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Saturday January 24, 2009 -> Monday January 26, 2009

 

We are docked in San Diego at a new marina, The Wharf. It is in an area used by the America's Cup race when it was last held here. Even though they are 90% full the facilities are still under construction. We get an end tie as usual right next to The Munay, a smaller catamaran that John and Deborah knew well when it was chartered in the Caribbean. It is now owned by a young couple that wish to cruise, but are still working in a high tech computer job; sounds familiar. The name Munay is a Peruvian tribal word meaning unconditional love. After coming to tour Bella Donna they leave a numbered bottle of the wife's favorite California Russian River Pinot Noir. The other yachts around us are mostly all large power yachts, stink pots as we say; they refer to us as a rag picker. These large boats have rotating wires with little red flags on their ends to discourage birds from sitting on and pooping on their decks. A testament to just how smart these birds are, one very large lethargic sea gull stands just outside the revolving red flags and drops his deposit on the cabin.

 

San Diego is our last stop before sailing into Mexico. We stop and by our fishing licenses and I update our gear. I buy two new hand lines, 3 tuna lures and, a little to Deborah's objection, a new wahoo lure. We caught 100s of pounds of whahoo in the South Pacific last year; we just got a little tired of a good thing, a freezer full of fresh fish.

 

Sunday morning we have our breakfast out at Denny's. In the afternoon all 5 of us split up and headed in different directions. Terry leaves to visit Mission Beach, a place in her past. Don leaves to explore the city via mass transit. I need to find a Radio Shack. I find one 2.2 miles away so I decide to walk as I am not sure how easy it will be to bike there. John and Deborah have various errands to run. There is no rental car this time. We can use the exercise before we leave tomorrow.

 

On the way back from Radio Shack I see two familiar people waving a 100 yards ahead; it is John and Deborah. We celebrate with some ice cream. John continues on his way to The Sports Chalet to buy a scuba diving hood; the winter Pacific waters are cold enough to give headaches after even a brief  exposure. John has a wet suit but he needs a hood.  Deborah and I drop by Von's to pick up just a few things. We remember so many thing we need and discover too good to not take deals we end up with several shopping bags, but we are almost 2 miles from Bella Donna. Lets go to Starbucks and think about this. Deborah and I looked real good walking through the door with our full Von's chopping cart. While having our coffee we get a call from John, The Sports Chalet is a lot further than he was told; he was told 2 miles and it is more like 3.5. The short of it is the 2 of us should take the groceries back to Bella Donna. Can we do it; you bet! One more mile and  we will get a cab. We barely make it. Hallelujah.

 

Today, Monday, we rise up early. We let go the dock lines at exactly 7:30 AM. The wind is blowing 20 knots out of the west, a very cold wind. The sweat suit just does not do the trick; you could seriously freeze to death. More layers are required. The sea is seriously bouncy, so much so that a trip across the deck guarantees at least one tangle footed stumble. Sea sickness is looking in the wings. The sea calms some as we progress and about 3 PM we arrive in Ensenada Mexico. It is still very cold.

 

God Bless Bella Donna