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.
 

San Jose del Cabo to Bahia Santa Maria, Turtle Bay,Ensenada, and San Diego

La Paz was getting hot to the point that we were hiding out in our boat from noon until 8:00 p.m. when the sun set.  The heat would very slowly subside, around 10:00 p.m. it would be in the high 80's.  Finally, near 6:00 a.m. it would drop into the 60's for about an hour, then rapidly climb to the 90's and 100's by 10:00 a.m., not to mention the humidity.

This was our life for much of the day in La Paz.  No quick escape!

   We had decided to bring the boat back to California so that Leif can accomplish the many upgrades he wanted on the boat.  It would be tough to do hard work in the heat and humidity.  So... I started pushing for sooner rather than later as it was too hot to even go out and enjoy Mexico.  If we were anchored at the islands it was nice, as there was swimming to cool off (86 degree water).  However we were in a marina and the winds were less, and swimming was not an option as the pool was murky and swimming in the marina wasn't an option either.  Finally we decided to get out of town...

This is a small fish camp on Isla Partida.  A panga full of women and children arrived in the morning, spent the night, then the coromuel winds came up strongly and they had to wait to leave.  All seemed to have a good time.

   On May 31 at 10:00 a.m.we left Marina Palmira for Bahia de los Muertos.  As has been the norm here in the Sea of Cortez, the wind was on the nose, so we motored around the corner.  We were on a mission, not an afternoon daysail.  Arriving at Muertos around 7 p.m. we anchored and quickly jumped into the lovely water to cool off.  The water temp. here was 86.9 degrees!  It's hard to stay cool as the water keeps the air warm.  Next day we set off early, around 5:00 a.m. for our journey to San Jose del Cabo.  The seas were rough, as the swells are coming from the Pacific ocean and the Sea of Cortez, creating a cross swell.

It's a long ride across to the mainland when the coromuels are blowing!

One last colorful sunset before we leave.

 Lovely.  We arrived around 5:00p.m., washed the boat, and settled into the upscale marina on an end tie.  Soon after, we met some fellow cruisers from the boat Tardis, Jaime, Elaine and their friend Bernd.  We had seen the boat in La Cruz, but had never run into them.  They were great fun, and we had several meals out enjoying the sights of San Jose.  The boats which were accumulated in San Jose were mostly waiting for a weather window to head north to bash to California.  Soon enough a window arrived and people started disappearing.  We decided to wait until Friday, and left a couple days after many others.  Friday morning we left around 9 and headed towards Cabo san Lucas, and Cabo Falso, notorious for lumpy, windy conditions. Luckily, we had judged the weather well and our travels were fairly benign, with light winds on the nose most of the way up the outside of Baja.

On an early morning walk around S.J. del Cabo this fisherman was having a bit of luck catching "Lisas"!

 

At first we didn't see any iguanas in Cabo, then, after looking carefully, they were EVERYWHERE!

We arrived in Bahia Santa Maria with a bit of weather, so we stayed the night and left the following night for Turtle Bay.  Things were humming along nicely, with the two of us doing 3 hour watches, so once we hit Turtle, we fueled up and left right away, headed outside of Cedros Island for Ensenada.  The trip was a quick one, taking only 6 days which included one night at anchor.  Last time it took 19 days.  We only hit some uncomfortable conditions around Viscaino Bay, just north of Cedros.  The seas were short and lumpy, causing us to pound unless we bore off away from directly into it.  So, we zigzagged across until early morning when it died down a bit.  The ships were far out to sea this trip, not a concern at all.  And, no fish pens or long lines.

The Whale Man, Ensenada.  This is on the malecon near Cruiseport (background).

 

Ah the fruit stand, not to be outdone, also note the hanging Tostitos!

Arriving in Ensenada, the weather cleared up and the sun broke through the clouds, turning into a beautiful morning with crisp air and bright sunshine.  It was a delight to head into Cruiseport marina and see Jonathan who seems to be in charge of everything there.  We arrived on a Thursday mid-day, so we waited until the next morning to head into the Port Captain and check out of the country.  That went so smoothly, taking only about 1/2 hour as compared to 3 hours the first trip, we decided to go to lunch with the Tardis crew.  There were all sorts of boats that we knew in Cruiseport, which made it really fun to walk the docks and reconnect with them and learn of their travels.  Ensenada is a lively town, especially when the cruise ships are in port.  As it turned out, there were two while we stayed, so the street sellers were out in full force.  At first this adds to the atmosphere, but it quickly gets old and we were happy when the ship set sail so the sellers did as well!  The streets were more barren, but it was calmer and more like a small town instead of a carnival.     It was all too soon that we said "goodbye" to Ensenada and headed north to San Diego and our friends Tom and Mary Ellen.  As we passed the USA border, we did a little tribute and took down our Mexican flag, and put up the American Legion YC flag and the yellow quarantine flag.  This alerts the customs folks that we are entering the country and are not trying to enter illegally.  The customs guys came down and quickly inspected our boat, asking for meats, veggies, and fruits.  We had already gotten rid of these "illegal" items ahead of time, so we passed quickly.

The not-so-weary travelers arriving at Southwestern Y.C., ahhhhhhh.

 Tom and Mary Ellen greeted us as we arrived, but were asked to leave by the customs guys.  Last trip it wasn't a problem having them down on the dock with us.  So, we left and headed to Southwestern Yacht Club and our end tie for four nights. I hate to blather on about Southwestern YC, as I'm afraid it might become too popular and we won't be able to get a guest spot.  However... it is a wonderful club, with a beautiful dining area with views of the bay, looks like they have a very active jr. program as well.  Most important for us are the clean showers ashore!  It's so nice to feel at home there.

The U.S. Navy going out to exercise a unique vessel.

 

Our welcoming committee in San Diego.  Just don't get in his way!

   Tom and Mary Ellen hosted us at their home for several nights as well, taking walks out to the monument and driving all around town in their truck for groceries and cell phone service.  We love San Diego's climate, and the bustling ambiance of the Navy town.  It would be a good place to call home if we ever land.  We also met with Dave and Jan from Pendragon for an evening of catching up and dinner.  Fun to see everyone once again.