We are in Mexico

The adventure continues uninterrupted .

We left San Diego on Sunday morning at 0 dark thirty and crossed into Mexico around 8 in the morning. Our plan was to sail onto Ensenada but around eight hours into the day I decided to slip into Puerto Salina. Someone that we had been talking to in San Diego had recommended it. It is a new marina and is still in the process of being built up. None of the charts show the marina's location but there was some information in one of my cruising guides that was helpful in finding it.

The people there were very friendly and helpful. A small boat came out to greet us and escort us into the marina and slip that they had assigned us. They then drove us a short distance to the office where we signed in. The next day, without charge, they drove us 20 miles into Ensenada and helped us through the process of going through immigration and customs. It took us 2 hours to complete the process and had we done it ourselves it would have taken 6-8 hours. We took Jose out to a nice place for lunch and of course gave him a tip for all of his help. We were very grateful.

Of course the first thing we had to eat was fish taco's and also a visit to the Cantina. There was a sign hanging from the rafter that I thought i would share. Some of you might find in comforting.

We had planned to leave that on Tuesday morning for Ensenada but it was raining so we stayed until the next morning and pulled anchor around 8 in the morning after signing our departure papers. We arrived in Ensenada around 2:00 in the afternoon. Checked in with the marina (Cruiseport Village Marine) and then walked around town looking for Cuban cigars and a restraunt. We found both and both were great.

Today I walked to a coffee shop for coffee and attempted to read the best I could, a local Mexican paper. Tomorrow morning we are leaving for the next anchorage which is just that. No marina and no facilities. So we will be going dark for a few days until we find civilization again.

Here are some photos that I took since the last Blog posting. There is one photo that may be hard to make out but it is a large pod of dolphins. There must have been 30 or more that swam by us.

Well that is all for now. Until next time, Be safe out there.

I will be posting our position each evening and sending a short email from my sailmail email account. Again, please DO NOT reply to those messages. Some of you chose to ignore that request last time. If to many of you replay it will prevent me from sending anything out since the system is VERY slow speed. Send me emails to my Google account and i will get them when I find the next marina.

Thanks

Denny and Bob

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