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Spring Sailing

Ben and I have both been honing our sailing skills this year. Back in March, I enrolled in a US Sailing Keelboat sailing class at Mission Bay Aquatic Center. You might be wondering why a girl with a boat would bother taking a class when she can learn through trial and error right here at home. I am the type of girl who needs to feel competent away from my man. It seems to be a running joke among the men on the mooring field that their wives or girlfriends couldn't save them if they fell overboard. Those jokes aren't funny to me, and I'm happy to report I took the written exam a couple weeks ago and passed. So I am now a US Sailing certified Keelboat sailor. I learned tons of cool stuff, like how to tie a bowline without looking in a book (finally!), how to rig a boat, how to heave-to, the Figure-8 and Quick-Stop man overboard drills, among other things. And the best part is, now I can rent a boat anywhere in the U.S.A! (I know, I know, we already have a boat. But if we fly somewhere, we can't take our boat with us!)

As you can see in the picture above, Ben has been getting his share of sailing practice, too. Recently, he's been perfecting his skills around the Bay on Joe & Julie's "Bad Seed."

Memorial Day Sail

I thought I'd have more time to blog this summer but I decided to take a couple 6-week summer courses, so those have taken precedence for now. Hopefully, I'll make more time to write when I finally have a break in July and August. Although I haven't had a chance to write, I did find time to squeeze in some sailing. On Memorial Day, our neighbors Joe and Julie hijacked another neighbor's beautiful Hans Christian 38' and took Ben, Lola and I along for the ride. Joe tried to get me at the helm, but I have a strict policy of NOT captaining a boat that I can't afford to replace... so other than trying out the wheel for a few minutes (so different from our tiller steering!), I left the dirty work to the others and sat back and enjoyed the ride. The rollers were pretty big out in the ocean so we headed back towards home and bumped into some friends along the way. Here are some pics:

Sailing On Point

Not-So-Gray May

 This May has been unseasonably warm and sunny, perhaps redemption for last year's lack of summer. A couple weeks ago, I got my new waterproof camera and Ben, Lola and I rode our bikes (well, ok, we didn't make Lola pedal the whole way) to Ocean Beach. This is a colorful shot of the usually barren and dehydrated San Diego River.

In addition to bestowing life upon the river, the winter rains also speckled our white propane tank in shades of rust. Ben refilled the tank the other day and coated it with Rustoleum to prevent further deterioration.

Hopefully, we'll not only find the time to scratch a couple more small boat projects off our "To Do" list this summer, but we'll also get some much-needed time on the water practicing our skills.

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!

Anchorage One: Glorietta Bay

My spring break was the first week of April and we managed to scratch "First Anchorage of 2011" off of our List of Things to Do. We spent 72 hours on the hook in Glorietta Bay. Anyone who knows me knows I like to bring friends along to take care of my half of the responsibility. This time, we brought Mike... We couldn't have asked for better weather... sunny and in the mid-70's until the morning we headed back to the ball. It was the perfect little staycation, and we even managed to squeeze in (and pass!) our Coast Guard inspection on the way back. Ben's spring break is this week, so we came over to La Playa and dropped the hook for the weekend. I'll post some pics when the party's over!



Moi



Ben & Mike

Sunset

Chillin' @ Glorietta Bay Park

Lola's Beach

Ben & his bitch, Mike ;)



Hooked

Carbon Neutral

I've been feeling sorry for myself lately because I'd like to buy a used vehicle but I can't find anything worth buying. I blame the economy, I suppose. People are hard up for money and craigslist is overwrought with overpriced junk. The last two cars I purchased were a 1985 Honda CRX for $800 that lasted me 3 years and a 1991 Toyota Tercel for $1100 that lasted almost two years and carried us twice back and forth across the country on one oil change (probably not joking)! But lately, most of the cars available for less than $1500 are crap. So I continue to hoof it.

I decided in order to cheer myself up, I'd write about my carbon neutrality. It's been a topic of blogversation for me before and it's in the forefront of my mind lately because I'm taking an Oceanography class in which we're learning about global warming and ocean acidification. Every article I read creates more animosity in me because I know some uninformed people continue to insist that global warming is a myth and/or continue to believe that it's not their problem. I dislike sharing my planet with these people. But since I can't move to another planet, all I can really do is set a good example and hope someone, somewhere, learns from my example.

So here is my example:

• I live on a moderately sized sailboat with my boyfriend (it takes up less space, thus leaving more room for everyone else) 
• I row my dinghy (zero carbon emissions)
• I walk or ride my bicycle when I need to get someplace (zero carbon emissions)
• I use public transportation or Ben gives me a ride on his motorcycle when I need to get to distant places (less carbon emission than driving a car solo)
• I get my energy from solar power (zero carbon emissions - although I'll admit sometimes I am forced to use a gas generator when the weather is cloudy - probably less than 10 gallons of gas per year)
• I cook with propane (propane has a smaller carbon footprint than other fuels)
• Generally, people who live on boats don't shower as frequently as *normal* people, therefore saving water. Now you know.

I know some people think I'm being self-righteous when I talk about this stuff. But I'm seriously tired of doing grocery shopping and laundry on my bicycle. My body was not built to be a workhorse. So in a desperate attempt to make myself feel better, I am reminding myself why it is better to hoof it than to buy another car. Now, if you know anyone in the San Diego area with a used 5-speed they would like to get rid of for less than $1500, please contact me. ;)