San Diego to Catalina, and home to Calif. Yacht Marina

San Diego is one of our favorite places, with fun friends and a very welcoming climate.  It was hard to tear ourselves away, but indeed we did.  After a week of merry-making, we set off early in the morning for Avalon, Catalina, our "home port".  As we motored out there were some submarines caged in their yard, unlike the huge ship that met us on the way in. The Navy traffic around San Diego is always interesting to us, and they are very communicative on the radio so not a navigation problem.

Not so stealthy sitting here.

   The seas were calm, winds light, and as we passed the customs dock, there was Scout, a boat we had met in La Cruz, Mexico.  Greg had just arrived, dropped off some crew and was headed in our direction.  After a couple hours, he caught us and then passed on his way to Avalon as well.  There were some Navy ships and Osprey aircraft doing exercises off Catalina which were fun to watch, as long as we stayed 5 miles away.

Catalina breaking out into the sunlight in the late afternoon.  Almost there!

   We were once again motoring, so I had the fishing line out trying for one last tuna or dorado before Catalina.  Suddenly, as it always jars the senses, the reel started screaming.  I jumped up, slowed the boat down, and started cranking.  The fish on the end fought hard, then became somewhat airborne as it skimmed across the surface as I reeled it in.

Not a happy camper.  Him or us!

 As it got closer, I yelled down to Leif who was napping, "get up here, you have to see this!"  It appeared to be a shark, and indeed it was a baby great white!

Too close for comfort.

 I've never caught a shark before, and to have this be my first was shocking.  What a lot of teeth!  And it kept snapping its jaws at us.  I grabbed the pliers and attempted to pull the hook out as it bit through the line and fortunately freed itself.  Whewww.  Quite exciting for us.

Oh my, look what we pulled in!

   We arrived at Avalon around 6:30 p.m. and relaxed for the remaining daylight.  Early the next day we were off to try miniature golf once again, our favorite thing in Avalon.  The crowds were not too bad as there were no cruise ships in yet.  The U.S. was playing soccer though, so all the restaurants and bars were full of people watching the game.

This submarine is definitely not stealthy...

   Avalon is nice, but Isthmus is our favorite, so we left after two days for more peace and quiet.  As we left, the cruise ship had arrived and was off-loading its cargo for a day on the town.

The Casino with the Atessa anchored nearby.  We saw this yacht in La Paz and other various spots in the Sea of Cortez.

   Isthmus was not overly crowded either, with many empty moorings around us.  Nice.  We hiked to the top of the road above the USC campus grounds, about 2-3 miles up and then back, and across to Cat harbor.  Then, we walked the road out past Cherry cove and back for some more exercise.  I did jump into the water one day, but it was 68 degrees and was a quick swim.  Not bad for Catalina actually, but we're used to 86 degrees.

On one of our hikes above the Isthmus.  Not a lot of boats for the week before the Fourth.

   All too soon it was time to find a place to put the boat for our work on the mainland.  We called Shoreline, and they were not helpful, to put it mildly.  So we called many other marinas and finally decided on California Yacht Marina, who were very friendly and helpful.  And, they were having a marina appreciation day the Saturday after we arrived!  So, burgers, hot dogs, salads, cake, and beer!  All free, and also a give away drawing for free slips and gift bags.  Not bad for a U.S. arrival.

What a beautiful spot to relax.  

 

Overlooking the campground and several coves.  I just love this place.  Even though it's dry, it's still greener than most in Baja. 

We are now busy tearing out the teak on the stern step, and cockpit seats, cleaning, and sorting through all of the stuff that we want off the boat.  Then, there's the stuff to put on the boat...  Later, much later.