Thursday, November 7, 2013

Leaving San Diego... As I write this we are about 20 nautical miles inside Mexico on our way to Ensenada to check in with Customs and get our entry documents completed.  The last ten days have been a blur pretty much.  San Diego represents another milestone – we completed two thirds of our harbour hopping down the coast.

Since Newport Beach life has been non-stop.  And here we thought Californians were laid back! We left Newport Beach last Sunday under cloudy skies and not a breath of wind.  We took advantage, though, and made fresh water while we motored to the City of Oceanside. Though it was a tremendous amount of work to install, the water maker is working flawlessly and we are so glad that we installed it.  We need no worry about taking on bad water now that we’re in Mexico. At one point Jim looked out and noticed dolphins jumping right out of the water, something we rarely see.  We turned the helm and went to check them out.  They were having such fun.

Flying fish!

Oceanside… When we arrived we were on our way to the municipal docks, run by Oceanside Police, when we were called on the VHF radio by Dave on Pelagia who had spotted us arriving.  Before we knew it we were being redirected to the Oceanside Yacht Club where, with their help, we were invited to tie up for free.  We hated to turn down free so we headed over and tied beside Pelagia for the evening.  As we had not been off the boat for a whole day we wanted to stretch our legs so we took off for a walk around the waterfront.  Oceanside is a pretty little city with only one 17 story high rise. I visited it once when I was 19 and on my first (and last) trip to California on vacation.  That time my friend, Judy, and I stayed with a couple that Mom, Moe and I had met in New Zealand a year before.  I recall that they were very hospitable, giving Judy and me their guest cottage for a couple of nights.  Unfortunately I don’t recall much else except that Vera caught a big, poisonous snake in their huge back yard and called her husband, a doctor, to come home and deal with it.  Anyway, we spotted a restricted area to the north of Oceanside called Camp Pendleton, a military base. Much of the housing we saw near the marina was military, but nice, upgraded military.  The dock captain at the yacht club, Dave, introduced himself and filled us in a bit about Oceanside and pointed out where we would find restaurants on our stroll.  Dave was a local Californian who had spent most of his life in Oceanside and he had been a liveaboard for 17 years too.  He was a wealth of information and told us of the charity work that their yacht club sponsored including hosting the young single military personnel to enjoy Thanksgiving at the yacht club as guests.  They also raise money for Christmas presents for the less fortunate.  We thought that was pretty great so we gave Dave our beautiful, hardly used, Canadian folding crab trap to use as a raffle item.  We knew we could not take it into Mexico and were trying to figure out just what to do with it.  Problem solved!

A young seagull takes a bow (and left us a little #*^&* present) - on our dinghy

This bird had no fear of us and it took us sometime to convince him to leave our dinghy alone.  Came two days in a row!

The waterfront walk meandered around many foreshore areas and marinas before we arrived at the touristy restaurants.   En route we passed by a beautiful war memorial paying tribute to fallen local military that was very touching.  There were about 10 restaurants within a five minute walk, many of them posting their menus outside to entice you in.  We choose the rooftop Lighthouse Restaurant overlooking a marina and ordered while the happy hour specials were still offered.  The half hour walk back to Falcon was lovely during the cool evening.  We passed by some commercial fishermen loading lobsters into a truck as we talked about returning to Oceanside in the future but from land.

In the morning the three Canadian boats – Pelagia, Falcon VII and Monrovia all headed out for Mission Bay.  The wind was predicted to blow up to 20 knots and we were all looking forward to a fast sail but, as typically happens, the predictions did not come true.  We struggled forward slowly, sometimes with the sails flogging but we didn’t give up and the winds filled in again and allowed us to enjoy our day with sails, not motor. Once again Falcon VII proved what a swift boat she was and David from Pelagia complimented us on how fast she sailed away from both other boats. As we approached the Mission Bay harbour entrance, the gentle breeze was behind us and we were able to sail right along the length of the long breakwater and into Bonita Bay, winding our way through smaller sailboats moored in the calm and protected bay.  

Anchored in Mission Bay just north of San Diego - the main drag was only a block away but hard to tell

The harbour police patrolled the area regularly and came by in their rigid hulled inflatable to welcome us to stay up to 72 hours.  They pointed out that there was no dinghy dock, though, which meant that we would have to pull the dinghy up onto the beach if we wanted to go to shore.  We opted to leave it in the davit and stay onboard.

Mission Bay’s beach reminded me of anchoring in front of Willows Beach in Victoria.  Extensive parkland, picnic tables and canopies surrounded the waters of Mission Bay and beyond that we could actually see a roller coaster not a quarter of a mile away.  At night it was more visible than anything else in the area.  There were very tall palm trees, lots of lush grass and sand everywhere.  Pelicans dove for food while egrets strode along the shoreline.  Mission Beach was very calm so we decided to stay for a second day and catch up on some much needed cleaning.

Palm trees, a homeless person on the beach and roller coaster in the background

By Wednesday morning, October 30th Falcon was ready to move on to San Diego.  We had bright blue skies that matched the colour of the flat calm water.  In the distance we could make out Point Loma, a large jutting cliff that protected the entrance to San Diego Harbor. 

Massive Point Loma at the entrance to San Diego Harbour

One of the many military installations near Point Loma

During our short two hour cruise we constantly listened to US naval personnel on the VHF radio while we watched military helicopters and jets rush by overhead.  In addition, the US aircraft carrier, Ronald Regan, was out on manoeuvers to the west.  We felt the strong military presence even as we entered the harbour where we had to first tie up at the Harbour Police Dock to check in with the border services personnel.  We had done that all the way down the coast, as required by our US cruising permit.  Before we left San Diego had to take the cruising permit to the downtown office and turn it in.  In exchange they gave us a clearance certificate that says we have ‘checked out’ of the States and necessary to enter Mexican waters.

Falcon, most inside boat on the left, is dwarfed by our neighbour - they had a crew of 23 on board!

We stayed at the municipal police docks for two days before moving to La Playa Anchorage a very short distance away.  There are only two or three areas where you are permitted to anchor in the harbour and you must apply on line to get a spot within them, if one is available.  We could only stay in La Playa Anchorage from 9:00 am Friday til 9:00 am Monday.  The harbour was as huge as Newport Beach but with much more varied foreshore areas, surrounded by waterfront hotels, the San Diego Airport, a US Navy base, numerous yacht clubs, a dozen marinas and marine related businesses. 

Dawn over one of the many San Diego Bay marinas

Early morning sun reflecting off the bay side homes

The municipal docks we stayed at were at the far end of Shelter Island, a half hour walk from the bus or retail businesses.  There were about a dozen marinas throughout San Diego as well as lots of waterfront resorts and spas.  All of them were designed with people who had cars.  We purchased four day bus passes for $17, which gave us unlimited use of the buses, trolleys/ light rapid transit running throughout San Diego and surrounding areas. We were really impressed with the trolley / light rapid transit.  It was very clean, fast and you could understand what they were saying over the loud speakers, unlike the buses.  The bus pass was much less expensive than renting a car and pretty convenient, too. The transit system was outstanding and we didn’t mind using public transportation at all.   Each day we tackled a list of errands and items to be purchased before leaving the US and plotted out our strategy for the day. 

We sure got our exercise and learned our way around both the downtown core and outlying industrial, saw everything from expensive outdoor high fashion malls to the university and numerous medical centre all clustered together.  In addition, we were lucky enough to arrive on the same evening that a live Moody Blues concert was happening an outdoor stage at Half Moon Resort and Spa.  We could hear the music vaguely from the municipal docks so we launched the dinghy at sunset and headed out for an evening dinghy ride to check out the concert close up.  We were not the only ones.  There we dozens of dinghies and smaller power boats wedged in along the walkway enjoying the 70’s music right along with us.  When doing laundry the next day I learned that San Diego hosted two to three outdoor concerts each week between May and the end of October.  Lucky us!  There was another concert the following evening that we listened to from a distance.

I admit I didn't take this but it gives you an idea of San Diego's size

Downwind Marine was a local chandlery that really welcomes cruisers.  We were there during ‘Cruisers Week’ when they hosted seminars in the evening and a customer appreciation bbq on Saturday.  We connected with a few other cruisers and enjoyed some great food and were able to purchase a new bbq at a discount as well!

We had hopes to going to the San Diego Zoo or the Safari Park run by the San Diego Zoo but transportation made it next to impossible  The Safari Park was 35 miles away and you had to book  shuttle well in advance or find your own way there.  We opted to save the cost of admission to the Zoo and put that money towards engine oil and spare parts needed.

On Monday morning at 9:00 precisely the harbour police were patrolling the anchorage ensuring all weekenders were on their way.  We were just weighing anchor when they went by and within minutes we had moved to Marina Cortez where we had reciprocal moorage, which was free, for two night.  The third night was only $25, a bargain!!! I can’t tell you what we did each day but we were often on the go for 10 – 12 hours.   Sorry there aren't more pictures but I didn't take the camera with me on the errands.  Busing, while inexpensive, was time-consuming, especially if you needed boat parts that were 2 hours away by bus.  We did take Tuesday ‘off’, though and enjoyed a swim in the lovely unused pool at Marina Cortez.  The marina was right next to one of the large and elegant Sheraton Hotels.  One day we got all dressed up (and I mean I really wore a dress and Jim a good shirt and shorts) and we sauntered in like we owned the place.  We enjoyed a nice light salad lunch overlooking the marina then made use of the free WIFI in the lobby.  Many people sat in comfy seating in the beautifully furnished lobby while they used their computers so we fit right in!  Later that day we bused in to downtown San Diego and had a great walk around at the end of the business day. 

Not mine either but it shows the mooring balls at one of the anchorages with San Diego in the background

We found our way to the beautiful old Santa Fe train station with its Spanish mission-like building, gorgeous tile work inside and loads of long wooden benches for travellers to rest their weary bones. If those benches could talk!   Though we felt the architecture in town was not as beautiful as San Fransisco’s we did appreciate the variety of buildings and cleanliness of the city core.  We even wandered into The Grand Hotel as well, which made the Empress look outdated.  Oh how the other half live!  Lush furnishings and Persian rugs were scattered in the ornate lobby with its tall gold leafed plaster cornices and giant chandeliers.  With the time change, by 6:00 p.m. the sun was setting and it felt like the city rolled up its sidewalks so we bused back to Harbour Island, enjoying the lite up skyline as we went.

On Thursday we were up by 5:30 and left the docks shortly after 6:00 a.m. under a clear sky just as the sun was coming up.  Mauve and pink tinged the homes along the waterfront in South San Diego.

Leaving just as dawn lightened the morning sky

We really enjoyed harbour hopping and are now excited about beginning the next part of our adventure – getting to know Mexico.  Our Spanish is extremely limited but we’re hopeful that we will gain confidence and will bravely attempt to speak the language in time.   Within minutes of crossing the imaginary line called the border we were greeted by a school of dolphins that swam and played in our bow wave.  What a nice welcoming! 

Our Mexican welcoming committee

We will be staying in Ensenada for a week at Cruiseport Marina and will take that time to adjust to our new surroundings, connect with friends, get a few boat projects taken care of and practice what little Spanish we know.  More later….