Marina del Rey to San Diego - With Rats On Board?!?
On the morning of October 24th, Doug announces over coffee “I think you have a rat on board!” in response to the mysterious noise we began hearing after tying up to the dock in Marina del Rey. Michelle responded with “If we have rodents on board, I am out of here faster than a New York minute!” There was no evidence of rodents (i.e., no droppings or chewed-through packaging) and the noise was from stem to stern which would indicate not one rat but an entire colony. We knew that was not possible since the noise first began the day before. With the morning getting on, we put the problem behind us and readied ourselves for a day sail to Isthmus Cove on Santa Catalina Island. The sail was gentle and beautiful. We arrived at Isthmus Cove in the dark and picked up a mooring ball.
The next morning again over coffee, the discussion of the
mysterious sound began in earnest since it was still present. After considering
water intrusion, barnacles on the keel, and electrical problems (we did just
have a lot of electrical work done in Port Townsend…hmmmm), Michelle once again
consulted Uncle Google, her favorite uncle 😊. Turns out, it is the sound of a snapping or pistol shrimp (read about them by clicking on the link). There were lots of stories on the internet where people literally tore
their boats apart or hauled out in an effort to find the problem. We didn’t see
any but we sure heard them. They sound like bacon frying or a bowl of rice
crispies right after adding milk. With the mystery solved, we put on our foul
weather gear and headed out for Avalon, also on Santa Catalina Island. We left
Isthmus Cove in the rain and light wind. It wasn’t long before the wind piped
up and we had an amazing sail to Avalon where we picked up another mooring
ball. That evening a gale rolled in and we were thankful we were in a safe, protected place. We took a water taxi in to town and set off for a nice walk after
treating ourselves to ice cream before dinner! Avalon is a cool place; you feel
as if you’ve been transported to a town in the Mediterranean.
On October 26th, we left the Avalon mooring and headed for San Diego. It was a great sail with the spinnaker, dodging more cargo ships, and seeing “megapods” of dolphins. We sailed until about 21:00 when the wind died. We entered San Diego Bay around 23:30 and headed toward Glorietta Bay. We received an unwelcome scare from the Coast Guard as they suddenly approached our port quarter stern at about 25kt. When they were about 3 feet from us, Jeff turned sharply to starboard to avoid being hit and they quickly throttled down. They yelled to Doug “Sorry, wrong boat!” WHAT…JUST…HAPPENED??? Once our adrenaline settled down, we resumed our motor boat ride to Glorietta Bay and anchored about 01:00 on the 27th.
On the afternoon of the 27th, brother Eric arrived and we went to Chula Vista to see the Dead and Company concert. On the 28th, we enjoyed a great breakfast on the boat and headed out to Ocean Beach to explore. After an amazing dinner to celebrate brother Eric’s special birthday (not saying how old he is!), we took Doug to the airport. It was sad to see him go after 5 great days of being together! On the 29th, we said farewell to Eric knowing we would see him again in a few days in Tucson.
We spent the next several days exploring Coronado Island, going to the beach, and paddleboarding. On November 1st, we rowed to shore, walked to the Coronado Island Ferry Dock, got off at the San Diego Convention Center, walked to the light rail station to get a train to El Cajon, then took a bus to a marine supply store to get the parts for our outboard repair. Then we did all of that in reverse…it took 6.5 hours in total! We could have taken a taxi but we wanted the adventure and didn’t want to spend over $100 for the transportation.
The "Del" at night
On the 2nd, we moved the boat to the Shelter Island guest dock. We have been here ever since. In that time, we made another quick trip to Portland for an appointment and to Tucson to visit Jeff’s parents. Jeff repaired the outboard (his "water dirt bike") and is nearly finished installing the new water desalinator. We've completed several projects and re-connected with a boat/crew that we knew from Hood River.
The water and propane tanks are full. Meals are prepared. Decks are getting cleared. Tomorrow, the dinghy goes onto the foredeck and we head for Ensenada. We are planning to leave in the early afternoon and arrive in the morning on Saturday, the 20th. Stay tuned for the next exciting chapter!
Wow. Great post, great photos! I just discovered you've actually been true to your commitment to keep us landlubbers posted about your adventures! The other access I bookmarked to your blog shows NO POSTS! I don't get why, but now that I rediscovered this one, I'll delete the other bookmark.
ReplyDeleteWe used to do the fair at Del Mar every year with our draft horses, so we're familiar with the Coronado Hotel, in fact, Mike has a photo of his team out in front of it. It still looks great, and I hope you guys had fun exploring that part of CA. I don't suppose you visited Mary's Tack Shop ( MY favorite place to shop back in those days). I had never seen such a huge display of saddles anywhere before or since. A "tackaholic's" dream...
Boy, Jeff and his bros look so much alike! No mistaking those genetics!
And you look great out there paddling in the sun! 😍
This looks so fun!!! My only complaint...POST MORE! :)
ReplyDeleteHannah (Skyline)