to return to its long-term vision of creating a modern, first-class community sailing facility on the shores of Treasure Island. The site has already proven to be an excellent dinghy sailing venue for teaching and training, which, combined with their 66-year lease and well-developed programming and relationships with the San Francisco school system, will give them a solid foundation to build upon. Once the construction on land is complete they’ll have much better access to build the shoreside and waterfront facilities necessary to resume programs.
Clipper Cove is a unique venue appreciated by dinghy sailors, cruisers and members of the active Treasure Island Yacht Club. We’ve enjoyed anchoring there and were fortunate to host several Summer Sailstice celebrations in conjunction with Treasure Island Sailing Center.
While TISC is taking a break, the team will continue to develop plans and raise funds for rebuilding docks and facilities so they can return stronger and continue their core mission: “To create opportunities for people to learn and grow through sailing by providing facilities, sailing instruction, and access to the water for people of all socio-economic backgrounds, abilities, and skill levels.”
Vendée Globe Rounds Cape Horn at Christmas
While kids were “snug in their beds, while visions of sugar plums danced in their heads,” competitors in the Vendée Globe were marching across the Southern Ocean, passing Point Nemo and rounding Cape Horn. The two leaders, Yoanne Richomme and Charlie Dalin, were fighting to be first around Cape Horn in conditions reasonably comfortable for the notorious Cape.
At various points during the approach they were about one mile apart. Finally, it was Yoann Richomme who managed to pull ahead and round the Horn first before turning to solve the tricky weather patterns facing them as they arc north up the Atlantic.
Richomme led the dream rounding of the Horn on the cusp of Christmas Eve, passing at 23:27:20 UTC on Monday night, in the daylight, just before 2030 local time. With an elapsed time of 43 days 11 hours 25 minutes and 20 seconds (since starting the race on Sunday, November 11), Richomme has broken Armel Le Cléac’h’s 2016 record of 47 days 34 minutes 46 seconds by 3d 13h 9m 26s. He also sets a new mark for the Cape Leeuwin–Cape Horn section at 13d 09h 13m 43s.
Dalin, slightly more offshore, passed nine minutes and 30 seconds behind Richomme and closed the gap to half a mile as they enjoyed the first hours of Christmas Eve in modest conditions.
Dalin passed the longitude of the southernmost tip of South America at 23:36:50 UTC for an elapsed time of 43d 11h 34m 50s.
It was the most perfect leaders’ passage for this 10th edition of the race, which has already broken many prior race records.
Now comes the really tricky part. They have to try to get some sleep, stay alert, and navigate through the many weather systems, the trade winds and the doldrums in the Atlantic as they head north to the finish off Les Sables-d’Olonne. You can continue to follow them here.
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