18 to 25 foot waves expected from the North west in the next three days slowly building

The weather report said that waves are slowly going to build coming out of the North West for the next three days and said to stay off the rocks where many people are injured or die who aren't locals this time of year from other areas of the U.S. and world. As the waves slowly build it is important to stay back far enough because of "Rogue Waves" which often are the 7th wave of a set. So, you get used to smaller waves and then something completely different hits that you don't expect much further and if you are on a rock that was safe before you get swept out to sea or worse you don't survive it at all.

So, if you are visiting the Santa Cruz or northern areas in California the next three days and aren't used to dealing with all this every winter like those of us who live here all the time do, please stay back when you take pictures so you don't become a permanent part of the ocean.

Even the swells on the ocean beyond the waves are going to be 18 feet high eventually which is not a good idea for most boats to be in that are smaller that can't be sealed up from the ocean and made watertight on the top parts like long range Sailboats can that are designed for worldwide travel.

So, whether you are on the shore or in a boat think carefully especially during the next 3 days what you are doing.

When I was young and about 20 I didn't know what a red flag meant as my cousin just had bought his first sailboat, ( a 1968 Columbia 22) which in 1968 only cost about $6000. However, a brand new 1968 Camaro I bought then that year only cost $3500 that year and you still then could buy a brand new VW Bug for around $800 dollars still then. So, the dollar was worth much more then than now.

Anyway, we decided to sail up to Malibu from Marina Del Rey where he kept his sailboat then. He had just graduated from Law School and was a new lawyer in his mid 20s so he could afford his own boat (I think he also owned an XKE Jaguar then too.

So, our little naive sailor selves almost died that day along with my girlfriend because we didn't know about red flag warnings. So, when you see a red flag going out of a harbor "DON'T GO OUT OF THE HARBOR"

Anyway, I was SCUBA diving off the boat off of Malibu and my girlfriend then was getting sea sick from the waves and I was wondering why it was so very rough underwater too about 100 yards off of Malibu where I liked to free dive and Scuba dive. I came up because it was just too rough and my cousin said the anchor was fouled in the seaweed. So, I got into the boat and helped him unfoul the anchor. But, by then we had a much different problem. At this point the seas were about 15 going to 18 to 20 feet swells and my cousin in his mid 20s wondered if we should beach his new sailboat or try to sail back towards Marina Del Rey to Safety.

He finally decided we should make a run for the safety of the harbor so he wouldn't lose his boat which actually in the end worked out. My girlfriend was starting to get sort of hysterical by then but my cousin and I kept trying to calm her down so we could focus on saving all our lives.

I unfouled the anchor and we put up a reefed in jib (nothing else) because the wind was so strong it would have blown over the boat. Also, the swells were heading directly towards Marina Del Rey, otherwise beaching the boat at Malibu would have been a better idea.

As the swells moved forwards now they were higher than the masts of the boat and they pushed us physically towards Marina Del Rey. When we were on top of the swells the wind pushed the boat over a little then we surfed down the 20 foot or higher swells then we hit the bottom and then the next one would hit us from behind and start the whole process over again which was very scary. So, we could only see the land when we were on top of the swell and it was choppy too on top of this with white caps all over.

So, we had "The Luck of the Angels" to have survived this day and my girlfriend never sailed with us again. However, my cousin and I learned not to go out on a "Red Flag" day ever again but kept sailing to places like Catalina Island and all over ever since. Now he has a 25 foot boat and he kept the 1968 one until a few years ago when it just got to old to function right anymore so he sold it.

Here's what his boat looked like in 1968:
It sleeps 6 people
and has a full galley and a toilet and sink. He had it rigged up to be a self sailor with a wind vane so it could sail itself whenever the wind was constant in one direction. My parents used to sail with my cousin and I starting about 1968 too and later his wife and kids sailed throughout their growing up years as well as with  many other friends through the years.