47 Hours Downhill

San Francisco Bay to San Miguel Island

	We left the fuel dock a little after 1100 and timed our arrival at the Golden Gate for about 1300 to catch the beginning of the ebb current. We proceeded out the buoy marked shipping channel, arriving there about 1435.
Under sail with the stays'l, fors'l and reefed mains'l set.  Wind and swell were from the north west and the schooner was moving sprightly in both pitch and roll with a little cork screw thrown in for good measure.
	Swells were just enough that every so often we would get a little splash over the rail.
Shortly before this picture was taken, the Captain and I were in the wrong place at the wrong time and got truely wet by a rogue wave.
	After a night of 20 knot winds and 10-12 foot seas, we awoke to calmer conditions.  Soon the tops'l hands were aloft to set the tops'l.
After 47 hours under sail, we approached San Miguel Island in the Channel Islands National Park.  We started the engine and dropped the sails and motored to our anchorage in Cuyler Harbor.  The time was 1330 on September 10.
	We tested an anchor release mechanism which was devised and crafted during the previous days.  It worked fine with a little help from a maul.
Our anchorage in Cuyler Harbor was serene and lush.  It gave us a chance to go ashore and experience our newly won sea legs on land.