Point Conception is the spot where the California coast turns from roughly north-south to roughly east-west.  It’s known for sometimes rough conditions just north of and off the point, and just past the point marks the start of the mild southern California climate.

Vandenberg Air Force Base hangar

It also is the site of Vandenberg Air Force Base, where many of the space shuttles would land (back when the shuttles were still in service) and where satellites headed for polar orbit are launched into space.  As we sailed past, our first site of the base was a large, very tall hangar that looked like a place where rockets would be built and stored.

Large rocket on display

As we looked more closely, we also saw what looked like a rocket sitting on a launch pad.  “Strange,” Angie commented, “It seems like they’d want to store that indoors when it’s not being used.”

About an hour later, our VHF crackled to life – some entity called Frontier Control announced that the areas around the base and Point Conception would be closed that afternoon for launch activities.  We were already outside the closed area, as we’d wanted a few miles of sea room around the point to minimize the sloppy seas that come from reflected waves near shore.  So, we continued on our way just outside the closed area.

Great sailing conditions rounding Point Conception

Madrone had a fantastic sail around the point.  We alternated between a deep broad reach and dead downwind, making 7-8 knots in 20-25 knots of wind.  We dropped anchor just at dark about 5 miles to the east of the point in a very shallow bight called Sacate.

SpaceX Falcon Nine rocket liftoff

As soon as we had the anchor set, the sky lit up with a giant orange streak heading skyward.  After a minute or so, the orange light became brighter and seemed to accelerate.  This was the launch!

All of a sudden, the sky exploded into a cloud of blue and purple mist.  One bright white light moved back in the direction of the base, emitting small pulses of white light as it moved.  After a few more minutes, we saw another orange streak heading down towards the base (although from our vantage point, we were sure it was going to land directly on us).

Falcon Nine boostback burn

It turned out that we were witness to the launch of a SpaceX rocket.  After lifting a satellite into orbit, the mission also included the first ever landing of one of the booster stages for potential future reuse.

Perfect timing for passing by the base!

Rocket successfully landing at Vandenberg