I published this cache back in December 2018 as a Puzzle Cache (I include the puzzle below), and since then it was found four times. In six years! But it is a beautiful spot, with fabulous views of the entire Monterey Bay—and people should come here! So... I archived the puzzle and am republishing as a Regular Cache.
Here's the puzzle. I get it: it's a shaggy dog story, and takes a moment to solve. But I like it, and I don't want to send ol' Eustace to his grave just yet.
In May of this year, Eustace Beaufort invited 7 of his closest friends to join him on his 80-foot luxury sailing yacht, HocusPocus, for a leisurely tour of the eastern Mediterranean. The trip through the Greek islands and along the Turquoise Coast was planned to last 15 days, beginning in Athens and ending in Antalya, Turkey.
They departed the Alimos Marina on Monday morning under a gentle breeze, and everyone enjoyed basking on the deck in the sunshine watching Athens recede into the haze. Each day Eustace chose an island to anchor at, for swimming and then to stretch the legs and find a taverna serving a local specialty. The fillet of sea bream with seaweed and soy on Syros was a particular hit.
Gentle breezes prevailed that first week, with the exception of the second, fourth, and seventh days, which brought some weather. “The Meltemi, a northerly wind, kicking in a little early,” Eustace told his guests. “Shouldn’t be a problem. Just hold on.” Tuesday’s winds rose to a strong breeze, then dropped again on Wednesday; Thursday stepped things up a notch with near-gale winds, but then gentle breezes resumed. Sunday was the worst, with gale-force winds. They decided to stay in port that day and enjoy the cozy confines of the living quarters while at anchor. Poker was played. Eustace’s business partner Archibald, dealt a royal flush and a full house, jacks and sevens, won big.
The second week, the weather was rather changeable, with the winds dropping almost completely on several days, causing the HocusPocus to have to motor. “Even the biggest sail can’t bring forward motion in light air,” Eustace explained as the engines were launched on that languid Monday. Tuesday, with its light breeze, was no better, and on Wednesday they were back to light air. “Here’s to engines!” he toasted over their meze starters on Gemiler Island. Finally on Thursday a fresh breeze allowed them to hoist the sails again, but the next day: nothing—totally becalmed. And no, the gods weren’t done joking around, because Saturday they sent a real whopper: gale-force winds again! And so there was another poker game, in port at Kas. Eustace began to think Archibald was a cheater.
The final two days of the journey allowed some sailing, under gentle breezes, but ultimately they had to motor in to the Setur Antalya Marina, the wind having dropped again to light air. They disembarked to promises of another sailing trip soon—and hopefully to an area with more consistently strong winds. “Because truly,” Eustace agreed, “the joy of sailing is leaning in low to a good stiff breeze and flying. We didn’t get enough of that this trip. Next time, we will. I’ll see to it.”