November 1-8, 2007
We spent a week on a mooring in Newport Beach Harbor. It is the greatest
deal in southern California. Public moorings are only $5 per night. We were
adjacent to very expensive homes, hopefully improving their view with our
lovely yacht. We were on the main channel, not right near the shore, so it
felt quite private. Our nearest neighbor was the sea lion that claimed the
small sailboat next to us. See photo gallery. We enjoyed checking out all
the fancy homes via dinghy rides around Linda Isle and Balboa Island. Other
than the fact that the weather was cold & gray, it was lovely. Cindy sought
out the YMCA to get in her swims. And discovered a nearby Gelsons.
Scott & Brad Phipps of Back Bay Marine continued to be frustrated by the
generator output problem. Many hours, tests and reconfigurations were spent
trying to sort out what eventually was discovered to be a multitude of
compounding problems.
November 3, 2007
Cindy was overwhelmed with gratitude when Eva Robles emailed an offer to
drive down and clean our boat one last time. Eva & sister-in-law Eloisa,
were our interior housekeepers, with Pancho Robles washing down the outside
of *Beach House* for the 3 years we lived aboard in Marina del Rey. It was
the cleanest house we ever lived in. They scrubbed us to a shine no matter
how much we messed things up. And with all the work we did over those 3
years we really made a mess sometimes. But more important than the service
they provided, Eva & Pancho became our friends. They cheered us on during a
multitude of disruptive projects. And provided a comforting ear during the
dark days following the deaths of both Scott\’s parents. Their beautiful
daughters Melanie & Eva Joan always made us smile. We are hoping the family
will be able to meet us when we arrive in their home port of Punta Mita,
near Puerto Vallarta.
Scott was proud to finally show *Beach House* to friend & mentor Merald Keys
and wife Marianne. We enjoyed lunch with them at the Balboa Yacht Club. For
many years since meeting Merald at his class to prepare for the US Coast
Guard Professional Mariners exam, Scott taught for him, 1 night per quarter.
It has been a relationship of mutual respect and affection.
November 6, 2007
Craig Johnson spent the day setting up and teaching us how to link any
combination of our 3 laptop computers with a peer to peer network.
November 7, 2007
Cindy got a boost by a visit from her PT girlfriend Lori, who drove down
from Santa Monica. They took the dinghy & walking tour of the area. Scott
joined them for a delicious dinner at El Torito Grill which is a big step up
from the normal chain. Super yum.
TUG & TOW STORY
We had an \”in your face\” reminder that one must always stay alert when on
the water. We had experiences sailing in Spain & have heard many stories
from other boaters around the world that you cannot rely on other boats to
be properly lit at night. In fact many small fishing boats zoom around in
the dark without any lights at all. Somehow we expected more from a busy US
marina. We were returning to our mooring by dinghy one evening and had the
proper lights on. Cindy in the bow of the dinghy observed a boat overtaking
us & alerted Scott who was driving. He said, \”It\’s a tugboat\”. Well if it\’s
one thing that Scott impressed on Cindy\’s brain over these past 3 years of
life on the water, it\’s that where there is a tug, there is very likely to
be a tow. Scott did not see a pattern of towing lights on the tug and began
to turn behind it. Cindy had immediately looked back beyond the tug & saw
the huge barge being towed. It was difficult to see the tow line between the
two vessels. The barge was not properly lit either. The captain of the tug
hailed us at the same time Cindy yelled and Scott made a quick reaction to
steer us away from harm. Every year boaters are killed by the tow line when
passing between a tug & a tow. We were upset to have a close call with this
danger. We learn from every experience, relying on our teamwork to keep us
safe.