28 Aug - The morning dawned beautifully sunny and still.  We were planning today to make a big (200NM) push 'round the corner' to Ventura.  The weather was showing that it would be fairly calm but we were hopefully of at least some wind on the way down  At least it was promising clear skies throughout.  As we left Stillwater cove we tried to avoid the kelp but ended up with quite the tail which took a while to clear.  Once free of our small forest, and with 12 - 15 knots of wind we were able to set the sails for a broad reach.  As the morning wore on though the wind started to fade.  With very little swell and bright sunshine though we thought there would be few better times to try the spinnaker and so with some trepidation we set everything up and launched it withour a hitch.  What followed was a sparkling sail for a few hours on 'sunny' casting a lovely golden shadow over the boat

Great sailing on the Spinnaker

Toward 15:00 the wind was getting back up to around 15 knots and so we decided it was time to go back to just the Genoa but the sailing still was great.  Around 19:00 we turned onto our new course which we were anticipating to hold for the next 24 hours and were able to pole out the genny and cruise along at a good clip.  This point of sail lasted all through the night and well into the following day in glorious sunshine - some of the best and most consistent sailing so far.

We eventually had to turn in to start heading towards Point Conception - a headland that we had seen anecodtally recorded as the 'cape horn of north america' but we had done so many 'terrifying capes' by now we weren  that worried.  Also the forecast was for a flat calm as we passed the Point.

As we approach the point though, we started to get a few bad vibes.  Firstly, the sea state was quite lumpy and, after having to dodge a 1200ft container ship, the wind started to increase.  As we closed on the second headland (we didnt actually know which one was the true point), the wind kept increasing, getting up to 25 knots with higher gusts and the sea became horribly steep.  At this point we decided it was time to take in the sails (we had been going along with just a reefed main and staysail) and started to rely on the motor.  Good job too as we were getting pushed around all over the place as the waves had no real pattern.  For the next few hours we hung on like grim death as we passed the headland with the boat getting thrown around all over the place.  At one point she was rolling from one rail in the water to the other in a matter of seconds.  As the sun set we fought on through this mess and remarkably, as we rounded the headland, and with the sun setting everything started calming down.  Wihtin two hours we were motoring along with little wind and a calming sea and as the night wore on things just got calmer.  Frustratingly every so often there would be an hour of good wind but the direction of the wind changed a lot and so we motored on. 

Around 21:30 a bright light flared up in the sky which looked like it was heading out to us.  At first I wondered whether it was a searchlight from a helcopter coming to tell us we were too close to an oil rig that we were passing but as we watched, the light elongated and we realised we were watching a rocket going up to space!  on researching we later found that this was a starlink launch from VAndenburg 'space force' base - pretty cool to see. 

An initial thought with our next step had been to go into Santa Barabara where we could anchor at night but it was already 04:00 as we passed and so we instead kept going for Ventura where we had confirmed we could dock at their yacht club. 

As we approached Ventura we were greeted by our first clear sunrise as well as a host of dolphins swimming by.  Navigating into the harbour was simple and once in we realised we truly had finally turned the corner, it was warm and sunny; there were palm trees and wonderful sandy beaches with surfers in the waves.  This is what we had come for!

BeTrue finally looking in her place in California