When I was a kid, my family had a trailer that we would not only take on far-away adventures but also, on occasion, take to the beach which was a 5-minute drive from our house at Seacliff Beach, in Aptos California. I must admit, as silly as it seems those were some of my favorite memories. Although it was the same beach we could walk to from home, there was a magical element added when you were sleeping there overnight. The point of this introductory paragraph is simple: every once in a while it is nice to have a change of scenery, which is one of the many alluring things of sailboat life.

Chris and I often joke that we should entertain more often because it is the only time I put effort into keeping our boat clean. This onset of cleanliness was brought on by the visit of one of my best friends, Megan, who drove all the way down from North Lake Tahoe to visit with us before she flies to Alaska where she will be working this winter at a Heli-Lodge. I met Megan in college where she took me under her wing and together we competed in business plan competitions (we won the Nevada State Governors Cup 2016), traveled to New York for the United States Collegiate Ski/Snowboard Association Nationals, and of course had many lakeside hangouts to discuss life. Choosing Megan as my maid of honor for our wedding was one of the easier wedding planning decisions I made, and she upheld her promise to be the best maid of honor ever.

It was the first time Megan had visited us since our wedding, in addition, to her first time seeing Avocet. She was eager to observe how we live our life afloat and broke out her GoPro within seconds of arrival. She, of course, came bearing gifts of wine and pie which are two gifts that are always welcome in our home let alone in my belly. We poured ourselves a glass of wine and stayed up for a while updating each other on life from across our dinette while the glow of our oil lamp danced across our smile struck faces. After the glasses were dry, we blew out the light and went to bed in preparation for our exciting days ahead.

The following morning we got ready for our adventure. Megan had never been sailing before so of course, we were honored to cross that off her bucket list. We stowed the cabin and went through our regular departure protocol but this time before pushing off we had to run an errand to pick up the local magazine. Chris and I were featured as the November Neighbors in the Anchor Magazine, a wonderful local magazine dedicated to the Channel Islands Harbor and it’s surrounding residents. Despite being a digital marketer, I can still appreciate the feeling of traditional print media and was absolutely giddy to see us on the cover in addition to our 2-page spread. Megan was quick to post about our accomplishment and I shortly followed. Thank you to everyone who “liked” the photo on Facebook and Instagram!

When we returned to Avocet, Chris turned on the engine and I untied our lines jumping aboard at the last second as he backed out of our slip. Megan was a little nervous since her only “real” sailing experience was from when she was a kid at sail camp and was not a fan after the turtle drills. We assured her that our boat will not capsize nor turtle on this trip (or any trip for that matter) and by 11:00 we had our sails up, heading north to Ventura Harbor, our Staycation Destination. The wind was blowing about 17 knots with a 4 foot swell every 10 seconds or so… not the most comfortable sail for a first timer due to a storm up north sending some chop and swell our way. We did everything we could to ensure an easy sail, from reefing our main to letting the sheets loose and breaking off the wind. Although Megan let out a couple little screams, I think she had a pretty good time. After a few hours, I was pretty disappointed with the lack of dolphins but just as we were entering the Ventura Harbor breakwater a small pod of 3 dolphins came to our bow where Megan and I were sitting and rolled over to say hello before swimming south off our starboard side. A proper welcoming committee.

We docked Avocet in her guest slip then stowed away the few things that tumbled about the cabin during transit. We were all pretty hungry, so quickly changed out of our sailing attire and into something a little more socially acceptable before walking to the Ventura Harbor Village for lunch. Ventura Harbor is a lovely harbor with plenty of shops and restaurants, one of which being the famous Brophy Bros which is where we decided to have lunch. It was a busy lunch for sure since Megan was in the process of planning a Peaceful Protest/Bear Rally for her hometown in Tahoe and Chris was taking calls from producers. At one point I am pretty sure the waitress thought I was ditched because my two lunch dates had abandoned me with nothing but scallops and oysters to keep me company. I’m kidding, I kept myself plenty busy between stuffing my face with sourdough bread and working from my phone. Eventually, my lunch companions rejoined me and devoured the fishy feast on the table.

Leaving Brophy Bros absolutely stuffed and satisfied we wandered over to the beach which is parallel to the village. It was a bit windy and cold, yet Meg was in a dress and soaking up every inch of sunlight. We walked the tiny stretch of beach collecting trash and taking video for our vlog- if we so happen to edit something for the YouTube channel. After chasing some seagulls around we dusted the sand from our skin before putting our shoes back on and walking home.

It didn’t take long for word to get out that Avocet had arrived in Ventura. That afternoon our cockpit was filled with friends who had come to welcome us to their neck of the woods. I will use any excuse to bust out a charcuterie board (minus the meat) and gladly fed our guests while we talked in the cockpit. Our guest slip was located across from our dear friends Alan and Elizabeth, the crew of ValHowell, so naturally, I had to apologize for their neighborhood going to $h!t upon our arrival.

Ironically, Megan had another friend from Tahoe who was visiting her family in Ventura so we made plans to see her at the Boatyard Pub which is a great place to eat in the village- order the fries, you won’t regret it! We were also accompanied by our friends Garrett and his lovely girlfriend Alison who are two people that can turn any situation into a party. We shared stories, laughed, and stayed out way past my bedtime since my eyes were failing and my body was beginning to operate on autopilot. We closed our tabs and wandered back to Avocet, who was docked so daintily among the 60-foot yachts surrounding her. As strange as it is to fall asleep in the same bed but in a completely new place, my head hit my pillow and I was out cold to the world around me.

Around 2:00 a.m. the winds picked up, causing our Bimini to clank back and forth at the most obnoxious pace. After about 5 minutes of trying to tolerate it, I nudged Chris to go fix it. As he scrambled around outside securing everything on deck and checking our lines, I pulled out my phone and began jotting down notes so I could have an easier time writing this blog. Eventually, Chris came back below and crawled into bed, absolutely freezing. Luckily, I sleep warm so I snuggled up next to him and faded back into the sleepy abyss.

The seals woke up before we did, barking away while lounging across the empty slip fingers. Despite their destructive behavior around the marina, I can’t help but hope one will befriend me which I completely blame the movie Andre the Sea Lion for my unrealistic expectations. Chris brewed coffee and poured it for the 3 of us to enjoy in the cockpit before Megan packed up her belongings in preparation to leave.  We waved goodbye to Avocet and drove to Cafe Nouveau, my new favorite breakfast place in Ventura. Over more coffee and beignets we discussed upcoming plans and goals, absorbing every second of our time together before Megan returned to Tahoe to be the voice of the bears.

Visits with family and friends never seem to be long enough, but luckily we never say “goodbye” Instead, we always depart with a promise to “see you later”. We waved to Megan as she drove off in her blue 4Runner, Tahoe bound. Chris and I headed back to Avocet where I was petitioning for a nap, but he had other plans. Little Wing was loaded with blankets and coffee (yes, more coffee) as Chris pulled her around for me to step aboard. We had never really spent any time in Ventura Harbor on the water- well actually… I guess Chris did when he was younger since SV Prism was berthed in Ventura West for a bit. We put around the harbor checking out all of the boats and enjoying our new-to-us Yamaha 2-stroke outboard that Chris had just finished rebuilding.

By 4:00 p.m. the rain started falling, rinsing the salt from decks. The smell of apple cider filled our cabin with a warm cinnamon smell as it cooked in our Instantpot, while our oil lamps illuminated our interior with the light dancing off the walls. The pitter-patter of rain on our cabin top completed the cozy atmosphere as we brought our laptop to bed and picked our latest Netflix show to binge.

The next morning we were surprised with blue skies and not a single cloud in sight. We stowed the boat in preparation to sail back to our home port. Chris had invited our neighbor Gene aboard to sail with us, as well as the Howells. Avocet left Ventura Harbor at 9:00 a.m and arrived back in the Channel Islands Harbor around 11:30, after a lovely sail- if only Megan had been aboard for that sail! Our dock neighbors welcomed us back and it became clear that we will be missed when we set sail for good. As mentioned in our magazine feature, no matter where we go, the Channel Islands will always be home, even if it is nice to change the scenery every so often. So what are you waiting for, get out there and plan your own Staycation! From us to you, Cheers ~

 

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