San Diego

We have arrived at the latest port-of call, San Diego. This of course was not with a series of adventures that you read about in my email. I woke up this morning with the alarming realization of why things went wrong last Friday. IT WAS FRIDAY! I read a great book that my son gave be some years ago; Dove. It is a book about the adventures of a young boy that sailed from Los Angeles on a single handed trip around the world. For the ladies out there there is another book that has been published about a young girl from New England that did the same, but let me get back to the point I was about to make. One does NOT EVER start a voyage, even the next leg, on a Friday. BAD KARMA or if you rather, very bad luck will befall you. It happened to Dove and it happened to me. Dolce Vita will not set sail from this point forward on a Friday.

We are being towed to our marina. Very embarrassing way to enter San Diego Bay for the first time.

We spent two days in Dana Point kicking back to enjoy the warm weather and meeting of great friends and co-workers. Steve and Betsy came by baring great gifts. An 18 year old fifth of Macallan scotch which we immediately broke into for a toast and of course with a fresh cigar. They also brought a book that my son Steve and wife Jessie gave me for my upcoming birthday. A book on what to do and see while in Mexico. They also wrote me some words of wisdom in the cover encouraging me to learn how to chill when finding myself in long lines that move very slow. Good advice. Andrew Seboc, that I had the pleasure to work with at CSAA also came by to say hello and to share a glass of wine with us.

As we neared the San Diego coast it began to reach out to us, to welcome us to town. Bob almost jumped ship and swam ashore. There were others that were leaving for parts unknown in a large vessel call cruise ship. I am sure there we those that took photos of this beautiful sailing boat that was under tow.

We will be staying in San Diego until next Saturday when hopefully all repairs are finished. Who else can stay in San Diego for $20 a day on the water with a great view. We are not in a hurry to leave.

So until next time, be safe out there.

There probably will not be any more blogs for awhile as our next stop is Mexico. When i find an Internet cafe, I will update the blog

Catalina Island

We left Marina Del Rey on Sunday and set course to paradise better known as Catalina Island. Our first stop was two Harbors located on the NW end of the island. Two harbors is a small village and a few homes for people working there. The hills around the harbor are green and the area is somewhat remote. They are setup however to take care of the cruisers with food and wine/beer but you need to make your own entertainment. The rock in the photo marks the entrance. Those that don't see it and run into it are ground up like hamburger. We setup the dingy, put the motor on and headed to the island for some sun and food and drink. We walked around a bit to see the area and the few buildings.

That evening we had somewhat of a restless night with waves rocking the boat throughout the night. The next morning we left for Avalon where most people go to enjoy the island. As you can see, Wilson and his friend are very happy at the thought of seeing Avalon for the first time. The sail (Motored) to Avalon took two hour but we still enjoyed ourselves leaving Kurt to do all of the helm work.

There is a boat that meets you as you enter the Bay to take your money for time you stay there and give you instructions on how to find your assigned mooring ball. That is where our next adventure began. There are two lines to attach to the boat that run off of the mooring. The first is attached to the bow and the second attached to the stern. It is the second line that got wrapped around the propeller. I called for a diver to free the line and was told they would charge $110. That is when I sprung to action and put my swimming suit on, weight belt, Mask and snorkel and dove into the water to free the line myself. I dove under the boat and released the line that was wrapped around the prop shaft 4 times.

This of course is where my crew decided to celebrate as I dried off and warmed up from the 60 degree water.

We enjoyed our time here but now it is time to move on to the next adventure. Next stop is Dana Point. I added some photos so you can get an idea of what Avalon looks like. Credit for the photos goes to our ships photographer, Kurt Petersen.

Until next time, be safe out there.

city of the Angeles

Next Port-of-Call, Marina Del Rey which is located just north of the Los Angeles Airport. It is the largest marina on the west coast of the United States. Sunny and warm and yes, smoggy.

The trip down from Channel Islands Marina took 8 hours. We motored the first 6 hours and as we got closer to the coast we picked up wind and raised the sails.













A little excitement on our way down here. We saw a large boat approaching from the south as we were headed south. Nothing to be alarmed about. We see many boats coming and going, most of which are commercial vessels. As it became closer we saw that it was the Coast Guard. Again nothing to concern ourselves with, until it changed course and headed towards us. Then we hear on our radio; "Sailboat off of our port bow, do you copy?" Rats, I think we are going to be boarded. The next question from the Coast Guard was; " Have you ever been boarded before?". Since I have not, I answered that I have never had the privilege of being boarded before. The captain responds that this is then is my lucky day.








This is the area off of the coast where they boarded us, Point Mugu. I responded on the radio that I am going to maintain my speed and coarse unless they tell me different. We then saw a small rubber boat with a big engine and five Coast Guard men with guns on their hip headed our way. They maneuvered the boat beside us as three of them jumped onto our boat. They announced that they were there for a safety check and asked for my ships papers. We passes the inspection and thank God, Bob left his drugs at home. They were very polite and courteous and made the experience a good one. They told us we were good to go and to not expect to be boarded again while we head for Mexico. I told one of the Guardsmen that I would offer him a beer but it wasn't noon yet. He smiled and said thanks.



Here is a photo one the one of many oil rigs you see between Point Conception and LA. They are lit up like a city at night and I always give them a lot of space which in today's world since 911 is required.

We stayed in Marina Del Rey for a few days as I waited for a friend from Pleasanton to arrive on Friday. Kurt Petersen is sailing with us to Catalina Island, Dana Point and San Diego. I had planned to leave on Saturday but I am going to wait until Sunday so we are assured to get a mooring when we arrive. I will have some good photos to share from our stay on the island.

By the way. My friend Wilson that shares the boat with me, thanks to my friends at CSAA, is a coward and he has been busted from First Mate to Bilge Rat. Lindsay and Andreas can tell you why.

Take care and be safe out there.

Morrow Bay and Santa Barbara

Here we are, leaving for another long leg to Santa Barbara. This trip should take 22 hours and we need to go around Point Conception which can be one of the most dangerous places on the globe foe sailing. Today however, the Gods were with us. We motored around the Point which had less than 5 Kts of wind. Unfortunately, we motor the entire distance. Am I complaining this time? NO

We departed Morrow Bay around 1:00 in the afternoon. Bob's friends, Tom and Lynn saw us off.

My son Steve, his wife Jessie and my grandson Ray live in Los Osos which is across town from Morrow Bay. I had a great time visiting and Bob had a chance to meet everyone.

So as I noted, we are off and to show you how relaxed we are , I need to show you a photo of my able bodied crew who is ready at any moment to spring to action.

This shows the other side of Bob. A photo of him during the storm would have been much different.

As the day starts to end, we had the opportunity to see a great sunset. Sunsets like these can only be enjoyed from out to seas where the air in clean and the view is unobstructed. The second photo is what we saw as the last light disappeared until 6:00 am the next morning.

You can not enjoy the great feeling that comes over you after you have made it through the night and the sun reappears. Your spirits pick up and a great smile spreads across your face and can be seen on Skipper Denny's face.

The next moment, several hours ahead of this moment we arrive in beautiful Santa Barbara. We enjoyed the area for three days before setting off again. This time for Channel Islands Marina which is located in Oxnard. Not exactly a garden spot but it will do. We will have to sit it out here until Thursday until the latest storm passes.

The next update will be from Marina del Rey in Los Angeles.

Be careful what you ask for

All of you have read the email that I sent detailing the storm we sailed through on our way from Monterey to Morrow bay so I won't bore you going over the details again. Beside it is something that I would like to put behind me as I now look forward to kind and gentle seas.

This is what it looked like as we left Morterey. Sunny and warm with no wind. This is when I complained about not having wind again....BAD Mistake!

Four hours into the day's sail this is what it looked like from the boat. Notice how calm it is. We were also rewarded with the sighting of several whales. I was only able to get the photo of this one whale. I'll try to do better next time and get better shots.

These next photos were taken about 24 hours after we left Monterey and the storm had finally died of and times were again good. Yes we were sailing but in much different conditions. The big rock is called Morrow Rock and it is at the entrance of Morrow Bay. We made it.

Notice the smile on my crew. Bob is happy again. I didn't get a photo of him after he stepped off of the boat and knelt down to kiss mother earth!!!

Well that is finally it for know. Sorry it took so long to get this out. I also have not been able to connect to the vessel locator which still shows us in Monterey.

Sitting by the Bay

It is Friday and I am having a warm and sunny day here in Monterery. Did allot of walking yesterday, stocking up on food and stuff and of course took the opportunity to take some more photos. How's this for contrast? The second photo was taken a month ago. The first photo was taken yesterday. Notice any difference?

Yes, that is me under all of those cloths holding a snow shovel. It going to be a long time before I visit those conditions again.

I was a guest at this years Seal convention and my friends asked if I could take their photo and pass it on to my friends.

Signing off until next time. Having to much fun to be sitting here a playing with the computer. Time for a Tequila

Resting in Monterey

Short sail yesterday from Santa Cruz to Monterey most of it in the rain. Did I say sail? I meant motor. It may have been raining but there was no wind again.

The Marina here is excellent. The people in the Harbor office are always friendly and helpful with all of ones needs. I have a 38 foot boat that is a little broad around the hips, 12 foot beam, and it has to squeeze into a slip that is 12.5 feet wide if you don't ask for a wide slip. So if you girl is a little broad in the hips, it is best to ask for a larger slip. The water is very clear here and you can see many large Star fish on the bottom around the boats.

After cleaning up the boat, I did some work on the auto pilot steering oar to see if it prevents the oar from falling away, which is not good if you want to maintain a course and not have to manually steer the boat for hours on end. This is what we had to do when I helped sail a boat from Hawaii to San Francisco. Steer by hand for 21 days and night because the auto pilot didn't work.

Keeping my theme of drinking and eating in dive bars and restaurants now that I am retired, I always have breakfast at Lou Lou's when I sail here. They serve the best down home breakfast's here and you do not go away hungry. The coffee is also great. They were listed as the third best restaurant in Monterey for breakfasts in today's paper. Lou Lou's is on the wharf at the end of the Marina. You can also buy fresh caught fish at the end of the wharf and take it back to the boat for a great dinner that evening.

Fisherman's wharf is also a short walk from the Harbor. I can't say they is any place good there to eat but you can find great Clam Chowder. It is a fun place to walk around and just look into the shops along the wharf. For us men, if our wives or girl friends get carried aways with shopping, you can tuck into a bar for a beer until they finish. She can then meet you later to join you for a drinks to relax and look out at the bay and the seals as they play and make load noise.

There is also a fun place to visit if you are interested in Maritime history around the area. Marty and I visited here and if you take your time to read the displays, it can take you an hour to get through it all. If you continue walking past the maritime museum, it will take you down town. Great restaurants, bars and other fine places to leave your money.

This a a nice photo of another harbor just on the other side of Fisherman's wharf. If you follow the trail here, it will take you down to Cannery Row and the Aquarium.

That's all for now. I will post again when we reach Morrow Bay.

Play Land on the Beach, Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz Board Walk.

This is about 1/2 mile from that marina in Santa Cruz where I stopped for the day. We took the kids here and also came here to play on the beach and BBQ. Interesting that there was little wind today until I was within 1 mile of here and then it starts to blow. Blow while you are off shore, not when you try to dock, but dock I did and as far as I can tell, the dock should be OK.

I saw four whales today and should see many more as I go farther south. They are leaving Ba Ha hearing that I am headed that way.

As promised, here is a photo of the shore which is about half way between Half Moon Bay and Santa Cruz. This is near where I sighted the whales.

Tomorrow I am off to Monterey and will hold up there a few days while I wait for my crew. Bob had some business he had to attend to and will meet up with me again before our next leg. The next leg will take 23 hours at best so it will be a long day before we find the next port which is Morrow Bay. This is where Steve teaches. Steve, Jessie and Ray live in a town near by, Los Osos.

Until tomorrow, that is all for today.