Oct 28th: On the home stretch and then out again.

 

We are the boat in the center of the picture

We left San Diego Harbor, headed to the Oceanside Yacht Club. It is about half-way back. Oceanside is a fun harbor. Lots of barking sea lions. We had a very nice end tie, easy in, easy out and a view of all the action. 

 

 

 

 

 

 We of course went for a bike ride. It was very enjoyable. We rode through part of Oceanside and then along the beach and the harbor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The harbor put in a big raft for the sea lions. I think they are hoping to keep them off of the docks and the boat swim platforms.

 

 

 It might work a little, but we had some on our dock.

The Oceanside Yacht Club was wonderful. It was western night. Country music, dancing and barbecued spare rib special. Fran likes to dance, so she was very happy to join in, even though we had no western garb. Although she had rhinestones on her blouse, but I don't think a dragonfly counts!

 

We had a very nice cruise home Sunday morning. There was another DWYC Fleet cruise to Avalon the following weekend. The two cruises were very close together, but Fran and I both wanted to participate.

 

 

Tom and long time friend Herbert

One issue was that I was going to Flagstaff Monday to see my brother-in-law Tom. I was joining my two brothers-in-law at Phoenix and driving up together. Tom had some health issues and we were hoping to resolve/help with some. Pat does a great job organizing Tom's health care and the trip ended up being very successful. Tom is out of the hospital/rehab and back at home, thanks to a lot of people working together to make it happen.

I returned in time to cruise to Catalina once again Friday. We were a little concerned because there was dense fog all week, mostly in the morning. Fortunately, the fog lifted enough so that we had about 1/2 mile of visibility. We headed out, and it turned into a beautiful day. We saw a lot of dolphins. Very fun! I was able to get some pictures off the bow.

I also got a video.

Fran and I prefer the south side of the island, Cat Harbor. But we wanted to join the DWYC members, so we moored at Avalon. Fran received a call from her son Brent that he and his family were unable to go to Big Bear Lake due to fire closures. They decided to come to Avalon. I enjoyed meeting the family. Brent, Heather, grandkids Carter and Brook were a lot of fun. We spent the afternoon on the boat. The kids swam and fished in the 70 degree water. 

 

Carter and Brent

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We went ashore for dinner at a very nice restaurant. Heather and I decided it was time for oysters. They were great! 

 

 

 

 

Fran's and my plan was to cruise to Cat harbor Sunday, where we would stay for 4 days. But Brent and family were interested in some cruising. We decided we could stay at the Isthmus, about a 2-hour cruise, and Brent's family could catch a ride on a ferry from there to home. The cruising was great, we trolled but no catches, and were able to spend some time with them at the Isthmus. A very fun trip.

 

 

Monday morning, the weather was perfect for a cruise around the island to Cat Harbor. As I've said in previous blogs, it is just incredibly beautiful. I know I have put pictures up before, so here are just a few from our dinghy fishing.

Barracuda

Calico Bass

 

We stayed and fished 3 days. It was wonderful. Then we headed back to Dana Point for the Commodore's Ball. It is the one formal event of the year. I cannot remember the last time I wore a tie! It was at a very nice venue, and we stayed until the end. (Fran likes to dance.) 

Craig and Karen Rahn, Commodore's Ball

It was a great week once again. Next I was headed to Big Bear Lake with the Rahns.

Oct 23rd: Still Cruising the San Diego Harbor, Day 5

 

Calypso Cafe and the Gondola Tour boats

We woke up Tuesday morning ready to cruise to the San Diego Yacht Club. However, we were told by Bob and Carol, that wonderful, freshly baked cinnamon rolls were available every morning from the Calypso Cafe, a short dinghy ride away.

 

 

 

An order was placed for cinnamon rolls the day before. I suggested Fran and I could split one, but that didn't fly. Shocking! Rick and Tom delivered them to our boat.

Rick and Bob delivering our cinnamon rolls

 

 

The cinnamon rolls lived up to their reputation.

So now it was time to retrieve anchors, untie the boats and head out. Sounds simple, but it takes a little doing. Numerous lines and fenders to protect the boats. We needed to retrieve the stern anchors first. Typically, we would just let the bow anchor line out enough so we could move back and pull the anchors up. However, when we arrived, we had to use my dinghy, to place the stern anchors close to a concrete wall with little depth. 

 

Coronado Cay Anchorage

So, reverse the process. Fran and I would be the last to leave. We untied everyone and separated the boats without incident and were on our way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We decided to tow the dinghy. We've become quite proficient with hoisting and lowering the dinghy to the bow, but we weren't in a hurry. Also, it can be an issue dropping the dinghy if we are in a tight slip.

Dinghy on bow where it rides while cruising

The ride to the San Diego Yacht Club was wonderful. It was a beautiful day, and we cruised past some interesting Navy ship activity.

I was informed that we would be doing a Mediterranean tie at San Diego Harbor. That means dropping a bow anchor and then backing close enough to the dock so we could get off on the stern. Of course, being the largest boat, I was the first to dock. I recalled my trip to Greece for a sailing school with my daughter on a forty-foot sailboat. Rebecca certified for crewing and I received my Day Skipper License.

Mediterranean ties are common in Greece, because a lot more boats can fit at a dock. 

 

Rebecca behind our Mediterranean tied sailboat.

I remembered my docking lessons and docking our single screw sailboat that way. I decided it would be a piece of cake with twin screws.

All went well and there was plenty of help at the dock. The other boats joined us, and we were all set.

People at this yacht club were very friendly and went out of their way to make us feel included. They have a beautiful facility, an excellent, reasonably priced restaurant, a large pool and hot tub and great showers, etc.

We ended up hosting cocktail hour on our boat. Fran's boat has plenty of room and there were a lot of fun boating conversations. But one issue can be having enough ice, especially because we were anchored out for the two previous days. And now we had ten people on the boat hoping for ice! I was carefully stretching our ice supply.  Greg is our Fleet Captain. The Fleet Captain is responsible for scheduling and organizing the cruises for the year. He rose to the challenge and showed up with enough ice for everyone!

 

 

 

Fleet Captain Greg and Vice Commodore Roger

For those of you like me, who aren't familiar with a yacht club, the officers are elected volunteers. People are expected to move up the ladder once elected. In that process, there is a lot of experience available.

I was recently accepted as a member of the Dana West Yacht Club. I have made a number of new friends during the past year by participating as a guest of the Rahns and Fran. It is a wonderfully laid back social network, and I am pleased to be able to participate as a member. Here is a link to the website. DWYC

 

The location was great for Fran and me because we had our bikes. We rode through downtown San Diego along the waterfront where there is a bike friendly path. The path took us past the USS Midway aircraft Carrier. 

 

The ship was so long I could not
get far enough away to capture the entire ship in my picture. Here is a link giving some of the ship's history. USS Midway

 

We ended up riding about 20 miles. We agreed, that warranted a Ben and Jerry's ice cream cone.

 

 

 

 

There was a very nice sculpture of Bob Hope entertaining the troops. It included an audio presentation Of Hope telling jokes to the troops. It was very well done. 

 

 

 

 

 

I like to fish, but probably not as much as Fran.  So we needed to give it a try in the harbor. We decided to try fishing along the bait tank dock, where people come to get live sardines for bait. Some invariably escape, so we thought it would be a good place to try. No luck catching fish, but we were entertained by the sea lions on the bait dock.

We were really enjoying the San Diego Yacht Club and asked if we could spend another night. They made accommodations for us at the sailing dock. It is a beautiful spot on a small bay where the junior sail boaters race/practice. We sat on the back deck enjoying the perfect weather and entertainment.

I also noticed a huge sailboat across the channel in another yacht club. The rigging and height of the masts were amazing. I would like to have learned more about the boat. Maybe next trip!

We saw some fun birds on our trip. I wasn't able to get a lot of pictures, but here are a few.

Great Blue Heron

Snowy Egret

 

Night Heron

 

Our time at the SDYC was over. Time to start heading back to Dana Point. Next stop, Oceanside Yacht Club. It is about half way back.

Oct 21: California is great!

 

Most of my time has been related to cruising or working on Fran's boat. I love it! When I returned from our last trip, I noticed my rattlesnake plant was doing very well. My wonderful neighbor, Aida, takes care of my plants when I'm gone. They clearly like Aida. Here is the plant folded up for the night. (I turned the light on for the picture.)

Here is the plant during the day.

 

 

 

 

 

Teardrop Plant

 My Teardrop plant is also doing well. I'm pleased to report that after my last visit to Rebecca, (I rescued these plants from her) she now has all artificial plants. Good thing. I don't have any more space for more plants!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 I have been thinking about getting an air fryer/oven/toaster. I just happened to be checking it out and saw Target had a Cuisinart for 60 % off. Two left. I snagged it and I like it. It works great and is much better than heating the whole oven to bake.

 

Air Fried Chicken thighs

Craig and I went to the marina to help a friend who was going in for open-heart surgery. (She is doing great.) Her boat was fine, but the kayak had been sitting in the water for a long time. The bottom looked like a coral reef!

 

 

We cleaned it off and put it on the bow of her boat. The ocean critters and algae move in quickly! 

As I was driving back home, I saw a lot of smoke. There were several wildfires in the east, but this looked pretty close. I could smell the smoke. Fortunately, it stayed well away from my place.

 

 

 I bought some Goldfish plants that attract hummingbirds to my balcony. They are very cool plants and the hummingbirds love them. 

This little guy on the railing is a regular. Very fun to watch the hummingbirds hovering from blossom to blossom.

I decided to rearrange my bedrooms. I had originally thought that it would be nice to have a larger office/project area but decided my bed and dresser were just too large for the guest bedroom. So I switched them. It worked out well.

Now as I sit at my desk and can look out over a beautiful view and see my hummingbirds.

It was time for our major 10-day cruise with the Dana West Yacht Club (DWYC), to San Diego Harbor. The cruise was fabulous. Great weather and great people.

A wonderful thing about Yacht Clubs is the reciprocal agreements. We were able to stay at 4 yacht clubs at no charge. Yacht club members always show appreciation by using the yacht club restaurants, and bars!, which were wonderful. Boaters are very welcoming and friendly.

Our first stay was at the Coronado Yacht Club. It was about a 7-hour cruise, and we enjoyed a beautiful cruise into San Diego Harbor. This is a fish eye view of the harbor. To the left (west) is the harbor entrance and the ocean. To the right, you can see the Coronado Island bridge. To the east is a dead end. The bay toward the front, bottom of the picture, is our first port. The second is beyond the east side (right) of the picture, and the third is all the way west. The harbor is huge.

 

 

 

 

 

 I was mostly interested in getting tied up to our dock, plugged in and set for the night. Fran was mostly interested in dropping the dinghy and cruising through the huge harbor. We were both happy with the outcomes. We had a wonderful sunset dinghy cruise and then had a late dinner at the yacht club.

Fran with her martini in a fancy glass. She never 

spilled a drop.

Fran told me that the bridge, which the Navy ships pass under to dock, is designed with sections that will float if it were to be bombed. That way the ships could still exit the harbor. The sunset was amazing and we returned just before dark.

Coronado bridge to the right

We ate dinner here. Very enjoyable.

 Coronado was a fun place to ride our bikes. As usual, Fran wore me out with a 15-mile ride. Not too bad, but the ride back was into the wind! We saw a lot of birds.

Long beaked Curlew and Willets

 

 

 

 

 

Our next port was Coronado Cays Yacht Club. We couldn't get slips, so we did a raft up anchor. Our boat was the largest, so I was the lead boat. The current and wind were tricky, so it took a second attempt, but I finally believed we were secure. The other three boats moved in and tied to us. I thought everyone should put out an anchor, but I was the new guy, so! Sure enough, after a half hour, we were drifting into the wall. We took another anchor out with the dinghy and dropped it. Plus, another boat put its anchor out. Then all was good.

There was a boat rental place that offered Gondola rides.

Fran enjoys sitting on that little bench on the bow. She makes a good bow ornament, always smiling.

Kevin and Brenda

Our friends Brenda and Kevin drove to Coronado and joined us for cocktails on the boat.

 

 

 

 

Coronado Cays Yacht Club Bar

Then we joined the other boaters at the yacht club for dinner. The yacht club was very nice.

 

Fran, Carol, Bob, Sandy, Debbie and Rick

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Because we had the largest boat, we hosted the "Eye Opener" the next morning. It is a tradition for the yacht club. Bloody Mary's, Mimosas (Orange juice and champagne), pastries and fruit. Typically, people would all just sit in their dinghies, and we would pass everything out to everyone. But there were only four boats, so we ate on the boat.   

 

 

 

It was a great couple of days, and we would head to the San Diego Yacht Club next.