Pictures of Catalina

Only about 4 months late, I finally uploaded pictures of our Catalina trip to Picasa. (For those of you who use Facebook, they are essentially the same as the ones I uploaded there in August.)

Cruising to Catalina Island

Anchorage: Glorietta Bay

Mo-C with Hotel Del in the background

 Last Tuesday, we set sail for Glorietta Bay with our friend Andrea. We anchored for two nights and Adam and Jasmine met up with us and anchored on the second day. We had some good times with good friends. It used to feel like bay sails to La Playa and Glorietta were so much work that sometimes we opted to stay put on the mooring ball. Ever since our Catalina trip, however, our perspective has changed. Looks like this anchorage was number 4 for the year, not counting the Mission Bay/Dana Point/Catalina trip. Not bad for a couple of newbies! 

Rita and Mo-C anchored in Glorietta Bay

Dana Point

Mo-C on the hook in Dana Point

 When we arrived in Dana Point yesterday, Adam had used up his 5 days for this month in the protected anchorage so he had to anchor outside the breakwater. We anchored out there with him and tried to catch some Zzzz's. I got up pretty early (I was feeling refreshed from the 4 hours of carbon monoxide-induced sleep I'd gotten while underway the night before) and got caught up on some work. When Ben got up, we dinghied to land and ate some giant hamburgers (sailing does funny things to you) and then returned to the boat. The ocean anchorage is like, well, let's just say it is kind of difficult to work from a laptop and a monitor while having to hold on to your seat. It's like working on a rollercoaster, I guess you could say. Since Ben and I have never been to the protected anchorage, we decided to pick up and move inside the breakwater where I could work in peace. It's amazing what a difference a breakwater makes!

Rita on the hook at Dana Point

We learned a few things along the way from Mission Bay to Dana Point. Ben found out the engine wasn't charging the batteries as it should have been, so he adjusted that today. There was absolutely no sun when we came up here, so our batteries really needed that extra boost from the engine while we were underway. Before we left, we got a Simrad TP22 Tiller Pilot to make the trip a little easier, but naturally, it needed some adjusting so we (okay, Ben) had to hand-steer the entire way. I helped out whenever he needed but I was mostly fixated on not getting ill or losing my mind, as I said before. He's currently working on adjusting the tiller pilot to fit the boat, but none of the trips we'll be making now will be as long as the one from Mission Bay to Dana Point, so if it's not working, we can suck it up and steer. There's a big learning curve out here. Not just from the ocean and the wind, but just understanding the ins and outs of being underway. Luckily we have Adam to give us tips, not only on navigating but also simpler things like what to keep in our ditch bag. It really helps to have a an experienced cruiser guiding us along the way!

We are leaving for Newport tonight or tomorrow morning. I'll post again when we arrive.

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

Anchorage: Mission Bay

 We sailed over to Mission Bay yesterday. We left around 1:45pm and arrived around 7:00pm. It was a beautiful day but the wind died about halfway there so we ended up motoring for the last leg of the trip. Adam should be sailing over today to anchor with us. At some point, we plan to dinghy across the channel to check out Markitos's new (used) boat, a Calkins 50'. It's always exciting to see friends fulfill their dreams. :)

In this picture of Mo-C at anchor, you might notice the big blue rectangle suspended from a halyard over the cockpit. Ben dug this sun shade out of our lazarette a few weeks ago and it's been getting good use ever since. To think, it's been stowed for at least two years and we never even realized we owned it 'til this summer. Better late than never!

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!

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. 

The Hump

Before I post pics from our recent anchorage in Glorietta Bay, I wanted to explain the hump.  Since I'm new to this sailing thing, I don't know much about it other than what I've been told.  I don't know if it's a universal term among live-aboards everywhere or if it's specific to San Diego.  All I know is it is supposedly possible to live aboard a boat here in San Diego without paying a fee.  There are a handful of people that "live on the hump", moving around the bay from free anchorage to free anchorage.  There are a bunch of rules and regulations that I can hardly get straight in my head and I'm still not even sure if it's possible to live this way without actually succumbing to The Man by occasionally paying a temporary slip fee or a fine for anchoring over 72-hours or without a permit.  Regardless, the whole idea fascinates me. 

Here's what I know:

• Mission Bay (depicted by anchor, upper left): Pros: You can anchor for up to 72 hours, any day of the week.  It is well-protected here, glassy like a lake.  No permit necessary.  Cons: Once your 72 hours are up (don't be late!), you can't come back again for 7 days.  Since this is the only anchorage in Mission Bay, you have to make the sail all the way back to San Diego Bay (six-ish hours) when you leave here...unless you want to pay an exorbitant amount for a temporary slip at one of the marinas.   
• Zuniga Jetty (anchor, lower left): Pros: You can anchor as long as you like for free, without a permit.  Cons: It is not very protected, making for a rocky ride.  Since it is off the coast of North Island Naval Base, you can't dinghy to shore and walk to town.  You are stuck on your boat for as long as you anchor here (unless you're bold like our friend Adam, who rowed from Zuniga Jetty to Shelter Island and back last weekend).   
• La Playa (anchor, middle left):  Pros: You can anchor for up to 72 hours, weekends only.  Fully protected, it is serene like a lake.  You can pull your dinghy up on the beach, with easy access to Shelter Island. Cons: You need a permit and you can only anchor here on weekends. 
• Glorietta Bay (anchor, lower right): Pros: You can anchor here any day of the week, for up to 72 hours.  Cons: You need a permit. There is no dinghy dock but if you want to go into town, you can beach your dinghy and run across the golf course when no one is looking. 
• Cruisers Anchorage (sailboat, upper right): Pros: You can anchor here for up to 90 days with a permit.  Cons: This anchorage is designated for visitors from out-of-town, so it doesn't actually apply to the hump but it's nice to know, anyway.   

You are required to obtain permits for La Playa and Glorietta at least 24-hours in advance of anchoring. You are allowed only three permits in one thirty day period. That's three permits total! for the month, not three for each of La Playa and Glorietta.  So once you've exhausted  your permits for the month, you have to stay at Zuniga Jetty or Mission Bay. 

So those are the basics.  And as long as you don't mind staying on your boat at Zuniga Jetty a lot of the time, it is possible to live on the hump for free.  But for now, I'll stick with my mooring.

Up next: Pictures from Glorietta Bay.

Detailed Map