Buddy Boating

Adam's boat Rita off our starboard bow

 Yesterday afternoon, we left Mission Bay and headed north to Dana Point. Our first big trip in Mother Culture. We buddy-boated with our friend Adam and made it to Dana Point early this morning, around 6:00am. Overall, we went 59.6 nautical miles in 17 hours and 22 minutes, at an average of 3.4 knots. We sailed about 6 or 7 hours and motored the rest of the way. When we first started sailing three years ago, we always swore we'd never use the motor. That's what sailing is all about, right? But when you're out there moving 0.0 knots, it can be treacherous, so we motored. For me, the trip was an exercise in mind over matter. This was my first long-distance trip so I was mainly focused on not going insane. Luckily, Ben and the voices in my head kept me company along the way. ;) We're not much for planning so we'll be here in Dana for a day or two so I can catch up on some work and then we'll see where the wind takes us.

Rita under Sail

Independence

It's been a while since my last post. I'm officially done with school tomorrow, so hopefully I'll make time to blog more in the next couple of months.

Ben has been working on some boat projects while I've been focusing on school and work. We even took a little Bay Sail one day a week or two ago. I'll post pics in the near future but for now I'll start with the 4th of July.

We enjoyed a pretty laid-back holiday weekend on the mooring field. I finally took Bad Seed for a spin (photo, left). I'm happy to report I haven't fallen into the water... yet!

Matt and Dianne stopped by for some sangria and sunshine before heading to OB for the fireworks show.

Mark came over and gave Bad Seed a try while Kristie yakked around. 

Kristie took a spill (or two) but that didn't stop her travels around the bay.

Always the eccentric, Charlie was spotted cruising around the 

bay in his self-designed handicapped lawnchair dinghy.

Andrea and I went on a sunset row while Ben went for a sunset sail. On our journey, we met a new friend, Pete, who was stationed at the end of the mooring field... The three of us rowed back out to Pete's boat later for an unobstructed view of the six synchronized fireworks shows around the Bay.

 On Tuesday, we were graced by a rainbow over the city. No rain, though. Only beautiful, sunny, 70+ degree weather all weekend long. This summer is definitely redemption for last year.

Even Lola got to go for a ride in Bad Seed!

Anchorage Two: La Playa

About a month ago, we anchored for the second time this year... in La Playa. Most of the excitement happened to one of the neighboring boats anchored here. We spent a few hours relaxing in our cockpit one afternoon, with live entertainment consisting of a peregrine falcon defeathering and consuming a pigeon on the spreader of said boat.



Once that show was over, we had the excitement of watching a powerboat drag anchor downwind, right towards the same boat. Ben helped save the day by rowing over and fending off the powerboat before Vessel Assist arrived. (No one was aboard the sailboat at the time).

Dragging...

Dragging...

Tap...

Vessel Assist to the Rescue...

The grand finale of our trip came after a night at Shelter Island's Marina Club - the home of Semi-Live Entertainment. After a few too many Sailor Jerrys, Ben's usually graceful dinghy launch got a little tipsy and we made a grand splash... right into the water. Thus marks our first submergence in almost 3 years of living on the boat. Casualties included one camera, two cell phones, a pair of flip flops, a life preserver, a sponge and a couple towels. Overall, not a horribly tragic flip. I have recently acquired a new camera and will be ready for our next anchorage, hopefully in the very near future. And this camera is... WATERPROOF!

Costa Rica

Costa Rica pics.

Enter at your own risk.

Costa Rica

Glorietta Bay

On Thursday, we got a permit to anchor in Glorietta Bay. We decided to motor over rather than pulling out a smaller sail.  The wind was howling and there was a small craft advisory in effect. Here is a view of the skyline heading toward South Bay... it's a lot different from the view we see everyday from our mooring. 

Adam was already anchored in Glorietta, so he rowed his dinghy over and met us just before we entered the anchorage. This was our first time anchoring in Glorietta and since Adam lives on the hump, he knows the ins and outs of all the anchorages from here to Catalina. We took a spin around and found our spot and dropped anchor.  We actually dropped two anchors- Bruce on the bow and Danforth off the stern.  This is a view from our anchored boat.

Lola and Jasmine relaxing in the cockpit

There is a little beach running along one side of the Glorietta.  We took the dogs over to run around and check out the area.

Mother Culture at anchor

Our own *almost-private* beach on Coronado

The girls sniffing for buried treasures

Lola running on the beach

Coronado Bridge

The view out our window

Mother Culture

Rita (Adam's boat)

Mo-C & Dinghy

We grilled some food, had some drinks, walked to downtown Coronado and had another drink at a local bar and on Friday morning we pulled up our anchors and headed back home.  Friday was another windy day. On our trip back to the ball, we passed some people flying kites alongside the bay.  

This one was a quick trip but we're looking forward to summer, when school's out and we have more time off to take overnight trips. 

Vegas, Baby!

This week is spring break for us and we were hoping to sail out to the Coronados for a few days.  Unfortunately, the weather forecast didn't cooperate.  So we hopped in the car and drove to Vegas instead.  We stayed three nights at the Mirage, did a lot of walking, enough drinking, and even a little gambling.  I also got to see my first Cirque du Soleil show, Mystere, at Treasure Island (and unfortunately no cameras are allowed at shows)!  This trip was special because it was Lola's first time in Vegas.  It turns out we spotted four other dogs during our trip.  Not a very dog-friendly city, but we had fun anyway.  Check out our pics here: Las Vegas

First Road Trip of 2010 (Part One: San Francisco)

The crew of Mother Culture took a sponta-
neous road trip on Monday.  We drove about 550 miles north to Novato, CA (north of San Francisco) and spent the night.  On Tuesday morning, we met with a man about a horse (actually, we met with a man about some hard-to-find exhaust pipes for my dad's Benelli, which should be arriving in Connecticut any day now).  Then we headed south to Sausalito to check out the marinas and moorings before heading down to San Francisco.  There we spent the day checking out the sights.  It was my first time in the city so I had to see all the usual attractions: Fisherman's Wharf, Crooked Street, China Town.  We even took a crazy ride on the public transportation.  The bus drivers in San Francisco are officially scarier than the ones in San Diego.  We spent the night downtown, on Van Ness & Lombard, where we fell victim to some Black Magic Voodoo at the bar across from our hotel.  On Wednesday morning, we headed over to Haight-Ashbury before cruising down the central coast on Route 1.  Here are some pics of the sights we saw:

Fort beneath Golden Gate Bridge

Ship near Fisherman's Wharf

Crooked Street

Sign on Garage Door on Crooked Street

Streetcar

China Town

Haight-Ashbury

Mommie Dearest

We got taken on a wild ride last night. We've heard rumors of wind speeds anywhere from 50 MPH to 125 MPH. The brunt of that only lasted ten seconds or so, but it always feels like longer when you're at the mercy of Mother Nature. I wasn't sure if I should jump ship and make a mad dash for shore or wait it out. Oddly, my safest bet seemed to be to wait it out, so I did.  So much for mild San Diego weather.  Anywho, here is a video to complement the one from last night... and some pictures below of the aftermath.

Possibly the light at the end of the tunnel?

A sunken dinghy

Jaybird's bowsprit was destroyed when a runaway boat went careening into his

The front of this electrical box was torn off

Used to be the home of the wind generator

The hinges remain, but the lazarette cover is long gone

This strut used to hold up our solar panel before it was ripped free and chucked into our cockpit

What remains of our wind generator (besides the pole and supports, of course)

Sail to Mission Bay

Yesterday, Ben, Lola & I captaind our first solo ocean sail from San Diego Bay up north to Mission Bay. We have an appointment this afternoon at Driscoll’s Boat Yard to have Mother Culture hauled out and her bottom painted. Once we got out of San Diego Bay, we had to swing really wide in order to avoid the kelp beds that run all the way up the shore. Our GPS wasn't working so we just hugged the kelp bed all the way up and made our best guess as to where the entrance to Mission Bay was.  The trip took us about 5.5 hrs and we actually motored the entire way. It’s crazy to think how a 10 minute car ride can take 5+ hours in a sailboat. After the first 3 or 4 hours, I began to channel my inner child with the words, "Are we there yet?" When we finally arrived after the sun set, we anchored in Mission Bay and went for a stroll over to the boardwalk for some grub and cocktails. Here are some pics from along the way:

The BMW Oracle,

an America's Cup Racing Boat.

To watch this thing sail is an experience in itself

Ben watching the HMCS Protecteur off our starboard bow

Seals

Sail

Point Loma from the Ocean

Waiting for the Green Flash

Me & Lola (Disguised as a Backpack)

Ben enjoying his Mug O'Jack