November 10, 2014 - San Diego Part 1

We left Oceanside on November 7th at about 6:30am and headed south on extremely smooth seas.   In 4 short hours we were at Mission Bay where we pulled in to refuel.  We are set now getting to Cabo and beyond (we won't be visiting a fuel dock again likely until spring).  In Mission Bay we had to pass under a bridge and we watched closely to make sure our antennas did not hit the bridge.  We made it with a couple of feet to spare.  An hour later, boat considerably heavier, wallet noticably lighter, and we were on our way south to San Diego Bay.

There were many marinas to choose from here and only a few anchoring spots that you need to register for.  We decided to head to the police dock that had a perfect side tie for us since we had company coming the next morning.  It is also one of the cheaper options for overnight that we could find.  The dock was nice and clean and we have had very nice quiet nights here.  A sea lion comes each day and sleeps on the dock but then disappears at night, we assume to hunt.

John, girlfriend Sunny and daughter Haley came for the weekend.  This was our first for having three people overnight and all went well.  The kids slept in our stateroom (along with us), John and Sunny in the V-berth and Haley on the salon settee.  Haley is a freshman in college here in San Diego and it was great to see her.  We had not seen her in a few years.  We were sorry to miss John's other daughter Kaitlyn but she had plans for a Vegas weekend.

Feeling humbled. Adagio to the left and a mega yacht on the right.
Dorothea III, only 150 ft long. 

We noticed many sailboats heading out Saturday morning but already had plans to tour the bay with our guests, and go close by downtown.  Leaving our cove was interesting especially since sailboats under sail have the right of way, and there were at least 100 of them filling the channel we wanted to transit.

Sailboat race right outside our marina

Sunny, John and Haley with San Diego in background

On our city tour, Steve turned around by the big aircraft carriers.
Yes, there was a guy on the end of one holding a machine gun, watching us closely!

A very unique Navy ship.  Not sure what it's purpose even is.  

John and Steve, San Diego tourist attractions in the
background.

 Well, of course we came back in right at the end of that sailboat race and those sailors do not mess around.  They finish, get drinks out, and head right back into the marina, still under sail.  We had them all around us, and they were sometimes uncomfortably close, so it was a bit stressful.

Sailors coming in for the finish

He's laughing because Steve told the sea lion that John tastes like Chicken on a stick!

Kathy, Haley, and Steve.  She was able to open her eyes looking at the sun for this one.

 It was fun to have visitors again.  We played games and chatted.  They had to leave Sunday afternoon/evening to head back to reality and their lives.

Today we got the bikes down and after home school went out for a ride from Shelter Island where we are moored, over to Harbor Island and back.

The anchors are getting smaller or the kids bigger.

Our bike ride today.  From Harbor Island looking at the city
Sailboats; not many on a Monday at 1:00pm!!!!

 Going over one of the bridges we saw these pens below and many dolphins, porpoises, and seals that appeared to be being fed. John had just told us of how they train them here to be able to find submarines or mines in the seas.  We watched for a while and did see some training with the dolphin where the dolphin is learning to jump into a sling which then rides in the boat.  I guess they do take them out into the open water for training.  Now, that would be great to see.  At the lower left of this photo you can see a dolphin going into a sling toward the boat.

Military training dolphins, porpoises, and sea lions.
at the Naval Mine and Anti-Submarine Warfare Command Center

We will probably post again after our time in the city is over, which will be next week.  Tomorrow we are headed to an anchor field where we will stay for a week or so.  It is free of charge to anchor there.  Costco sells a multi-day pass that includes museums, parks, and random attractions, so we will do that as well as rent a car for a week to get some final provisioning done.  We have lists and preparations to complete before the transit into Mexico.  We have to get all of our paperwork in order, restock those items that are hard to find in Mexico, figure out the weather forecasting, perform maintenance, finish up a few electronics projects, and more.  It will be a busy stop in San Diego.

Next stop Ensenada Mexico!