Current Location – Harbor Island – Sunroad Marina – slip A-17 – Lat: 32°44’ N / Long: 117°12’ W
06/14/09 - Jim G: I think we all got a good sleep last night and were up at the crack of dawn to continue our voyage. On the radio this morning we found that another sailboat, "World Wind," got held up at Cedros Island (near Turtle Bay) because of strong winds up to 30 knots. It appears we were lucky to leave Turtle Bay when we did. When they reported this morning we were about 140 nautical miles ahead of them and experiencing fairly calm conditions with only 10 knots of wind.
We had good weather during the morning, but have been fighting 15-20 knot winds and 5-7' seas since early afternoon. It's getting a bit tiring to constantly be bracing for the pitching and rolling of the boat. At one point I was working with the stove and let go just as the boat did a violent pitch. In a second I was slammed across the boat and into the navigation station. Luckily I didn't hit my head, but I will have black and blue marks on my butt for weeks to come. Good thing I have some beef back there to take the hit.
We saw a catamaran coming up on us from behind; so I contacted it by VHF radio. It turns out that John and Debra are employees of the owner, who are bringing the boat north for him. It is a 70' catamaran with twin 200 HP engines, but it still had as much difficulty maneuvering in the seas as we did, and we only have 42 HP on one engine in a 40' boat. We agreed to meet at Marina Coral in Ensenada for cocktails when we get in. We might also get a tour of the boat.
Craig H: Since 2 PM the winds have been brisk and seas fairly high. Hope things calm down some as we get further into the evening and night. We are still making fairly good progress - better than we did two nights ago. We’re looking forward to our planned arrival in Ensenada tomorrow afternoon.
Current Location – Ensenada – Marina Coral – Lat: 31°51’ N / Long: 116°39’ W
06/15/09 - Jim G: We're now ensconced in Marina Coral in Ensenada with just 60+ miles to go before arriving in San Diego. Because we can only count on about 4-5 knots of speed, that means we need to leave some 12-15 hours before we want to arrive in San Diego. Since we want to make sure the customs folks are on duty when we get there, we decided to arrive around noon. You can do the math and realize that we need to leave Ensenada somewhere between 9 PM and midnight to get there at that time.
Marina Coral in Ensenada – note the abundant room there for boats (photo courtesy of Craig H.)We have decided to use tomorrow to check out of Mexico, clean the boat a bit, and get some laundry done. Then on Wednesday evening we are planning to leave Ensenada for San Diego to arrive around noontime on Thursday. If we have bad weather it could be later in the afternoon, whereas better weather could mean our arrival as early as 7 AM. Since Sheilagh was to be the single member of our welcoming committee, we have agreed to call her on a cell phone when we reach the outer buoy that marks the entrance to the channel. It will take us about an hour or so to get to the Shelter Island quarantine station where she will meet us, which should give her enough time to get her coffee, take her morning shower, put on a face (as she puts it), and drive the 15 minutes to Shelter Island.
Last night I had a very uncomfortable midnight-to-3-AM shift with the weather turning boisterous to entertain me. We had 20-25 knot winds and seas greater than 6' that kept us at 3 knots of speed. Whenever I stood up to look ahead of the boat to make sure we weren't running into someone, I got blasted by spray in the face and had to repeatedly clean my glasses. As soon as Craig came on at 3 AM, the weather moderated and we finally made some real speed in getting to Ensenada. I think we know whose side the gods are on.
Craig H: We were all very relieved when the weather and sea conditions moderated early this morning. It was a long night. Our last eight hours into Ensenada were in some of the best conditions we have seen since Cabo. In our last hour we had our closest sighting of a Finback whale, only a couple of hundred feet away from us. Fantastic! Hotel privileges at the marina are great. There is nothing like your first real standup, all the water you want shower, after two weeks of cruising - life is good.
Craig H. was glad to get to Ensenada, with all the aggressive weather behind us according to the weather forecasters (photo courtesy of Craig H.)Jim D: I had the 2100-2400 watch and I truly got to watch a lot of water. The speed got down to 1.8-2.2 knots with the added fun of pitch, roll, and yaw. Just like flying! Got up this morning to a speed of 6.5 and gentle swell, so life is good. The marina has showers with unlimited hot water, so that was good. We're on a roll.
Jim D. during the last stretch of easy weather to Ensenada – I think he wears the dark glasses to make us think he is still awake (photo courtesy of Craig H.)06/16/09 - Jim G: This was our second night in Marina Coral, where we have stopped a day to recuperate a bit before the last 65 miles to San Diego. As part of the recuperation I scrubbed down the boat today, rolled up and stowed the dinghy, and changed the engine oil - not exactly my definition for resting, but it had to be done so Sheilagh won’t see a trashed-out boat when we get in. Jim D. and Craig did the laundry to stay out of the way. This was handy because it's frustrating when someone wants to get into or out of the cabin during a wash-down or an oil change.
The indoor swimming pool must be 85 degrees at least, meaning there is no jolt to the body when you dive in. On the other hand it is too warm to really swim vigorously. There is almost no one staying at the hotel or using any of the facilities, leaving it very private for us. We noticed a cruise liner coming into Ensenada this morning and leaving this evening; so the swine flu scare must be over for the tourist industry.
We have only one restaurant at this hotel, which is getting a bit tiresome. However, we don't really have the energy or desire to grab a cab into town and find another place to eat. We've decided that we don't need any more groceries before making it to San Diego. We'll be leaving at twilight tomorrow and arriving in San Diego about midday - at least that's what we think. The weather is predicted to be gentle, with winds no more than 15 knots and sea states of 3-4. If that's the case, then the "bash" part of this trip may be over, but we're knocking on wood when we say that. More tomorrow!
06/17/09 – Jim G: We finally left Ensenada at about 7PM tonight and are encountering calm seas and a good forecast for more of the same. I did a little polishing of the stainless steel today, while my crew sat around being lazy. I guess I haven't been strict enough on this trip. Next time I'll bring my whip along. Actually it reminds me of my teenage years when I had to clean house but had no vested interest in the place. I can certainly understand my interest in the bright work and their lack of same.
We have been dining in the hotel for nearly every meal because we are out of fresh food and there is no easy way to go grocery shopping here. Also, there is no need to buy anything, as we will be home in San Diego by noon tomorrow (knock on wood again).
We were positioned in a slip that made it difficult to back out. So we used Craig's idea to pull the boat across the double slip to give ourselves more room before starting the engine. As we backed up, Jim D. kept the bow near the dock until it needed to swing out, when he jumped on. Craig was on shore holding the stern with a line so the boat would back around correctly. Then Craig let the line go at the right time and ran down the series of docks to get on when we passed by. It worked very well.
We had a gentle night and actually slowed down to 3 knots for the last couple of hours so as not to arrive before dawn. It was overcast most of the night with little to see except dark water and dark skies, which slowly transformed to gray on my early morning watch. As we entered the San Diego channel we were followed and passed by an aircraft carrier, which certainly fills up the sky as it passes.
The lonely outer buoy for entering the San Diego channel (photo courtesy of Craig H.)Current Location – San Diego – Shelter Island Quarantine Station – Lat: 32°43’ N / Long: 117°14’ W
06/18/09 – Jim G: We’re finally home at last with Sheilagh there to meet us. We made it into the Shelter Island Customs dock at 8:15 AM and had to wait about one hour to see a customs agent. Customs was taking care of a cruise liner that had come in a couple of hours ahead of us. Here’s where we were checked for remnants of explosives or drugs, while we dumped out all the dairy products: milk, cheese, eggs. We also got rid of the questionable lunch meat, a dried out onion and green pepper, and some apples we hadn’t finished.
Then it was off to the Sunroads Marina on the northeast side of Harbor Island, slip A17, which turned out to be very narrow. It was the first slip we’ve been in with a dock on both sides of the boat; so the tie down is very secure. We had the celebratory beer after tying up and then had lunch at the marina restaurant to end the adventure. At lunch I presented Certificates of Completion for the Baja Bash to Jim D. and Craig H., and Sheilagh thanked them profusely for saving her from having to help bring the boat up. All in all it was a memorable and enjoyable trip for all of us.
Naturally we forgot to take an arrival picture; so just imagine us sitting around a table at the Sunroad Marina restaurant with the sun shining brightly on a deep blue bay, gazing out at a few sailboats and fishing boats criss-crossing the bay on a weekday morning, observing the gorgeous San Diego city skyline reflecting the bright flashes of sun off its many high-rise windows, and glorying in the knowledge that we would soon be at our condo where all of us could take showers, wash our clothing, and completely relax. We made about 1000 nautical miles in 18 days from Mazatlan to San Diego, and managed to end up the friends we were when we started. This marks the end of our cruising lifestyle – at least for the present time. Thanks for following our adventures over the past 20 months.
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