MERRY CHRISTMAS 2018

Captain Claus wants to wish the entire crew of Serenity Now a very Merry Christmas and the absolute best in the New Year. Now it's time to bottoms up, cast off the dock lines and get sailing. In the mean time, let's work on our jibing technique!

THIS YOUNG MAN HAS STYLE

THE CHINO HILLS GANG OF FOUR

Crewman Chris and his able bodied crew of Casey, Jude and Kennedy began their Christmas vacation with an afternoon sail and sunset. The weather was brisk and the wind variable going from zero to 25 knots and everything in between. At the end of the day our creature sighting scoreboard read Dolphins-0, Whales-0, Sea Lions-plenty. Not a bad way to spend the day! Merry Christmas crew.

From L to R: Casey, Kennedy, Chris and Jude.

                                                               Don't miss this link...
                                                      https://youtu.be/cGg0zqc5O3A

THANK YOU LAURA

...for being a wonderful friend, great crew, and frequent visitor to this blog. You rock and we love you. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

A CHILL IS IN THE AIR

With the highs in the low 60's, S and D spent a few afternoon hours on a bumpy lumpy ocean. The air was brisk and the visibility was fantastic. We saw Signal Point, Saddleback Mountain, the hills in La Jolla and the islands of San Clemente and Catalina. A wonderful panorama for sure.

Suited up for some cold weather sailing.

Saddleback Mt. in the background. A little trivia: Santiago Peak is the highest point in Orange County.

NESPORADOS...SAVE THE DATE

Look who's coming to town July 10-16, 2019... none other than the legendary fisherman, diver, surfer, mixologist and storyteller... Jackpot. You'll want to be part of this crew.

END OF HIS WATCH

Eight bells toll for Bruce, our longtime good friend.  This morning he peacefully moved on to the other side of the horizon after 101 years with us. We were blessed to be in this man's presence and will be forever thankful. Wishing him eternal fair winds and following seas. Bravo zulu Mr. Hill. I'm going to miss strumming the uke with you.

Bruce on his 100th Birthday. 

AMINA'S ARMY

Amina flew in from Amsterdam to spend some time with her family and they were able to join us for an afternoon sail. The winds were light, the seas were calm, the food was yummy and time together was priceless. Super day.

Yelena and the star of the day Anahit.

Amina with brother Milk and her dad Opa (grandpa in Dutch).

We enjoyed an incredible sunset on the water.

The happy crew at the end of a fabulous day.

What a cutey!

ANGEL STADIUM CELEBRATION

We were very touched when Bob and Cindy asked us to join them at Angel Stadium on a very special evening. Bob received The Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Professional Ball Players Association. It's a charity organization formed in 1924 to aid players that have fallen on tough times. Bob was acknowledged for his outstanding 41 years of coaching baseball at Capistrano Valley HS. It was a fantastic evening. We met and talked with many former big leaguers including Jerry Reuss, Bobby Grich, Rod Carew, Tommy Davis, Darrel Miller, Doug Decinces and Heavy Weight World Champion (1980-1982) Mike Weaver.

PS  I know this has absolutely nothing to do with Serenity Now but it was so cool I had to post it.

Cindy and Bob in the middle, long time great friends from Dana Hills days.

Talking story with Hall of Famer Rod Carew and Doug Decinces, former third baseman for the Baltimore and Anaheim Angels.

Feels real nice being in a major league dugout. Wish it was 50 years ago when I was still playing!

Second baseman Bobby Grich talking to Carew. Two greats.

FALL COLORS

While our docks were being repaired we ventured up to Mammoth Lakes. We enjoyed a few outstanding hikes to Crystal Lake and McGee Creek. Mid to late October is a perfect time to be in the eastern Sierra because of the fall color.

Twin Lakes

McGee

WATCH YOUR STEP

We've noticed for some time now some cement cracks on our dock were getting larger. On my last visit to our boat this is what I found....

Thankfully neither of the boats were impacted by the self-imploding dock.

THE SIMPLE LIFE...

How sweet it is: good friends, a beautiful day, a sail boat and a warm breeze. Mix it all together and you have a wonderful afternoon. Captain Cabo and Senora Debbie joined us for a very enjoyable afternoon on the water. The simple life is muy, muy bueno.

The two capts.

Defying death once again a happy crew at the end of the day.

PICS FROM SC ISLAND TRIP

Whitefish tacos coming up.

JR untangling a fouled anchor line.

Back at Willow Cove, Catalina Island.

HA HA CREW REUNION

It's been six years since this crew completed the Baja Ha Ha and the first time to take up another challenge, a passage to San Clemente Island. This is the 5th channel island out of eight that SV Serenity Now has made an overnight visit. Lying 60 miles from Dana Point the passage took us around 8-9 hours. We settled in at Pyramid Cove, aka "The Garage".  The fishing was excellent and the weather was too. After two nights at SC Island we sailed to Catalina and anchored at Willow Cove for another two nights. All in all, we traveled 140 miles, had plenty of time together to catch up, and to summarize in one word, the journey was "epic".

First time at San Clemente Island.

Look closely, this skipjack had plenty of anchovies in its stomach when we were filleting it. 

The crew L to R: The capt, El Jeffe, The Ranger and JR.

Willow Cove has become our go-to spot on the front side of Catalina.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PETER

We had a get-together with Pete and Paige from the MV Pageant for Pete's 80th B-Day. To say he's an inspiration is an understatement. Keep truckin' Pete.

Our view from the slip for Pete's birthday celebration.

EVERY DAY'S A SATURDAY

With August coming to a close, it was a perfect time spend a few nights at anchor aboard Serenity Now. Our first night was spent at Danalina in our home port. Early next morning it was off to Emerald Bay in Laguna Beach for the day. It's a wide-open cove and we enjoyed a relaxing day there. We traveled north from Laguna to spend the night in Newport Bay, truly a boaters' paradise. Nice little get-a-way, what day is it anyways?

Dana Point

  

The Admiral on watch in Newport

This will get ya thru until dinner time

A WHALE OF A TIME

Two of Cal Poly's finest and brightest, Bronco Brian and Crewman Chris, joined the capt for an afternoon on the water. Brian is CP's Director of Intercollegiate Athletics and Chris is an Associate AD. We put the "Learn By Doing" concept into play as the visiting crewmen spent most of their time at the helm. Unexpectedly and serendipitously, we saw a spout on the horizon and we were able to track a humpback and a host of dolphins for a while. I'll post the whale video when Chris sends it. What a day!

Crewman Chris signaling for an inside fast ball.

ZIGGY GOES TO THE ISLAND

Ziggy is one of my longtime friends, college roommate, teammate and father to two of our godchildren, Bryan and Chris. He's also the creator of the delicious "Danny's Dip". It's been 30 years since he's been to Catalina so we loaded up the boat last week and off we went. Cove hopping from Willow, to Italian Gardens (a no-go for the night) to White's, and finally Ripper's, we enjoyed the island from Avalon to the Isthmus. The weather was warm but breezy and the water was perfect. It was a great time with a great friend and one we'll always remember. Oh by the way, Ziggy acquired his nickname (it was his idea) on this trip. While he was on the helm, we seemed to zigzag rather than sail a straight course. Well, at least we made it!

 

WHAT ARE YOU DOING THIS AFTERNOON?

We were finishing up a job, it was a little after noon, and I asked my friend and contractor a simple question. "What are you doing this afternoon?" Keep in mind it's a gorgeous summer day, warm and the wind is blowing. His response, "Headed home to do a little work in the garden." ABORT, ABORT, ABORT. Let's go sailing! Super day on the water with a long time local and good guy.