May 18, 2009, Monterey to San Luis Harbor

I got up at 5:30 to get an early start to San Luis Bay. There were a lot of boats leaving in the fog besides me. It's a good thing those other guys are careful.

There visibility was about 200-250 yards. I could see about one minute head. That sounds bad, but one minute visibility is about 2-3 miles in an airplane instrument approach, and quite a bit better at cruise speed.

I turned the corner south and found a direct headwind blowing around 15-20 knots, enough to slow progress down significantly.

9:12 a.m.
2 miles NW of Point Sur
Boat Speed: 7.3 knots over the ground.
True Wind: 21 knots from the south
Water Temperature: 56.3°
Outside Air Temperature: 61°
Inside Air Temperature: 61°
Fog is lifting -- I can almost see the sun.

Later on in the day the fog lifted and the wind shifted. I got to sail for a few hours, 10 knots or so.

In the evening I was motoring by Diablo Canyon, which has a nuclear power plant on the seashore. On the map there is a yellow marker in the middle of a red circle, labeled "Security Area." I looked it up on the NOAA chart, and it referred some regulation elsewhere. So I looked it up on the Coast Pilot, and it referred me elsewhere.

So I decided that it would be stupid to put a yellow buoy in the middle of a restricted area, and headed by the power plant outside the yellow buoy. After I had passed the plant, Diablo Canyon Security called me on the radio and said I was too close. They asked me to turn a little west. But I was going southeast, and west would have turned me closer to the plant. So I told them I could turn directly away from the plant. That made us both happy.

Then they asked me a some questions (how many people on board, vessel type and length, destination, 7th grade math teacher, etc.) and told me to monitor the radio in case they needed anything else.

I think if they want people out of their security zone, they should pay attention and warn boats away before they get in it. They should also explain it on the nautical chart. But I guess it's not that important. There's not much a pleasure boat smaller than a destroyer could do to damage a nuclear power plant.

I anchored in the dark in San Luis Harbor and kayaked over to the pier, found a ladder, and walked into the grocery store for some bread. I arrived at 9:07. The closed at 9:00. So I walked around town for a while. I wanted to blame Diablo Canyon Security for making me late, but they only cost me a minute or less.